In this blog series we are discussing five important tips that will help you with your weight management. In my previous blogs I talked about getting more sleep, drinking more water, and eating balanced, nutritious meals (not dieting!). So, what’s next?
4. REDUCE YOUR DAILY INTAKE OF PROCESSED SUGAR
Added sugar (also know as sucrose) is at the core of the rising incidence of metabolic syndrome (which is as you likely know a constellation of elevated blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol, blood pressure, inflammation, triglycerides and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).
Sucrose is a highly processed substance made of sugar or beet cane. The chemical make up of sucrose is actually 50% glucose and 50% fructose. The problem is that sucrose can be disguised by dozens of names on a food label.
Your assignment: Try to recognize and then eliminate one source of sucrose from your diet for 1 week, then pick another source next week, and the next and the next. Just one step at a time you can make progress.
*A FEW NOTES ON FRUCTOSE & HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP:
Fructose can not be utilized by the body as fuel and must be metabolized by the liver and this process causes a massive inflammatory cascade that disrupts a variety of metabolic processes in the body. Fructose when not in fruit (which has fiber to reduce its absorption) is not well tolerated by the body at all and should be avoided.
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is added to almost every processed food on the planet gets its name from its chemical make-up. Instead of a having a 50/50 ratio of fructose/glucose like regular table sugar (sucrose), HFCS can have a ratio as high as 80% fructose and 20% glucose, thus the name high fructose. This ratio of fructose and glucose makes HFCS much sweeter, more addictive, and can cause damage to the liver more quickly than regular cane sugar.
52 HIDDEN NAMES FOR SUGAR
Basic Simple Sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides):
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Galactose
- Glucose
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Sucrose
Liquid or Syrup Sugars:
- Agave Nectar/Syrup
- Barley malt
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brown rice syrup
- Buttered sugar/buttercream
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Corn syrup
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Golden syrup
- High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Rice syrup
- Refiner’s syrup
- Sorghum syrup
- Treacle
Solid or Granulated Sugars:
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Castor sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar (aka, powdered sugar)
- Corn syrup solids
- Crystalline fructose
- Date sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Diastatic malt
- Ethyl maltol
- Florida crystals
- Golden sugar
- Glucose syrup solids
- Grape sugar
- Icing sugar
- Maltodextrin
- Muscovado sugar
- Panela sugar
- Raw sugar
- Sugar (granulated or table)
- Sucanat
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
*Note: If you spot any of these names listed on a label, keep in mind it’s not automatically a no-go. It’s the amount of sugar that counts! If the total carbohydrate count is 1–2 grams, it’s still fine to have even if you are following a low-carb lifestyle.
Have you read the other blogs in this series?
For even more information, tips, tricks, and weight loss hacks, download my e-book now for free!
