Diet Bites

Sugar Myths, Sugar Addiction, Sugar Reducing Tips for Dieters

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How to Pull a Sweet Tooth Painlessly

If sugar is your Diet Vice, try this original out-of-the-diet-box tip from Diet Bites. Yes, you really can have your cake and eat it too - at least you can with this savvy diet tip.

Sugar tends to be one of the hot-spots when it comes to weight gain and it's mighty high on the Diet Totem Pole when it comes to encouraging dieters to toss in the towel. Many an innocent looking chocolate chip cookie has been the demise of an otherwise successful weight loss plan. So if sugar tends to make you quiver with delight, try the following rather than reaching for that sugary food while nudging your diet out of your healthy life:

We really meant it when we said that you can have your cake and eat it too. Here's how. Let's say that our sugary bit of temptation is a cookie. BEFORE eating the cookie, eat one of the following instead:

2 plums, 1 small apple, 1 small orange, 1/2 grapefruit, 1 cup of strawberries - or any type of berries, 1 small banana, 1 small pear, 3 apricots, 4 prunes, 4 dates, 1/2 cup of raisins (dark or golden), 1 cup of your favorite melon, 1 small nectarine, 1 large kiwi, 1 cup of pineapple, 1 tangerine, 1 cup of grapes, 1 cup of fresh cherries, 1 small guava, 6 kumquats, 1/2 mango, 1/2 small papaya, OR 1 large peach.

If you are still hungry for the cookie - then have at it. Keep working with different fruits until you determine which variety works best in satisfying your sugar fix. The goal is to satisfy your hunger with foods containing natural sweetness.

Even if you reach for the cookie, you may eat only half - or a bite. Most of the fruits listed above contain about 50 to 75 calories per serving. Depending upon the brand, the homemade recipe OR the cookie's size, a chocolate chip cookie can contain 130 calories upward. We've spied some monster-type chocolate chip cookies that contained almost 800 calories per cookie. Another aspect is: Who is going to stop after eating just one cookie?

In short, if you opt for a cup of 45-calorie strawberries and the chocolate chip cookie that you're eyeing contains 130 calories, you'll save almost 2/3's worth of calorie damage and a peck of fat grams.

Health Note: Sugar enters the system with a blast and doesn't take long for the body to process. What may follow is a feeling of slight tiredness and mental fog as blood sugar levels crash. Because protein takes longer to be broken down by the body, it's a good idea to consume a protein-based food along with a processed-sugar food (or shortly afterwards), such as a stick of jerky which is naturally low in calories. This assists the body in keeping blood sugar levels more stable.

Why is Sugar Addictive?

There are many theories circulating the Diet Village on the reason why sugar is so addictive. We too have a theory.

- Because the body requires energy, it is naturally drawn to foods that contain high levels of energy - such as sugar calories. In the era of the cavemen, a bush full of berries was like hitting the jackpot.

- Natural sources of sugar as the cavemen enjoyed are easily managed but processed sugar is another issue in itself. Processed sugar consumption is like salt consumption. Our palates become adjusted to a particular level of sweetness - or saltiness. Sugar tastes good - as does salt and both add flavor to foods. So as with all good things, MORE is best, right? Not always. The downside is that when we up our level of sweetness or saltiness our palates readjust and the foods we doctor with sugar and salt taste no more sweeter or saltier than they did before we upped the amounts.

By using our sugar-reducing tip above, the palate slowly adjusts to levels of less-sweetness. Once weaned from a sugar-loaded diet, an individual often discovers that the chocolate eclair is no longer appealing. They'd rather enjoy a natural source of sweetness instead.

Sugar Myths

Sugar Rots Teeth - It's not the sugar that rots the teeth rather the bacteria that feed on the sugar which generate acids that in turn rot the teeth. Damage can be offset by brushing.

Sugar Causes Excitability - Because foods containing processed foods tend to be the star at celebrations (particularly kid celebrations) sugar is often blamed for causing excitability. Numerous studies indicate otherwise, placing excitement on the event rather than sugar consumption.

Sugar Triggers Diabetes - Although sugar does not cause diabetes, sugar consumption can affect and exasperate symptoms in individuals who have diabetes or in those who may not be aware they have diabetes. Keep in mind that diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas fails to produce necessary levels of the hormone insulin to support the body's needs.

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