Category: Beware of Hidden Sugars

How to Skip Overeating This Thanksgiving: 3 Simple Tips for a Sweeter, Slimming Holiday

Every Thanksgiving, being grateful often takes a back seat to over-indulging at family gatherings.
Gulping down fast-acting, processed carbohydrates, sugar-loaded desserts, and gluten-rich foods is far more common than pleasurably savoring the various culinary concoctions.
20101117-stuffingFor many, Thanksgiving means they’ll go into Sugar Shock and Carb Shock (as I dub it), and develop “Grain Brain,” as Dr. David Perlmutter puts it in his book of the same name.
In fact, I predict that on Thanksgiving, most Americans will overeat, especially those culplrit carbs.
It’s simply a given that you’ll over-indulge on this holiday. One gym even suggested that you “work out before you pig out.” Aargh!
It’s time to ignore the insidious programming that drives you to overeat on Thanksgiving.
Even if you’ve stuffed yourself at previous holiday feasts, instead this Thanksgiving you can achieve Sweet Freedom.
To begin the Sweet Freedom Thanksgiving Funcise (Fun Exercise), think ahead to the day after Thanksgiving,
Choose now not to get an upset stomach. Plan now not to pig out. Select the smarter choice — to savor the sweet holiday experience.
This Thanksgiving, you can easily shift your attention away from those cunning carbs and desserts, which most Americans over-consume and which ample research shows can contribute to more than 100-plus diseases and ailments, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and even an early death.
It’s time to take back your Sugar Power and Carb Control. This Thanksgiving, you can avoid being overly tempted by:
Cranberries, a super-healthy food that’s generally downgraded by adding gobs of sugar.
Yams or sweet potatoes, whose inherent nutrient-goodness is often destroyed on Thanksgiving by adding unnecessary brown sugar and marshmallows.
Stuffing, which generally contains gluten galore. (Use Dr. Sarah Gottlieb’s awesome gluten-free, sugar-free recipe instead.)
Pumpkin pie, which is a far cry from the delectable, nutritious, fiber-rich vegetable and weight-loss ally, as Dr. Jonny Bowden points out. The dessert you usually get a Thankisviing is weighed down by sugary, fatty ingredients; features a gluten-rich crust; and is slathered by whipped cream.
Gravy-sodden turkey.
Here’s a three-part simple way to skip over-indulging this Thanksgiving and take leisurely, sociable tastes instead. (I recommend you take two to four small bites maximium of each dish.)
But before you dig into those tantalizing carb creations, just ask yourself these three simple questions:
Would I rather overeat [fill in name of food(s)] tonight and feel sluggish, fuzzy-headed, and cranky tomorrow (for up to three days afterwards)? OR would I rather have a slim, healthy body and mind? (If you have weight to lose, this thought can stop you from over-indulging.)
Would I rather overeat those carbs or sweets or enjoy the good company of family and friends on this special day?
Wouldn’t I rather feel better about myself by shifting my focus from the carb-food to gratitude, which, of course, is supposed to be the whole point of this celebration? Remind yourself that night of list of “5 Things for Which I’m Most Grateful.”
This simple, three-part mental exercise can take your attention away from those potentially harmful carb substasnces and instead put you on the path toward feeling good and enjoying your life -– not just on this holiday but during the whole holiday season ahead.
Have a sweet, joyous and healthy Thanksgiving.
New to this Sugar Shock Blog? Connie Bennett is a former lethargic, dejected sugar-addicted journalist, who reluctantly quit sugar on doctor’s orders in 1998 after being pummeled by 44 strange ailments (brain fog, heart palpitations, mood swings, etc.). Now, 15 years later, the energetic, uplifting Connie spreads the word that Life is Sweeter When Sugar Doesn’t Seduce You™. She is recognized as the Sweet Freedom Coach, and she is a life coach, health coach, blogger, and motivational speaker, who has helped thousands of sugar and carb addicts worldwide. Connie is author of two bestselling books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock, which have been praised by many acclaimed health gurus and celebrities, including America’s Favorite Doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, as well as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Daniel Amen, Brian Tracy, Bernie Siegel, Mark Sisson, Marci Shimoff, John Assaraff, JJ Virgin, Katie Dolgin (“High Voltage”), and Jimmy Moore.
Subscribe to this Sugar Shock Blog and like Connie on her Facebook fan page.

