Where Sugar Lurks & Avoiding Sweet Chemical Soup Part 3

What can you eat then?

In our home we like to substitute with honey & stevia.

Some people also like to use agave nectar & pure maple syrup.

These natural sugars ( as well as fruit ) are considered the "good sugars".

Here's the low down on these:

• Honey is sweeter than sugar, meaning you can use less of it to get a sweet taste. Honey also contains vitamins & minerals, and may even help with digestion! Honey is also less processed and is natural.
• Stevia appears to have no effect on blood glucose levels. It is also heat stable. It is natural. It has 0 calories. There are still studies being done on stevia, however it has been used for a long time in Japan and Brazil.
• Agave is derived from a plant in Mexico. Some agave is highly processed and other agave is not, it is best to go with agave that has little processing. There is still ongoing research on agave. 
• Maple Syrup is a good source of Manganese. It can also be a good support to the heart and the immune system. Must be 100% pure maple syrup though.

Whatever you use, whether it be honey or stevia, or any of the other natural sweeteners...it is important to know that even though "good sugar", they are still a form of sugar, and are best used in moderation.

As for white sugar, brown sugar, HFCS, and chemical sugar substitutes, I would like to see these eliminated from your diet. 

It can be hard, but there are alternatives to the sugar laden products.

A conversion chart for sugar & stevia.

Eventually after removing bad sugars from your life, you will slowly stop craving them. It takes time, but our bodies have been conditioned over the years to crave the unhealthy sugars.

Here are some great products that don't contain bad sugar:

• Organic Cucina Antica Low Fat Italiano dressing (GF): sweetened with honey!
• Frank's Red Hot Sauce Original : No sweeteners
• Krema Natural Smooth & Creamy peanut butter: The only ingredient is peanuts!
• Del Grosso Hot Salsa Chunky Style (GF): No sweeteners!
• Dei Fratelli  Petite Diced Tomatoes (GF): All natural and no sweeteners! Be sure to read labels though because a couple of their products do contain sugar.
• OrganicVille Pomegranate Organic Vinaigrette (GF) : sweetened with agave! 
• Pacific Natural Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (GF): no sweeteners! Do read labels however because I did see sugar in some of their other broths.
• Organicville Organic Ketchup (GF/VEGAN): sweetened with agave.

Just say NO to sugar.

Want to know more about sugar? Please read the sites below. These are some of the sites I used as resources for the entire series.

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Resources:
http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/how-sugar-affects-your-body.aspx
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073
http://www.everydiet.org/1001/sugar-and-artificial-sugar-facts
http://www.theironyou.com/2012/01/stevia-good-or-bad.html
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=115
http://bodyecology.com/articles/25_reasons_to_avoid_sugar.php
http://www.alive.com/articles/view/16577/good_sugars_bad_sugars
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/stevia.aspx
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-effects-of-sugar?page=3
http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/honeyhistory.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/023085_sugar_fat_fats.html
http://rippedfitlife.com/content/6-foods-hidden-sugar
http://dailyrightsweet.blogspot.com/
..and more. I did a lot of reading!

If you would like to watch a video about sugar & why it's bad, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM (Sugar: The Bitter Truth)

( it's 1 hr 37 min long)

Disclaimer here.

Where Sugar Lurks & Avoiding Sweet Chemical Soup Part 2

In my last post I mentioned many places where refined sugar lurks.

I also mentioned that it is usually replaced by chemical artificial sweeteners.

So why is refined sugar bad for you?

Here's what constant sugar intake can do to the human body:

• Lowers good cholesterol & raises triglycerides
• Can lead to heart disease
• Can cause obesity
• Can lead to diabetes
• It can suppress the immune system leaving you more susceptible to a host of diseases

I am talking about sugar made from sugar cane. I am not talking about natural sugars aka. "good sugars" from honey, maple syrup, or fruit.

It's not just white sugar that's bad though.

Brown sugar & molasses are no different. Molasses is basically "leftovers" from the processing of white sugar, and brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added back in.

Why are chemical sweeteners bad for you?

• They are chemical, not natural
• They are suspected to possibly cause cancer
• Aspartame contains methanol and can be metbolized by your body into formaldehyde
• can cause headaches/migraines
• may affect thyroid function

None of these sound good. 
It is also possible that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain because they can cause the body to crave more food.

 Maybe this is making you re-think the diet cola you may have drank this morning?

So what can you eat?

What can you do?

Read more in part 3.

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

~Resources can be found in Part 3

~Disclaimer here.

Where Sugar Lurks & Avoiding Sweet Chemical Soup Part 1

Sugar.

It's everywhere.

Hubby and I switched to natural and organic foods a long time ago. We used honey and stevia to sweeten our homemade desserts and didn't buy the sugary ones in the store.

We were doing well, or so we thought. 

Then we watched Hungry for Change, and it made us think. What about all of our other food? Is there sugar there?

We had avoided HFCS in all of our foods. We refused to touch High Fructose Corn Syrup. However, we never thought to check the labels for sugar.

Guess what....?

Recently we went through our cabinets & started pulling things off the shelves. Re-reading the labels. As a label reader, I couldn't believe I had some how overlooked this!

We found sugar in all of these items:

• Salad dressing ( yep, even italian!)
• Worchestershire sauce
• Steak sauce
• Dijon Mustard
• Pizza sauce
• and other items.

We were shocked.

On our next shopping trip we decided to find alternative brands without sugar. Believe it or not, we could not find a worchestershire or steak sauce without sugar. Not one. Not even the natural organic kinds. There was nothing.

We had stopped buying BBQ sauce a while ago due to the fact we couldn't find one without junk in it.

This is sad.

