It seems as though added sugar is in everything these days, from ketchup to salsa to soup. It is everywhere, I suppose, because we have come to expect it to be.

And it is not just the white stuff we need to worry about. “Refined carbohydrates,” such as white bread and white flour products, produce the same reaction in our bodies.

Researchers have linked sugar consumption to everything from cavities to wrinkly skin, as well as wide range of much more serious health problems.

Some research has been cited that says sugar has not been proven to be a direct cause to these health problems and may not even be directly linked to them, but when you consider that added sugar is basically non nutritional calories, the lack of nutrition and obesity can cause health problems in themselves.

Sugar, some researchers say, can lead to the damage of healthy cells, and can lessen the effectiveness of white blood cells, leading to a weakening of the immune system. Too much sugar means lots of empty calories, too, which can lead to obesity. As any parent knows, when you fill up on sugar, you simply are not hungry for nutritious meals. And sugar can make you hyperactive and irritable, too, as it knocks your body out of whack.

When you eat sugar, your blood sugar spikes. So your body secretes insulin, which sends your blood sugar crashing. The result? Irritability and fatigue. Plus, you are hungry again and probably craving another hit of sugar, and so the cycle repeats itself anew.

One of the nicest things you can do for your body (and your mood) is to reduce your intake of added sugars and refined carbohydrates.

What is the Daily Recommended Sugar Intake?

The World Health Organization recommends reducing your intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of your total caloric intake. That means, if you eat 2,000 calories, you should eat less than 12 teaspoons of sugar each day. The US Department of Agriculture also recommends limiting your consumption of added sugar to between 6 and 12 teaspoons of sugar each day, depending on your daily average caloric intake. (Six teaspoons a day for people who eat 1,600 calories; 12 teaspoons if you eat 2,200 calories each day.) Keep in mind that a single 12 ounce soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of sugar.

To find out how much sugar is in some of the items in your cupboards, look for Sugars (measured in grams) on the Nutrition Label. Then divide the number of grams by 4 to get the number of teaspoons. So, 12 grams of sugar is 3 teaspoons of sugar. Sixteen grams of sugar is 4 teaspoons.

How to Break Your Sugar Addiction

So how do you start to reduce your sugar intake? Here are some tips.

Try decreasing your intake of added sugar gradually. It can be difficult to suddenly cut all added sugar and refined carbohydrates. Try taking a week by week approach. One week, add less sugar to your morning coffee. Next week, replace your afternoon soda with bottled water. The following week, replace white bread with a whole grain alternative. Before long, you will find that the foods (and drinks) you used to love now taste sickeningly sweet. And you will likely find it easier to keep your moods on an even keel, too.

Keep notes on your sugar intake in your journal or Daytimer. How does decreasing your sugar levels impact your energy levels? Your mood during the day? Your ability to fall asleep at night? When do sugar cravings hit? It might be helpful to start with a Sugar Fast for a day or two. See how one day without added sugars affects you.

Make easy substitutions. Buy brown rice instead of white rice, for example. Brown rice has a nice, nutty flavor, and takes just a bit longer to cook. The next time you go to the store, experiment with all kinds of whole grain alternatives. You might find some new family favorites.

Keep healthy snacks readily available, and rely on a bit of protein in your snacks to keep your energy levels high. Keep a small bowl of nuts on the table, along with fresh fruits. When you are hungry for a mid afternoon snack, opt for lean protein and complex carbs.

Indulge in moderation. If you are a chocoholic, treat yourself to a square of fine chocolate at the end of a long day. When the chocolate is quality, you will not feel the need to have more and you will be more apt to take your time and savor it. When you do indulge in a sugary snack, keep it small, eat it slowly, and eat a bit of protein, too, to help moderate those blood sugar spikes and dips.

Dilute the fruit juice. If you or kids love fruit juice, try diluting it gradually to the point where you are just adding a splash to the top of water.

Become a sugar detective. You can start by knowing the alternate names for added sugars, often found in ingredients lists. These include any ingredient that ends in the suffix “ose,” including sucrose, dextrose, fructose, lactose, polydextrose, maltose, and galactose. Also, look for the following: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, carob syrup, turbinado sugar, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, cane juice, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, beet sugar, and sorbitol.

Avoid replacing added sugar with artificial sweeteners. Your best bet is to gradually reduce your taste for sweet foods, not to replace them with chemical alternatives. On ingredients lists, look for sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, and neotame.

Avoid the center of the supermarket as much as possible. That is where most of the processed foods are shelved. Instead, shop the perimeter for healthy, raw foods.

