Sugar
For years they said fat was killing us, making us obese well now it's obvious, it was not the fat it was the sugar. The well known white ingredient that the world produces a staggering 170 million tonnes of each year is a simple carbohydrate formed by carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules and is one of the world's biggest used ingredients.
The side effects and what sugar can do to your body have been ignored massively over the years, now, due to the huge increase of obesity, heart disease and diabetes sugar is now starting to be unveiled as the Sauron (A very bad man) of all ingredients.
Figures show that the average person will be eating a crazy estimate of 25.1kg of sugar every year come 2015, that's the equivalent of 3 tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream every day!
The Science
Sugar is made up of a mixture of fructose and glucose. In order for us humans to work we need glucose as an energy source. The food that we eat daily goes into our bodies and gets separated for different purposes. All foods eventually will convert to glucose dissolving into our bloodstream to which then converts to energy cells.
Fructose how ever is entirely different. It is this part of sugar that we need to cut out. This bad boy goes straight to the liver where it then turns to fat. This possible increase of that fat over time can then lead to the likes of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and many other death related topics, obviously something we would like to avoid.
The Deniers
There are those that will say there isn't any official evidence that sugar is causing all this havoc, just so happens most of these people are business men and women that are making money from sugar. Of course these people care more about they're wallets than your health and aren't exactly going to advertise that they're 'delicious foods' are in fact, killing you slowly. In fact, if you were to take every item of the shelf in a big supermarket that contained sugar you would find only 10% of food products remaining, goes to show how much money is being made via this killer substance.
How Too Be Free Of Fructose
As you can imagine after hearing the 10% fact above, cutting out sugar isn't too easy. This shows the shear scale of the problem. You can almost guarantee sugar being in most processed food, pretty much anything that doesn't come straight from it's natural source has no doubt had sugar added some where through the processing stage. Now your thinking of all the food that you eat that is processed which in most people's cases, is a lot!
Sugar is also very addictive, if you were to not have any sugar for a few days you would start to have cravings and withdrawals, crazy to think that of something that we wouldn't put in the class A drug list. Without you realising it, sugar has become something you rely on, becoming something you're quietly addicted too. Just to prove it, go into your kitchen and study the backs of the products in your cupboards and fridge. Here's a few examples that you may find, dried fruit, fruit juice, soft drinks, most cereal, flavoured yoghurt, milk, tinned soup, jams, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sauces (such as tomato and bbq styles) and the list goes on. You will no doubt be very surprised.
So do your body a favour and cut out the white stuff or at least cut it right down to a minimum. By doing so your body will love you for it in appearance, weight loss and internally. Start by reading more labels so that you are aware of its contents then slowly start to cut it right down to around 20g (around 5 teaspoons). When you do have this sugar, it should come from natural sources such as fruit but remember 20g isn't much. This may take a few weeks, so be patient.
Stevia
You may have heard of this sweetener already, it is in fact a plant source. The leaves of this plant are 1000 times sweeter (hard to believe but true) than sugar and has no fructose in it what so ever. So if you need to add a sweetener to your food or drink, pick this alternative.
I hope this article inspires you to think more about what you are eating and to live a healthier lifestyle for your self and others around you. The benefits of a fit and healthy lifestyle are endless.
If you would like to start a healthy lifestyle and/or need help towards fitness goals or bettering your nutrition then come over to http://www.definitionfitnessonline.co.uk where I can certainly help you with your desired goals.