Other places where sugar lurked as we browsed the grocery shelves:

• Tortilla chips
• BBQ sauce
• Ketchup ( even the organic & natural varieties)
• canned diced tomatoes
• canned corn
• yogurts

I always knew that there was sugar in a lot of foods. HFCS I knew lurked in many places (we discovered that when we eliminated it from our diet). Hubby and I didn't eat sweets for the simple reason of avoiding sugar, but we found refined white sugar in nearly everything as we walked through the store.

There are the obvious places where sugar lurks:

• Ice cream
• Cakes
• Cookies
• Pie
• Brownies
• Fudge
• Breads
• Cupcakes
• Streusel
• Soda
• Juice boxes
• Sweet tea

But it doesn't end there.

Sugar is bad for you. 
But so are artificial sweeteners.

Some of the artificial sweeteners are:

• Aspartame
• Acesulfame potassium 
• Neotame
• Saccharin
• Sucralose
• ...and others

You may see these as Equal, Splenda, Sweet N Low, NutraSweet, etc. 

These are no good either.
It seems that the items touting "sugar free" labels, contained chemicals.
Great......{sarcasm}

I don't want to consume those either. 

More on why I don't like artificial sweeteners & why to avoid sugar in Part 2

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

~Resources can be found in Part 3.

~Disclaimer here.

The Better Chip {Sponsored Review}

If you are looking for a healthy alternative to potato chips, then I have found the perfect snack!

 It's great for all kinds of families for a couple of reasons!

1. They are healthier than regular chips!

2. They are tasty too!

Fresh Corn & Sea Salt, Jalapeno & Sea Salt, Red Pepper & Salsa Fresca, Sweet Onion & Cheddar

The Better Chip sent me 4 flavors to try! 

Since I cannot eat dairy, Hubby reviewed the Sweet Onion & White Cheddar flavor.

All the chips & the t-shirt & bag they sent me!

Normally in our household we are snacking on almonds, carrots, raisins....those sort of things. But occasionally we do like to change up our snacks.

These chips fit right in with our healthy lifestyle!

Here is some more info & our reviews of each flavor:

1. Fresh Corn & Sea Salt: 

(From their website)

"Made with 40% fresh corn so the flavor is inside

All Natural

Gluten Free

Non-GMO "

Ingredients: CORN MASA FLOUR, WHOLE CORN, SUNFLOWER AND/OR CORN OIL, SEA SALT.

Our Thoughts:

Hubby and I loved these chips! They have a super fresh and crisp flavor. A little salty too. They have a great crunch, and are wonderful for dipping in salsa or hummus! This is a chip that could go with pretty much anything! We definitely are fans of this flavor.

2. Jalapeno & Sea Salt:

(From their website)

"Made with 40% fresh jalapeno so the flavor is inside

All Natural

Gluten Free

Non-GMO "

Ingredients: CORN MASA FLOUR, SUNFLOWER AND/OR CORN OIL, JALAPENO PEPPERS, ONIONS, SEA SALT.

Our Thoughts: 

We thought that this chip also had an amazing crunch. Also great for dipping! Has a spicy kick to it that builds with each chip that you eat, although if you don't normally eat spicy, it is a good time to try it! We love spicy and this was a great chip for us! 

3. Red Pepper & Salsa Fresca:

(From their website)

"Made with 40% fresh red pepper so the flavor is inside

All Natural

Gluten Free

Non-GMO "

Ingredients: CORN MASA FLOUR, SUNFLOWER AND/OR CORN OIL, RED BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, SEASONING ( TOMATO POWDER, SALT, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, SUGAR, SPICES, GREEN BELL PEPPER POWDER, CHILI PEPPER, YEAST EXTRACT, DEHYDRATED PARSLEY, CHIPOTLE PEPPER POWDER, CITRIC ACID, OIL OF LIME, SPICE (EXTRACTIVE).

Our Thoughts: 

This is a great chip to eat by itself. It has a flavor that really leaves a great impression and makes you want to buy them again. These are Hubby's and my absolute favorite! If you can only try one chip, try the Red Pepper flavor! It is a chip that would also be great with salsa! It's not spicy, but it has a wonderful pop of flavor! 

4. Sweet Onion & White Cheddar:

(From their website)

"Made with 40% fresh onion so the flavor is inside

All Natural

Gluten Free

Non-GMO "

Ingredients: CORN MASA FLOUR, ONIONS, SUNFLOWER AND/OR CORN OIL, SEASONING (WHEY, SALT, NATURAL FLAVORS WITH PASTEURIZED MILK, CULTURES, ENZYMES), SUGAR, CHEDDAR CHEESE (MILK, SALT, CHEESE CULTURES, ENZYMES), AUTOLYZED YEAST, CREAM, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, NONFAT MILK, TAPIOCA MALTODEXTRIN.

CONTAINS: MILK

Hubby's Thoughts:

It has a definite cheese flavor. If you like onions and cheddar this is definitely for you. Not necessarily a dipping chip though, seems best eaten on its own. The flavor is good & strong, but not overpowering. Delicious.

All of the flavors of chips really taste like what they look like on the package. You see the picture and the name, you taste them... and they taste like what you expect! All the flavor for only 130 calories! That's a good thing! 

We really enjoyed taste testing the chips and want to say THANK YOU to The Better Chip for letting us try them! 

The Better Chip is currently sold in 13 US states, so be sure to look for them next time you are at the store! 

Try The Better Chip!!

Check out their website for more information! 

thebetterchip.com

*The ingredients listed were off of the back of the package, please check out thebetterchip.com for more nutritional information.

**I recieved no monetary compensation for this post, all opinions are true and my own, I recieved 2 small bags of each flavor, a t-shirt, and a carry bag for review. Thank you The Better Chip!

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Disclaimer here.