Health - Sugar the not-so-sweet Part 2

Sugar the not-so-sweet

---

Avoid pastry, even home-made pastry for dessert. Have fruit instead.

Reach for plain yogurt instead of flavored yogurt which is sweetened with lots of added sugar and unwanted calories.

Drink sparkling water with few drops of lemon or lime in it, low or fat free milk, 100 % fruit juice or unsweetened tea, instead of Soda.

Add more ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg to sweeten your food instead of processed sugar. Cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood sugars, Sprinkle a couple teaspoons of cinnamon powder on your yogurt, or take it in capsule form.

Regular exercise helps us lose weight and also helps lower our blood sugar within minutes.

A cup of plain decaf coffee (you can add some cream, but no sugar!) seems to lower blood sugar levels.

Special vitamin tablets with chromium helps lower the blood sugar.

One cup of green tea, regular black tea and white tea too helps lower the bood sugar levels.

Reduce stress or find ways of dealing with stress, by practicing relaxation techniques like meditation, breathing exercises and nature walks.

Sleep is a very good stress reliever too.

Normally, when your blood sugar level starts to drop, your liver steps in. It goes to work changing stored carbohydrate into glucose. Then it sends the glucose out into the blood, which helps you avoid or slow down a low blood sugar reaction.

Remember, below 70 and you risk going into insulin shock; above 200, and you are doing significant damage to your organs over time. So aim for a healthy blood sugar range, between 70 and 150.

Choosing Good Carbohydrates Over Bad Carbohydrates

There's no need to avoid all (or even a lot) of carbohydrates. In fact, carbohydrates should supply about half of your daily calories. One gram of carbohydrate, whether it is sugar or starch, contains four calories. One slice of bread has about 12 grams of carbohydrates. One typical chocolate bar may have about 50 grams of carbohydrates. A medium potato has about 35 grams of carbohydrates.

Although all carbohydrates have four calories per gram, some sources of carbohydrates are better for your diet. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains are healthier carbohydrate sources than candy, sodas and pastries. These carbohydrates have large amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. Fiber is especially important because it keeps you feeling full longer.

Foods like candy, sodas, ice creams and pastries termed as the junk foods are referred as foods having empty calories and are poor sources of nutrients. They have lots of calories and have little or no nutritional value. Moreover they usually are low in fiber.

Be aware of what you eat and limit sugar for a sweet life.

References:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

http://www.becominghistorians.org/files/illustrated%20time%20line%20of%20sugar.pdf

http://wakemedvoices.org/2012/04/is-sugar-toxic/

http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionquizzes/a/healthylesson2.htm