It’s Easy to Get Duped by Food Labels

If you’re trying to cut out sugar or curtail your consumption of it to shed weight, manage your hypoglycemia or type 2 diabetes, or reduce your risk of heart disease, you need to read food labels if and when you buy packaged foods.
That’s because many foods may contain sugar, even if you don’t think they do.
And if you rush while shopping at the supermarket, you’ll never know about the hidden sugars.
After 15 years of being mostly sugar-free, you’d think I would have known better to catch sweetened foods.
But darn, I forgot to t follow my own advice last night, because I was really hungry and hurriedly snapped up a few items so I could hurry home to cook my dinner.
Sure enough, I got duped by tasty-looking crumbled goat cheese, which I’d been eagerly looking forward to adding to my salad..
It wasn’t until I got home and was close to opening the package when I realized my oversight.
My crumbled goat cheese contained sugar. In fact, it had 4 grams or 1 teaspoon, enough to cause havoc in my sugar-sensitive body.
Of course, if I’d taken a moment to read the label while still at the grocery store, I would have quickly caught the sugar and been able to buy unsweetened goat cheese instead.
No wonder people get so confused when buying packaged foods.
No wonder people eat lots of added sugars without even realizing it.
Tell us about your food label challenges. When did a food label deceive you?

Label Added Sugars, Urges Coalition of Health Organizations Such as the Environmental Working Group and the American Heart Association

Exciting news for those of us who monitor our sugar intake — and urge you to do so, too — for the sake of your health, weight, and moods!
A coalition of health organizations, including the Environmental Working Group, the American Association for Health Education, the American Heart Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Defeat Diabetes Foundation are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clearly label added sugars on ingredients lists of packaged foods so that American shoopers find it easier to eat healthier.
“By showing ‘added sugars’ on the ingredients lists of foods, consumers will be better able to evaluate the foods they purchase,” the organizations wrote in a letter dated Feb. 23, 2012 to the Honorable Margaret Hamburg, M.D., FDA Commissioner.
“To ensure consumers have this important information, we feel that the term ‘added sugars’ should be listed as a single food ingredient with a paranthetical list of the specific ingredients that account for those sugars,” the letter contends.
The groups then go on to suggest that “added sugars should be listed by descending weight, in line with current regulations. The combined weight of the added sugars should be used to determine where added sugars rank on the food ingredients label.”
I cannot emphasize how great this would be!
Your life would be so much easier when you buy packaged foods. You’d find it easier to monitor your intake of sugar, which can cause you to age quickly, get heart disease, become depressed, and many other ailments. (You can read about sugar harms you in my first book, Sugar Shock.)
In short, if food labeling such as this went into effect, you wouldn’t be so easily deceived and duped by all those added sugars!
The welcome letter to the FDA Commissioner also cited the American Heart Association’s valuable national survey data that “overconsumption of added sugars contributes to obesity” and that the average American consumes 22.2 teaspoons of added sugars per day or the equivalent of 355 calories. (I believe for many, they consume far more than this.) The AHA recommends that women get only 100 daily calories from added sugars and men only 150 calories.
In addition, the letter states that while “a healthy, well-balanced diet contains naturally occurring sugars, the `empty calories’ from added sugars like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose and corn sweetener have a detrimental effect on our diets.”
Make sure to tell these organizations such as the Environmental Working Group, the American Heart Association, The American Association for Health Education, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and Corporate Accountability International how much you appreciate their hard work on behalf of your health.
Read the complete letter here.
Then go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Facebook page and show your support for labeling added sugars.
And tell us what you think, too.

