Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sugar

Yes, sugar. When I found out a few of these facts I was floored. Now don't get me wrong. If you have the choice between sugar & the fake, chemical sweeteners they are using now -- choose sugar! Otherwise there are natural things you can use or even no sweetener at all.

So, here we go.

Did you know:

4 grams of sugar = 1tsp sugar

1 12fl oz can of Pepsi has 41grams of sugar so that is 10tsp! (by the way - 1 serving is 8fl oz but with the guidelines they have they don't have to say 2 servings unless it's a 16fl oz bottle/can)

Gatorade/Powerade both have 14grams of sugar = 3.5 tsp (by the way - this is a bottle that is 32fl oz. If you read the lable servings per bottle - 4 )

Monster Energy Drink: 8 fl oz (this is 2 servings) 27grams of sugar = almost 7 tsp sugar.

These are just a few drinks that I know are somewhat popular. This information is REALLY easy to get. This isn't even getting into the processed foods that have sugar in them.

There are some really good healthy alternatives if you just need that sweetener. Stevia is a natural sweetener. My mother even grows this!! It comes in a liquid or powder form. I have also tried the liquid form with different flavors like Chocolate Raspberry & Orange. These are great in coffee too!!

There is also another one out there called Truvia.

There is one statistic that I found that says "the average American consumes 2-3lbs of sugar each week". It is said that "we have increased sugar comsumption in the U.S from 26lbs to 135lbs of sugar per person per year". Yikes! That is alot. That increase has been in the last 20 years. I also found on another site "the average American 20 teaspoons of added sugar each day. This is not including the sugar naturally found in milk & fruit. This is double the USDA's recommendation that the average person eat no more than 10 teaspoons of added sugar a day".

Ok, I realize this is alot of information. It's information that was really easily found! I'm not a professional. I am not putting down any of these products at all. I am saying we need to be really proactive in reading the labels on the products we are wanting to purchase.

I read a great book called "Body By God" by Dr Ben Lerner that says the closer the food is to the way God created it, the better. Yes, there are natural sugars in the food God has created for us to eat. We just need to remember that our bodies are made so perfectly in His design that we should really be taking good care of them.

Check it out yourself. Don't go just buying things blindly anymore. Look at the labels. Research some of the ingredients that you can't pronounce. Don't feed your family things that you can't even tell them exactly what's in it. You love them right? Don't you want to make sure you are taking care of them and yourself?

Think about it.

Be blessed & healthy!!

Some facts above were found at: http://www.pepsiproductfacts.com/ http://www.gatorade.com/ http://www.powerade.com/ http://www.digitalnatropath.com/ http://www.healingdaily.com/

4 comments:

  1. Nice post Pamela,
    We only use Stevia.. selfom "splenda"..
    I am a diabetic so the whole family eats what I do. I do have a hard time sticking to healthy eating.. My whole family knows when we got off of eating well. We love how we feel when we eat well.. Take care,

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  2. Hey, Pamela! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Yes, traversing the teenage years is a challenge but so worth it. :)

    Yes, sugar is in everything. I was shocked to see it listed in chicken broth I used to buy. Yuck!

    I'm excited to find another Florida mom-blogger and looking forward to coming back here!

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  3. Thank you Susan! My good friend at The Not-So-Perfect Housewife forwarded your blog to me. Thank you for stopping by!!

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  4. Great blog Pam! Hmm, I think you need to consider health counseling! :-)

    What I find is amazing is that the average American eating that much sugar means they are including all of us. If we are not eating it - someone is eating our share too!

    Some 'food for thought'... I had a diabetic client that was drinking lots of skim milk. We determined that he was drinking over 75 grams of sugar per day - without even realizing it!

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to read your comments & hear how you are doing in your health & wellness journey. We are all a work in progress. ~ Imperfectly Pamela