It’s not what you think. Well it is, but it is so much more.
Let’s play a little game. When I ‘say’ a word, say the first word that comes into your head:
- SUGAR
- GUT
- FAT
- DOPAMINE
Great! I have no idea what you said, but I’m sure you did great.
So, let’s talk about sugar for a minute. I can sit here telling you refined, processed sugar like plain white sugar, brown sugar and all the rest is bad for you. But you are smart. You already know that. You probably heard that sugar goes by many sneaky names to make you think that you are not really eating sugar. Here are the big players:
- blackstrap molasses
- brown rice syrup
- cane sugar
- cane juice
- carob syrup
- corn syrup
- maltodextrin
- dextrose
- glucose
- fructose
- dextrin
- glucomalt
- palm sugar
- rice syrup
- xylose
- saccharose
-And those are just a few.
Basically when you ingest these products your body gets really excited and sets off a dopamine 
reaction. You can almost hear your brain saying “Ahhhhh, so good”. Soon enough your pancreas produces insulin to fight that sugar rush. Excess sugar and excess insulin is ultimately excess fat. That’s right. That excess in your body helps create extra fat deposits that are really, really hard to get rid of. It doesn’t matter if the candy of your choice states that there is no fat on the nutrition label. It might not be actual fat on the way in, but it definitely becomes fat once it’s in. This is of course assuming you are not exercising 4-hours a day, like some people we know. Take a look at these fat free or low fat products and tell me they won’t make you fat!
- Regular Coca-Cola, 39g sugar “NO FAT – negligible amount”
- 35 Jelly Belly’s, 24g sugar and “NO FAT”
- TWIZZLERS Strawberry Twists, 19g sugar per serving “o.5g fat”
- Yoplait light very vanilla yogurt, 10g sugar “NO FAT”
- Stoneyfield YoKids Squeezers, 8g sugar “1g fat” (yogurt tube)
And, people, the buck doesn’t stop there. Now your body is creating extra fat and your head is saying “Go on, have a bit more” or “Find if for me now, I don’t care what kind, just do it!” We have all heard those little voices in our heads before. This is because our body wants the dopamine reaction again, and again and again. Creating an addiction, much like the addiction to narcotics or illegal drugs.
What about natural sugar? Well, we are doing better. Natural can mean that the food you are eating is less processed, more like it’s natural state and less likely to have added chemicals. BUT, that is not always the case. And we should still be honest with ourselves. Sugar is sugar. So even the natural ones will create the fat effect and even natural sugar will create the addiction. I am not saying drop it all together. Trust me, I have been off sugar for a week and it’s not fun. What I’m saying is choose your quality and quantity very carefully. Do this for yourself and your family. You will be a lot better off in the long run.
Please post one sugar product you are willing to cut down on or drop completely for a chance for a “shout out” on The Plant Trainers Podcast.
~ Plant Trainers
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