A new study shows that SUGAR (not calories or fat) is the main culprit to heart disease and diabetes.
“This study definitively shows that sugar is metabolically harmful not because of its calories or its effects on weight; rather sugar is metabolically harmful because it’s sugar,” said Robin Lustig of the University of California San Francisco, who led the study.
The study was done on 43 obese children. For nine consecutive days they kept their diets the same, keeping all processed foods and junk and only eliminating the added sugars. The results were shocking! Across the board, the kids’ blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels all dropped. On top of that, the kids said they felt a lot more full, as though they were eating more food, even though their daily calories stayed the same.
This is because processed and added sugar is just an additive. It will just make you crave more but it will not give you the satisfaction of feeling full.
Too much processed and added sugar is not something to mess with. A study published in June estimated that eating too much sugar killed 184,000 people a year. Unfortunately, 77% of processed foods contain sugar. That is saying that bagels, breads, and other prepared meals that you may think are very savory are actually sneaking in a ton of sugar.
So How Can You Get Your Kids To Cut Down on Sugar?
The best thing you can do is when you or your kids are having a sugar craving is to grab a piece of fruit because it is naturally sweet. Also, don’t eat a whole cookie just because you want something sugary. That will result in giving yourself 100-200 empty calories. Instead, have a small piece of a cookie or your favorite candy bar, a few mini chocolate chips, or a small scoop of ice cream. It’s all about moderation and your body will begin to crave sugar less.