Top 10 high sugar foods to avoid


When you eat food, your body changes the food you eat into sugar and uses the sugar for energy. When you have diabetes, your body is not able to use the sugar for energy. The sugar floats around in your blood. That is why people with diabetes have too much sugar in their blood.

 

Too much sugar in your blood over the years can lead to serious complications, like blindness, amputations, foot problems, and kidney problems! That is why your health care provider is always checking your blood sugar. Regular exercise and eating less fat and less sugar will lower your blood sugar and prevent or delay these bad problems. It can also prevent or delay diabetes in our family or friends. I struggled for years with a fat belly, until I found the  secret.

 

We do not have to consume white, refined sugar to be consuming sugar. Sugar includes glucose, fructose (as in fruit sugar), lactose (as in milk), sucrose (as in table sugar), maltose or malts (as in rice malt and honey), jam (contains concentrated juice, which is high in fruit sugar), maple syrup, corn syrup, palm sugar (traditionally used in macrobiotic cooking), and the very deceiving organic brown sugar, which is not all that different from white sugar. Even alcohol is a sugar. All of these sugars are problematic in many different ways.

 

Here is a list of high sugar foods you need to take control of.

 

White Flour

All the good substances (bran and germ) is removed from flour during processing. Then it is bleached with a deadly chemical called "alloxan", a bleaching agent similar to Clorox. This compound destroys the beta-cells of the pancreas, leading to type 2 diabetes. Finally, some coal-tar-derived (carcinogenic – cancer causing) vitamins are added and sold to the unsuspecting public as “enriched”. White flour makes your blood sugar rise almost as much as refined sugar. Intestinal infections are a direct outcome of white flour consumption. It is hard to chew, puts pressure on the digestive system and is extremely low on fiber. Be wary of things made from  white flour, e.g. bread, cakes, pancakes, pasta, pies etc. If you must eat them, eat them sparingly. Things made of flour has no nutritional value at all, and cause more harm to your body than any good. Combine this with sugar and high heat baking, you have the perfect combination to all kinds of degenerative diseases.

 

Soda/Carbonated Drinks

If you drink soda/carbonated drinks regularly, you would do yourself a great favor to eliminate them from your diet—the sooner the better. A can of soda/carbonated drink contains up to 15 teaspoons of sugar, 150 empty calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine and is loaded with harmful artificial food colors, flavorings and preservatives. All these but with zero nutritional value. Some soda drinks labeled as "diet soda" where dangerous sweeteners like aspartame are added. Numerous health side effects are associated with aspartame ingestion, including brain damage, diabetes, emotional disorders, decreased vision, ringing in the ears, memory loss, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and many more.

 

 

French Fries and Doughnuts

French fries and doughnuts are deep-fried starches. Before they’re even fried, they’re simple sugars. Then they’re fried, only compounding their dwindling nutritional value. One French fry is worse for your health than... one cigarette, so you may want to consider this before you order your next ‘Biggie’ order. An average doughnut contains about 200-300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few other nutrients.

 

Nearly all commercially fried foods are:

  • high in trans fat (potatoes cooked at high temperatures in vegetable oils)

  • high in free radicals harmful to the body

  • high in acrylamide (up to 82 mcg per serving), a potent cancer-causing chemical formed as a result of unknown chemical reactions during high-temperature frying or baking.

 

 

Energy and Meal Replacement Bars

In this fast paced world, energy and meal replacement bars might seem like an easy way to pack in some important vitamins and minerals while giving a little lift. Sure, they have more nutritional value than a candy bar, but most also have just as many calories and just as much sugar as those same candy bars. The high sugar content causes a sugar rush and then crash, leaving you unsatisfied and hungry for more. Carry a piece of fruit with you for moments when you need a pick-me-up.


 

 

High Sugar Cereals

Many common breakfast cereals are packed with simple sugars that might start your day with a jolt but lead to trouble down the line. An example would be one popular choice that has 13 grams of sugar per serving while only providing 1 g of dietary fiber and 2 grams of protein. These cereals end up being empty calories. These cereals are—candy bars with milk on top. Instead, try heartier choices like oatmeal or whole grain cereals topped with fruit.

 

 

Cookies and Candy

They are basically empty calories, full of sugar while providing little benefit, but most of them contain those awful trans fats. Once in a while, will not make a great difference but, if you’re eating them with any regularity, you would be better served by healthier munchies like dried fruits and nuts to snack on. The sugar content may range from 37-66.6 grams per 100 grams of cookies or candies. 

 

Ice Cream & Desserts

Many commercial ice creams today are simply chemical concoctions presented in appealing packaging designed to sell a product that is not fit for human consumption. Everything from hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and dry milk solids are used to produce something called ice cream. One ice cream bar contains approximately 17 tsp of sugar.

 

 

Jell-O

You probably remember the slogan, "There's always room for J-E-L-L-O." Depending upon your dietary needs and restrictions, though, there may or may not be room in your diet for this sweet treat. Most varieties of regular JELL-O gelatin contain 19 grams of carbohydrates, all of which come from sugar.

 

 

Fruits vs. Fruit juice:

The sugar in fruit is known as fructose. Fructose is slowly broken down in the body and does not cause the same wild fluctuations in blood sugar levels as table sugar (also known as sucrose) does. Some fruits are higher in sugar than others, and the easy and obvious way to tell is by taste--the sweeter the fruit, the higher the sugar. Some fruits that are high in sugar are dates, bananas, figs, persimmons, grapes and mangos. Lower sugar fruits include cranberries, grapefruit, lemons, passion-fruit and strawberries. The sugar content in dried fruit or in fruit juice is much higher than in whole, fresh fruit. When a fruit is dried, the water is taken out, leaving the sugar in a highly concentrated little parcel, and when fruit is juiced the fiber is removed. The water and fiber content in whole, fresh fruit helps contribute to a "full" feeling. Eating fresh, whole fruit is a perfect, natural way to limit your sugar intake. After all, how many oranges can you eat in one sitting?

 

 

White Sugar

Studies have indicated that, today's women consume much more sugar than their grandparents did 50 or 60 years ago. This added sugar is mostly in the form of refined, white sugar. It is high in calories and almost devoid of nutrients. It's not just white sugar that needs to be consumed in moderation; brown sugar, powdered sugar, honey, and syrup are all sources of refined sugar. Eating too much sugar is part of an addictive cycle. When you eat sugar, it's quickly digested and burned, and it causes peaks and valleys in your energy level that leaves you craving more.

 

Note that excess sugar is harmful to human health! Unfortunately, many people are actually addicted to sugar, and this includes grains, which are rapidly broken down into sugar in your body.

 

In order to free yourself of the physical addiction, avoid overeating of all sugar and grains is necessary.

 

To learn more about Sugar content of popular foods, click here.

 


 

Dated 25 March 2009


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