If you have young kids, go to the grocery store by yourself. You may be less apt to come home with sugary treats. Plus, you can take more time to examine the labels for hidden sugar. If your kids are grade school age or older, take them along and enlist their help as Sugar Detectives. Give them each a list of hidden sugars and artificial sweeteners and turn it into a game.

Carefully measure how much honey you put in your tea and how much sugar you put in your coffee. Aim to put in a bit less each day or each week until you are drinking it either unsweetened or with just a bit of sugar.

Buy items that are not sweetened, and add sugar only if you find that you need to. This will help you wean off the sugar gradually.

Steer clear of sugars for breakfast. When you start your day with a sugar blast and crash, you may find yourself in a vicious cycle for the remainder of the day. Start your day with healthy lean protein and complex carbs. Try natural whole grain breads and cereals for breakfast, along with a lowfat protein, such as skim milk, cottage cheese, or yogurt.

If you need to lose weight, consider a diet plan that focuses on reducing sugar intake. The Sugar Busters Diet Plan is probably the most well known. The idea of this diet is to reduce your intake of sugar and high starch carbohydrates, focusing instead on lean protein, low starch veggies, and whole grain carbs, in order to lose weight. Many of the low GI diets out there use this method, as well.

Be careful not to make sugar taboo in your household. With children, especially, when you swear off something completely, you run the risk of creating a mystique around the forbidden food. Instead of running a completely sugar free household, make sure your children understand the effects that sugar can have on their bodies and their moods, and then help them understand the beauty of moderation. Encourage them to eat low fat protein and help them develop a taste for healthy whole grain carbs.

Focus on well balanced, nutritious diet, instead of simply swearing off all sugar. Your cravings will slowly and naturally fade once you gain a better understanding of why they are cropping up in the first place.

(This article is for informational purposes only. Please discuss any dietary changes with your doctor.)

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Jamie Jefferson is a frequent contributor to Momscape.com, where you can find diet reviews and special promotional coupons on the most popular weight loss programs.

Americans spend millions of dollars per year on diet programs, weight loss pills and gym memberships, and yet the obesity rate in America dramatically increases from year to year. There are many different reasons why the obesity problem in America continues to get worse and worse, however to put it rather harshly the two main reasonas are laziness and convenience.

It is much harder to follow a diet and see results if you don’t exercise, but people have become so busy with work and driving kids to soccer practice that they leave no time to workout or participate in any kind of daily exercise. People have also become so dependent on their cars that they will drive to work even if they are close enough to walk or ride a bike. This lack of effort to establish some kind of daily exercise routine is one of the leading causes of failed diets and weight loss attempts. Diet and exercise should go hand in hand together. Without one, you are sure to fail.

Americans have become dependent on the diet pill to fix all of their weight loss problems. They feel like as long as they are popping these pills twice a day, it justifies them eating a double whopper for lunch. Weight loss is never easy and thinking it can occur with a quick fix like a diet pill is a sure sign that your diet will fail. There are no “miracle” diet pills. If there were don’t you think that we all would know about it by now? If diet pills really worked Americans would not be the heaviest they’ve ever been.

Diets that severely restrict your caloric intake are also likely to fail. This is because your body needs at the very minimum 1,000 calories per day to survive; even this number is pushing it. When you severely decrease your caloric intake your body begins to shut down in order to preserve energy. This actually makes it harder to burn calories and lose weight. You will also have little energy to perform normal daily tasks. Most people who attempt this type of diet can only maintain it for a few days and then end up binging in order to make up for the lost calories.

Diets that have regimented meal plans are also difficult to follow. These plans mean that the dieter must either buy expensive diet shakes or meals and stock up their fridge with very specific foods. It also cuts out the idea that they will ever be able to eat out. Instead, the dieter will need to eat at home what is planned out for them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Our busy, on-the-go lifestyle makes it very hard to follow this kind of diet plan. It is also difficult to follow because you usually end up craving something that is not a part of this regimented plan.

Convenience and fast food restaurants are the killers of any diet. This weakness normally begins with the kids begging you to stop on the way home from school for a happy meal. You give in and while you’re waiting to order, you look over the menu and decide to order an extra value meal for yourself as well. It’s convenient, on the way home, and it means you don’t have to spend any time in the kitchen. It seems like the perfect solution to a busy day, except for the extra 1,500 calories it packs on. That’s 500 calories more than the minimum amout of calories that you should be consuming for the entire day.

