Death by Sugar

We’ve been reducing our sugar intake and using alternative sweeteners because we read this interesting book about healthy living and it changed the way we view food, mainly sugar and starch. Don’t get me wrong, we live for sweets, but are simply concerned about the amount of sugar we consume because it is known to increase inflammation in the body, and as anyone who is up on the medical literature knows, inflammation is your worst enemy, right up there with bad hair and smelly breath.

We are vehemently against artificial sweeteners, and for that matter, artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, though we end up eating them now and then because it’s hard to eat junk food that isn’t filled with that garbage, and we are occasional junk food eaters.

Anyway, we’ve been experimenting with all natural, organic sweeteners that have a low-glycemic index. They exist, though they are hard to come by and expensive, but can you really put a price on your good health?

I’ll tell you one thing, since we’ve been eating these sugars, I’ve become increasingly sensitive to sugar, and when pork-out on sweets, like I did this Christmas, I really feel the effects, and not in a good way. My problem stems from the fact that I cannot moderate. I can’t eat just one cookie, I need to have at least a half dozen, and then I regret it because the sugar crash makes me miserable.

I don’t crash, or at least not as hard, using low-glycemic sugar, and I think my body has adjusted accordingly. Now, when I eat sugar, my body lets me have it, and I end up going into some sort of glycemic shock. I used to feel that way when I was in NYC and ate waffles for breakfast. I would use half the bottle of syrup, which wasn’t real and was probably chock full of high-fructose corn syrup. Man did I feel horrible afterward, but never really understood why, until now.

Keep in mind, it isn’t easy watching your sugar intake, especially with young children, but it is worth noting that you cannot put a price on good health, even though in our culture, we completely take it (as well as our families) for granted.

Okay, enough of my pontification. Thanks for reading.