Is Sugar as Toxic as Alcohol? Researchers Say Yes

In recent years, scientists have theorized that sugar can be as addictive as alcohol or tobacco.
You, of course, know how easy it is to get hooked on sweets — and how incredibly challenging and difficult it can be to break free of your sugar addiction.
(In fact, because breaking free from sugar is so tough, I’ve devoted an entire book to take you on a fun, empowering journey so you can easily let go of your addiction. Beyond Sugar Shock — which will be published in June and which you can pre-order now — is designed to hold you by the hand and guide you to what I call Sugar Freedom.)
So since sugar is addictive, should this commonplace but potentially harmful (even deadly) substance be regulated?
Acclaimed researcher Robert Lustig, M.D. and a team of UCSF researchers say yes.
They argue that sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health.
Indeed, Dr. Lustig, along with Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., Claire Brindis, D.P.H. and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), contend that sugar’s potential for abuse, coupled with its toxicity and pervasiveness in the Western diet, make it a primary culprit of this worldwide health crisis.
They maintain that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The authors then advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to children under 17.
According to their statistics, reported on CBS New’s HealthPop, worldwide sugar intake has tripled in the last 50 years, and the average person is taking in a whopping 500 calories from added sugar in processed foods alone.
So what do you think? Should sugar be regulated?
A special thank you: Photo credit is due here (flickr) and here (DailyBurn).
Post your ideas here on this Sugar Shock Blog and/or on my Facebook Smart Habits Fans page.

Dessert for Breakfast? Sugary Children’s Cereals

How would you feel if your kids had a Twinkie or even had cookies for breakfast?
Well, that’s exactly what she or he — or maybe even you — may be doing most mornings.
Suffice it to say that millions of children are beginning their day going into Sugar Shock.
So found a scary new report on popular cereals, Sugar in Children’s Cereal, from the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to using the power of information to protect human health and the environment.
The Environmental Working Group arrived at its frightening sugar findings after studying 84 popular brands of cereal, many of them marketed directly to children, to see if they meet either the federal government’s proposed nutrition guidelines or the industry’s looser nutrition guidelines.
And the EWG found lots about sugar, sugar, sugar.
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, which has nearly 56 percent sugar by weight, leads the list of the 10 worst children’s cereals, according to EWG’s analysis.
In fact, the EWG found, a one-cup serving of the brand contains more sugar than a Hostess Twinkie.
Meanwhile, one cup of any of the 44 other children’s cereals has more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies.
Here’s EWG’s list of the 10 worst cereals.
10 Worst Children’s Cereals
Based on percent sugar by weight
1.) Kellogg’s Honey Smacks 55.6%
2.) Post Golden Crisp 51.9%
3.) Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow 48.3%
4.) Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries 46.9%
5.) Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original 44.4%
6.) Quaker Oats Oh!s 44.4%
7.) Kellogg’s Smorz 43.3%
8.) Kellogg’s Apple Jacks 42.9%
9.) Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries 42.3%
10.) Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original 41.4%
Of course, this EWG report comes as no surprise to me, given that I often share information about sugar’s pervasiveness and its dangers, as I did in my first book, Sugar Shock.
So why should you care about your kids eating so much sugar for breakfast?
As the EWG points out, studies suggest that children who eat breakfasts that are high in sugar have more problems at school.
For instance, they become more frustrated and have a harder time working independently than kids who eat lower-sugar breakfasts, as the EWG noted. And by lunchtime, these kids who filled up on sugar for breakfast have less energy, are hungrier, show attention deficits and make more mistakes on their work.
Kudos to the Environmental Working Group for sharing this important news.
Click here to see the best and worst cereals, as discovered by the EWG.
Wondering what’s a good breakfast then? Well, for starters, why do your kids have to have cereal to start the day?
But if they do, make sure, as nutrition expert Marion Nestle, Ph.D., recommends that you pick:
Cereals with a short ingredient list
Cereals high in fiber.
Cereals with little or no added sugars (such as honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, corn sweetener, sucrose, lactose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup and malt syrup).
An easy breakfast for children would be a piece of fresh fruit (like an orange or apple), a cooked of steel cut oats (sprinkled with cinnamon), some plain milk (if they can handle dairy), and a hard boiled egg (prepared the night before).
Have you heard yet that my next book, Beyond Sugar Shock, is due out next year? Stay tuned for details.

