A New Start

Did anyone happen to catch this segment on 60 minutes last night on "Is Sugar Toxic?".  Of course I LOVE 60 minutes.. and last night they featured a well known doctor from the San Francisco Bay area by the name of Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, who  believes that high amounts of sugar in the American diet, much of it in processed foods, is killing us.   For the most part.. he is right!  I was able to sit in on one of Dr. Lustig's seminars out here.. and found it very intriguing.  

The next time you go grocery shopping.. start to pay attention to the amount of sugar in food... especially the low fat food!!   Consumers are sooo misinformed with the food on today's grocery shelves.   I wish I could gather the world and take them on a grocery store tour.. and point out the facts behind the labels and food products.  

You cannot believe the amount of people who think that because they are shopping at an organic grocery store.. or picking up unprocessed foods, that all of those items are healthy.. and going to contribute to their weight loss or healthy lifestyle.  Keep in mind a lot of those foods are high in sodium.. or sugar.  I mean come on.. they had to make it taste good some how. 

During my cleanse I was urged to switch to an all natural sweetener.  I have been using Stevia.. which I have grown to love.  I will admit that it can have a bitter aftertaste.. but after using it for a while.. that went away.  A few others have complained that it upset their stomach a shade... but that could be a result of the erythritol (a sugar alcohol widely used in Japan).   If you suffer from IBS.. I would avoid it.  

A fun little activity you can do in your head.. or out loud if you live where I do... as everyone talks to themselves out here as it is widely acceptable, is to keep this little formula in your head.. 
(4 Grams of Sugar = 1tsp)  next time you are in the store.. start paying attention to the sugar content in the food.  For instance.. really take note in the beverage section.
Arizona Iced Tea: 16 ounces = 48 grams sugar, 180 calories  (WOW!!)   Now that's alot of Sugar!!
Oh.. and while your at it.. check out those "All Natural" soda's you thought were ohhhh sooo healthy!!

I could really take this post further into my own little book... but we will keep it short and sweet for you all!  

P.s  Guess where I was just at....

Ahhhhh yeah......for my Non-Fat Cafe Latte... with no whip cream.  
Calories:  130
Sugar:  18 g (little over 4 tsp of sugar)

Wait for my upcoming post on Coffee....