The Not So Sweet Side of Sugar!

In a recent statement the American Heart Association has issued specific advice regarding our daily intake of added sugar.  It seems that many Americans eat 22 teaspoons of sugar a day!  It is recommended that women should consume no more than 100 calories (about  25 grams) of added sugar a day.  They also recommend that men consume no more than 150 calories (about 37.5 grams) of added sugar each day.   This comes out to about 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day for women and 9 teaspoons of added sugar a day for men.  This is a recent statement from the American Heart Association that provides us with a more detailed guideline.  These are added sugars, not sugars found in natural foods like the fruits we choose to eat in a healthy balanced diet.  This does include the hidden sugars in many of the items we eat.

I'm one of the last people to be surprised by these recent high sugar consumption findings.  I am a former sugar fiend.  I never realized how much I loved sugar until I removed refined sugar from my daily eating pattern in order to lose the 40 pounds I had accumulated over the course of a near two decades.  Trust me, I love all the sugary items our grabby octopus is holding to the right.  I can vividly remember the withdrawal and frustration I felt when I could no longer grab any type of sugary item within sight.  That's a hard habit to break if you stop and think about it.  They say it takes 30 days to break a habit and that's about how long it took.  No one dared bring any type of sugary item into the house during that time period.  If they did, they received a look that was sort of between scary and pitiful.  Truthfully, I needed all the help I could get at that time and everyone was supportive.  I had to break that cycle or dependence.  We can call it anything we like but we all know the point I am trying to make.  I guess after decades all of my family had  witnessed my weakness with sugar.  I like the word weakness better than the word addiction!

I know I am one of millions of people who love sugary items!  Just recently I was watching Dr. Oz's new show that comes on right before Oprah each day.  Here's a woman, who was just like me at one time.  He had some great advice for her and I've already made these changes in my life close to two years ago.  If you have a chance, check it out; it's awesome!  Here's a video from that show where he is talking about sugar.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/break-your-sugar-addiction

There are some great tips on this clip.  We'll talk about additional new research on the effects of sugar on our bodies this week on our blog, Tame Your Inner Octopus.

Have you incorporated ways to cut back on sugary items in your daily pattern of eating?

Have a great day and please check this great video out!