The Dark Side of Sugar

Learn more about the Sour Side of Sugar in this fascinating article on DailyRx.com from reporter Laurie Stoneham.
FYI, I’m one of the experts quoted in this story, “The Dark Side of Sweet: Sugar is everywhere and it may just be killing you.”
Read this important article on DailyRx now.
Then, tell us: Does this article help inspire you to quit the stuff — or at least reduce your consumption?
If you’re stumped as to how to let go of your sugar habit, join me next Thursday week in a free teleseminar.
Sign up here for the program, Fast-Track Secrets to Release Your Sugar Addiction & Shed Excess Weight.
Now, tell us why do you want to quit your sugar addiction?

146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health: By Dr. Nancy Appleton

Today, I’m reviewing information from my heroine and role model, Dr. Nancy Appleton, author of Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our #1 National Addiction and Lick the Sugar Habit, a powerful book that helped me kick sugar back in 1998.
The reason I’m looking at Nancy’s material is that tonight, she is my guest expert on the Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks Program.
Nancy is an amazing anti-sugar pioneer, who was one of the first to speak out about its dangers. Not only has she written Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our #1 National Addiction and Lick the Sugar Habit, but she created the shocking video, Sweet Suicide, produced by the Price-Pottenger Nutritional Foundation. (See trailer below.)
Nancy has been gathering information for years about how sugar is cutting your life short. Just look at her startling list of 146 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health.
146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health
By Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.
1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (Infectious diseases).
Sweet Suicide moviecover21 6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat, the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and nor epinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar mal-absorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause premature aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
39. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol) in the blood.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs). (Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL).
58. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
60. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease.
61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.
67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.
72. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
73. Sugar can adversely affect school children’s grades and cause learning disorders.
74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves.
75. Sugar can cause depression.
76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
79. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
81. High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity.
82. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin,
and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
83. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.
86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
89. Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
92. Sugar feeds cancer.
93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents.
95. Sugar slows food’s travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
97. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
100. Sugar is an addictive substance.
101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
103. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
104. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.
105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
106. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
111. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer.
113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
115. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
116. In Intensive Care Units, limiting sugar saves lives.
117. Sugar may induce cell death.
118. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.
119. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
120. Sugar can lead to prostate cancer.
121. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
122. Sugar increases the estradiol in young men.
123. Sugar can cause low birth weight babies.
124. Greater consumption of refined sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia.
125. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the blood stream.
126. Sweet food items increase the risk of breast cancer.
127. Sugar is a risk factor in cancer of the small intestine.
128. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.
129. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
130. Sugar may contribute to mild memory loss.
131. As sugar increases in the diet of 10 years olds, there is a linear decrease in the intake of many essential nutrients.
132. Sugar can increase the total amount of food consumed.
133. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in a heightened preference for sucrose relative to water at 6 months and 2 years of age.
134. Sugar causes constipation.
135. Sugar causes varicous veins.
136. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.
137. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.
138. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
139. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.
140. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.
141. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
142. Sugar could affect central reward systems.
143. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
144. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
145. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell carcinoma.
146. Sugar can cause liver tumors.
To buy Sweet Suicide, if you live in the U.S., go here. Canadians can get it here. And the rest of the world can purchase it here.
Let us know what you think of Nancy’s book, Suicide by Sugar, and Nancy’s video, Sweet Suicide.
By the way, you can join the Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction Program anytime. And when you do, the interview with Nancy is one of several exciting guest programs you’ll get.