The good news is that you do not need to diet in order to lose weight. Simply forego fast food restaurants, cook at home instead. The second step is to eat what you want, but to use portion control. Instead of cooking a big pot of pasta, cook a small one instead. If you don’t have a big plateful of food in front of you, it will prevent you from eating too much. Try to incorporate a balanced diet into your daily routine. Having a bowl of ice cream once a week will not kill your diet. It is a good idea though to keep the scoop of ice cream minimal, add a bunch of strawberries, blueberries, or other favorite fruit on top, and hold off on the hot fudge.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Scott White is a Online Personal Trainer Fitness Model Hot Fitness Model Fitness Model book Personal Trainer School

Healthy diet is crucial to feeling good, strong and alert. If you have been eating a diet lacking in nutrition, you will certainly be feeling the effects on your overall health – and may even be setting yourself up for more serious diseases.

If you indulge in high calorie diets on a regular basis you will definitely notice the effects of over feeding yourself with empty calories. Weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, etc. will soon start to raise their head and sap your energy putting strain on your system. Change in mental clarity, feeling weak and irritability are all signs you haven’t given your body enough nutritious food to rebuild your cells, clean the toxins out, and fight diseases. If you find that a day goes by and the only thing you’ve had to eat is a bagel and coffee, you will be feeling the physical effects sooner or later.

Your body needs calories for energy. It is vital to obtain the necessary amount of calories every day to maintain your optimum health. Individuals, who do not take in the proper amount of calories because of dieting or, will risk their health and set their metabolism to starving mode, will cause their body to store more energy as fat after you stop dieting.

A diet too high in calories will also put health at risk. Obesity puts a strain on the organs and increases the risk for health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Knowing what a typical serving size of food is can help you determine if you (or a family member) are taking in the appropriate amount of calories. It is important for parents to teach children moderate eating habits to ensure healthy diet for life.

Aside from merely watching caloric intake, it is important that your diet has strong nutritional value. You could eat an entire box of doughnuts to meet your calorie needs without having met your daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, protein, essential fatty acids, fiber, and more. Choosing a diet that lacks nutrition on a regular basis will lead to a lowered resistance to illness, general weakness, and irritability. Other diet deficiencies, such as a lack of calcium, can lead to more serious disorders such as osteoporosis.

While pregnant women, lactating women, the elderly and ill individuals may choose to supplement their diet with food supplements, the average healthy person should get all the nutrition they need from healthy food. This is hard to achieve when the shelves at the store are filled up with fast food. Be an educated consumer; read the food labels and choose high fiber, low calorie, low sugar, and products low in trans fat. Organic produce is usually better and the healthiest choice.

What about the occasional burger? Fast-food in the diet is not so harmful if it is only an occasional treat, but will show its negative effects if consumed as a major part of the diet. Educating yourself and your family on what a healthy diet is will help you and your family to feel great and enjoy good health to old age.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Copyright www.healthdietplan.com, Tarja Anchor; Kajava Therapist, Holistic Health Practitioner. More information about nutrition, healthy diet plan, food supplements, and healthy weight loss at Healthdietplan.com

Many people think that a diet is a hard thing to assemble. What’s right for some is not right for others, but to ensure that you are getting all the nutrition, vitamins and minerals that your body needs, while still keeping your caloric intake to a minimum, following the food pyramid can be a great first step in establishing your diet. In this article, we’ll discuss the layers of the food pyramid and why they are important to your health.

Vegetables – vegetables are an important part of the diet that is often neglected. Vegetables often contain vitamins and minerals that are crucial to the proper functioning of the human body. For that reason, it is recommended that for those on a 1200 calorie per day diet, 3 servings of vegetables should be consumed. For a 1600 calorie diet, 4 servings are recommended, and for a 2000 calorie diet, 5 servings should be consumed. A serving of vegetables consists of roughly one cup of mostly any vegetable, either raw or cooked. A cup of vegetable juice will also fulfill a serving, as will 2 cups of salad greens.

Fruits – fruits are the other entity in a diet that contains most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. For a 1200 calorie diet, take 2 servings of fruits per day. For 1600 calorie diets, have 3 servings, and for a 2000 calorie per day diet, 4 servings of fruit are recommended. A cup of chopped fruit or a cup of fruit juice can fulfill one serving of fruit.

Grains – grains represent the base of the food pyramid and consequently one of the most important parts. Servings are measured in ounces, and 4 ounces are recommended for a 1200 calorie diet. 5 ounces should be consumed by those on a 1600 calorie diet, and 6 should be eaten by those on a 2000 calorie diet. A half cup of cooked rice, pasta or cereal count as an ounce of grain, as well as one slice of bread, a small muffin, and a cup of cereal.

Dairy – dairy is near the top of the pyramid, and is measured in cups. 2 cups fulfill the dietary needs of someone on a 1200 calorie per day budget, and 3 cups are recommended for both 1600 calorie diets and 2000 calorie diets. A cup of milk or yogurt satisfy a cup of dairy, as well as 1.5 ounces of natural cheese or 2 ounces of processed cheese, such as American cheese.

