SUGAR CHALLENGE!

What is a Sugar Challenge? Well, it will be different for everyone. For some people it will be to cut out sweets and sodas from their diets. For others it will be to start checking labels and cutting back on some of the hidden sugars that may be lurking in foods. For others is will be to go a bit further and try to also cut back on what I like to call "white foods". These are foods that are made from refined flour and act like sugars in our body. Foods such as pretzels, crackers, white pasta and white rice. These foods have a similar effect on our blood sugar as refined sugars and can lead to cravings and difficulty losing weight. Whatever you goal is, today is the day to start. Look in your cabinet and refrigerator and take stock of some of the foods you eat on a regular basis. Is sugar one of the first couple of ingredients on the food label? If so, try to cut back on this food. Your job for this week is to keep a food diary of all the foods you eat and drink each day. Research has shown that this is a great way to stay accountable and also it will serve as a tool to help you identify some of the foods you consume on a regular basis that contain sugar or refined flour. Every couple of days I will include additional information on this subject and before long we will be reaping the benefits of a healthier, low sugar diet - more energy, less mood swings due to stable blood sugar and if necessary weight loss! I will keep you posted on my progress. Just because I am a DIetitian does not mean that I don't like sugar! My goal is to eliminate it as much as possible as I have heart disease, cancer and diabetes in my family!!! I have included a list of things to look for on a food label that indicate sugar.
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
Dehydrated Cane Juice
Dextrin
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Rice Syrup
Saccharose
Sorghum or sorghum syrup
Sucrose
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado Sugar
Xylose