Declare
War on Sugar

By now, most of you know that we eat and drink way too much sugar. The
high sugar levels that we eat  cause obesity, diabetes, dental
cavities,  and other health issues.  Sugar is the enemy!

These
high sugar levels are found in our juices, sodas, snacks, sauces like
barbecue; make your own long list.  There
are so many ways to eat sugar, that most of us cannot stop. And, that’s
because food manufacturers and marketers understand that our brains go
crazy over sugar.  Some of us cannot control our desire to drink and eat
sugared foods.

There are many
problems with sugar:

• Sugar has no nutrients for our
  bodies.

• Sugar is processed very quickly by our bodies,
  causing us to feel hungry very soon.

• Our brains love
  sugar. When we eat sugar our brains rewards us by releasing “dopamine”  a
  chemical that makes us feel very good.  This leads to a sugar high
  followed by a sugar low. This causes us to eat more sugar and calories.

• Sugar
  contains 4 calories per gram. That may not sound like much but, the
  drive, thanks to advertising and marketing we eat and drink more sugared
  foods quickly adding up the calories that helps to cause obesity.

• Sugar
  sweetened sodas drunk by the average American has grown by roughly 500%
  from 1950 to the present.  These Americans add around 500 calories per
  week from sugared drinks.

• Sugar is so cheap, it can be
  used as a flavor-filler at low cost.  To make matters worse, the
  American government gives the corn-industry subsidies that keep the
  sweetener cheap.

• Sugar lobbyists have pushed the
  government for decades to allow Stevia, a natural low calorie sweetener
  from being sold in the U.S.

While many of us are enjoying the
low cost of sugar, there is a long term price we will pay in the near
future – Obesity, diabetes and a life-changing set of diabetes
complications.

Sugar War
Strategy Tactics
We must declare war on sugar to reduce the
amount of non-nutritional calories we eat.  This war is serious – this
is life and death struggle.  Our survival and the health of our children
is at stake.   According to the CDC:

• 2007:  71,382 people
  died from diabetes complications.  

• In 2005, many
  diabetics suffered amputation (underestimated by the CDC):

• Toes
  amputated- 2,300

• Below the knee amputation  –
  1,200

• Foot amputated – 700

• Above
  the knee amputation – 600

• We have to develop a
  new relationship with sugared foods.  Sugared foods can no longer turn
  us into mindless zombies who eat sugar without control.

Many
State and City government are planning to charge 1 to 2 cents per ounce
of sugared drink. This equals to $0.68 for a 2 liter bottle of soda.
This money can pay for medical bills for the people who eat  too much
sugar. The government can help the cause by cutting sugar, and corn
subsidies which keep the price of sugar and corn syrup artificially
low.  Higher sugar prices will cause manufactures to use less and people
to eat less sugar.
More of us, and especially diabetics have to
reduce sugar in our diet by:

• Eat foods with less sugar in them. 
  Read the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods. There is a lot of info
  on carbs, sugar, and dietary fiber.

• Substituting sugar
  with natural low calorie sweeteners  like Stevia brands like, Purevia©,
  Truvia©, and many sugar alcohols.

• Substituting  sugar
  with artificial low calorie sweeteners like Splenda©, Equal©, and Sweet
  ‘N Low© (although I would not use Equal© or Sweet ‘N Low©.)

Sugar War Tactics
Fight a war
against sugar that will last a lifetime. We must identify  friend and
foe to insure we win. To win this war we need to always be aware of
which foods contain high sugar levels.  We must view some companies as
the enemy.  These are the companies that add extra sugar to our foods.
They are not focused on our good health. They are focused on selling
more sugar for profit; More calories,
body fat, and diabetes for us and more sales, and profit for them.

Be Healthy:  Eat Well and Exercise More!