Meats – This part of the food pyramid ensures that the body gets enough protein to fulfill its need for building muscles and various other cells. 3 ounces of meat satisfy a 1200 calorie diet, 5 ounces constitute the proper amount for a 1600 calorie diet, and 6 ounces should be taken in by those on a 2000 calorie per day diet. An ounce of lean beef, chicken, or fish all count for one ounce serving, as well as an egg, ¼ cup of dry beans, a ½ ounce of nuts, or a tablespoon of peanut butter.

Fats/oils – The top of the pyramid, fats and oils should be used as sparingly as possible in your diet. The important thing to consider with fats and oils is to ensure that your total intake of calories from this type of food represents between twenty and thirty-five percent.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Weight Loss, Food, and Aging

We’ve all done it, well at least those of us who have dieted. We have lost weight only to regain the pounds in a matter of weeks or months. Don’t get frustrated and give up, there is hope!

For starters you have to realize that weight loss programs do work if they are followed correctly. It is also necessary to combine exercise along with a balanced diet and adequate water intake regardless of what specific diet plan you have decided to follow. Sorry, all the late night hype commercials that tell you can lose 30 pounds just by taking a pill and laying on the couch are just that, hype! The only way you will lose 30 pounds that easily is by cutting off a leg. The key to a healthy diet plan is to find one that you can follow long term; it has to be a lifestyle change. The short term crash diets are the biggest reason for failure to keep the weight off.

The other big killer in keeping weight off is exercise, as I alluded to above. A long term weight loss plan must include a regular exercise regimen as well or it is doomed to failure. A good exercise program will help you to build lean body mass, help your heart, and increase your metabolism to burn fat. Exercise will help you get your body in great shape and keep it there. If you attempt to diet without exercise it is highly probable that the weight you lose will find you again.

Fad diets like Atkins, South Beach and others will not work long term. They are not healthy and they are difficult to stick to. A healthy diet for the long term will include foods from all of the major food groups as shown in the USDA food pyramid from the government web site or from the Mayo clinic. The key to weight loss isn’t restricting certain foods as much as it is the amount you eat and the caloric intake. It’s pretty simple if you eat 3500 calories less than your body needs you will lose a pound. You just have to find the magic number of calories that your body needs to operate on.

People who are considered obese and are more than fifty ponds over weight very often will go for the low carb diet approach in order to lose weight rapidly. This works for some people in the short term, however as I have stated before the long term success of such weight loss programs is doubtful at best. A combination of exercise and a healthy diet while realizing it is a lifestyle change is the secret to losing the weight for good.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find out more about weight loss at SweatAwayThePounds.com at www.sweatawaythepounds.com

It’s 11:30 AM. You’ve been up since 5 o’clock and the hunger meter is on high. “What to eat?” you think to yourself.

You pore over the menu for the deli downstairs but nothing you can allow yourself looks that good. Sure, you could go out for fast food but there’s a meeting coming up and you don’t really want to move your car and then have to find a new parking spot when you return.

So you decide not to go out. That leaves eating in.

You look at your choices, wishing you’d had the foresight to bring something from home. There’s the vending machine in the break room, filled with plastic-wrapped, rubber-textured sandwiches, bagels, muffins and Danish. Ugh, you keep spinning the carousels, hoping that by some miracle, there will be a vegetable snack plate or something half-way decent. You narrow down your choices to a cup of noodle soup or a chicken breast sandwich.

Now you have another choice: eat something to take the edge off or power through the minutes of temptation until you are sitting in your meeting and eating is out of the question. After an hour of dreary, repetitive discussions, your hunger may have calmed down.

How you handle it each day, depends on your mood. Often, if we can get through that one tempting half hour, we’re set for the afternoon and can easily wait for our well-planned light dinner. On other days, you know in your heart that if you don’t eat something, you won’t be able to concentrate on your work because all you can think about is food while you try to conceal the embarrassment of a gurgling stomach.

On those days, take the chicken sandwich, remove the bun, and microwave the miniscule piece of chicken provided. Then cut it into tiny pieces and eat slowly with a plastic knife and fork. If you can make the pea-sized pieces last for 15 or 20 minutes, you’ll feel like you’ve actually eaten an entire meal and be on your way to a pleasant non-food-focused afternoon on a very limited caloric intake.

If you truly want to control your weight, you can do it anywhere. The key is never to eat until you’ve had a lengthy internal dialog with yourself that forces you into a full awareness of your food intake and then select the lesser of all evils and consume it as slowly as you can manage.

Even trapped in the office with nothing more than a killer vending machine, you can turn bleak choices into a self-esteem building triumph.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Dr. Bola is a psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic, specializing in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. Visit her at: www.DietWithAnAttitude.com/index2.html