Sugar is Not So Sweet to Your Body

All this week we will be posting blogs about sugar.   To be more precise we will be talking about the need to cut back our consumption of sugar. I can’t stress the importance of this enough.  As a nation we are fatter than we have ever been. Heart disease is the leading cause of death. Type 2 diabetes is running rapidly through our ranks, not only the adults but in children as well.  Obesity is not only linked to heart disease and type two diabetes but several other life threatening conditions.  On our 2 ½ year quest to eat healthier we found some astonishing facts about how much sugar plays a role in weight gain and over all poor health.   Since sugar is in everything that we love to eat, it makes it very hard to cut back on your intake.  Some diets have you cutting back by controlling your portion sizes.  Have you every seen the healthy portion size of ice cream or chocolate chip cookies? I mean, come on, who can eat that small amount and be satisfied?  To truly understand why it is necessary to cut back your sugar intake you need to understand what sugar does to your body. Not just, “Oh it makes me fat,” or, “It gives me a belly.”  You have to begin to look at sugar in a different way.  I hope this blog helps.

The body is an amazing machine. It uses a few different sources for energy. Some take longer to break down than others.  Fruit for example has glucose (sugar) in it.  It also contains carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  When you eat a piece of fruit, the body uses the sugar and the carbohydrates as energy.  Since sugar, carbs, vitamins, minerals, and fiber are all wrapped up together, your body cannot use it as quickly as it could, let’s say, a soda. Your stomach needs time to digest all of these things. Your stomach contracts and mixes everything up. Your body slowly absorbs the vitamins and minerals. The fiber helps flush out anything left. This process provides the body with sustained energy.  Sustained energy helps you feel full longer.  When you eat healthier foods, their sustained energy won’t give you that 2pm daily crash.

Sugar provides the body with quick energy.  When you processed or refined sugars (which we will talk about later in the week) you body starts breaking down that sugar even before it gets to you stomach. For example when you drink a soda (which is basically liquid sugar) the second it hits your tongue the digestive enzymes in your saliva start to break down the sugar and turns it into blood sugar.  When the blood sugar gets to the stomach it mixes with acidic digestive juices.  The stomach does its job and contracts mixing everything up which turns the blood sugar into a liquidy paste like substance.  This paste is easily absorbed by the body and causes elevated blood sugar levels. Your body sends a message to the brain that it has energy and you feel awake, alive, and ready to tackle the rest of the day.  But that high doesn’t last.  Remember: sugar is quick energy.  It is absorbed quickly and used just as fast, bringing your body crashing down, leaving you tired and craving something, anything to give you more energy

 That is what happens to the sugar that can be processed by the body.  The sugar that cannot be processed is stored as fat.  The belly is one of the body’s favorite places to store excess sugar.  I commonly refer to it as the sugar sack.

The sugar sack can be visible evidence of high blood sugar but it is the non-visible affects that are dangerous.  Elevated blood sugar levels will make you feel tired, weak, and thirsty.  It can also lead to dehydration. These are just the short term effects. The long term effects can lead to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and the list goes on and on.

Since we love our sugar so much it is very popular with food companies.  They have found ways to sneak it into just about everything.  They have chemically modified it to make it cheaper and make their food and drinks tastier.  Remember in the first article we talked about your body building up a tolerance for it?  Well the more you get, the more you want.  This could be why portion controls are just too hard to implement.

You will not be able to cut out all sugars from your diet.  Sugar is in all natural fruits and vegetables.  It is the refined sugars like the ones we find in processed foods and canned or bottled drinks that are so dangerous to our health. Those are the ones that we as people who care about our health and safety need to remove from our diets. How do you know if you are eating processed or modified sugars? Check in on our next blog to find out!

Written by Joann Agoglia

Edited by Rob Marshall

Is Sugar Addictive?

Addiction is defined through three stages: craving, tolerance, and withdrawal.  In a recent study rats were exposed to sugar and cocaine, and then given a choice between the two. Can you guess what they picked every time? They picked the sugar.  They preferred the sweet taste over the high of cocaine.

Despite this evidence, it seems doctors are split on whether or not it is actually addictive through definition. The experts do agree that sugar causes cravings and can build up tolerances, but the doctors that are opposed to sugar being addictive say so because the body does not show physical signs of withdrawal. While this evidence is still a source of debate, let’s focus on what they all agree on.

Both sides agree on sugar tolerance.  This means that your body gets used to sugar, and it will become less responsive to it after repeated use.  They also agree on the cravings. As your body becomes less responsive to the sweet taste and the satisfied feeling, the desire for sugar gets stronger. And this is where we like to say the cycle begins.

Sugar is not all bad. It is a source of energy, and in the natural world it is paired up with important vitamins.  When our blood sugar is at a healthy level it properly fuels our metabolism.  The problem is that our biology is geared towards using sugar as an energy source because it is a simple compound and is easily usable.  It is this trait that may make sugar cravings hard to control.

Food and drink companies have found a lot of ways to take advantage of these cravings through constant advertisement on television, radio, internet, grocery and local convenient stores, and just about anywhere else you look.

Misinformation is their weapon of choice. The best defense is to be armed with the facts. All this week we will post blogs about sugar like what it is, where it hides, how it’s been modified, how it effects the body and the body’s reaction, and it’s correlation to type 2 diabetes. If you think you know sugar, think again.

Happy reading!

Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall

Do you know your GMOs? What you are eating can be making you sick.

What is a GMO?

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered using genetic engineering techniques to bring about a desired effect. These effects may include resistance to certain chemical treatments like pesticides and herbicides. Other effects include the “terminator” gene which prevents plants grown from a terminator seed from producing more seeds.

Any GMO that exists today is a living organism, but did you know that these organisms have been patented? Corporations that develop different variations of pre-existing, natural organisms have been allowed to call them their intellectual property since the 1980s. They own life. So when you buy certain varieties of corn or soy or other GMO, you are buying a corporation’s patented product. If you tried to use seeds left by these products, the corporation would have full rights to sue. In fact, for many farmers this is a real problem that forces them in to impossible situations against multi-national corporations.

Let’s explore the benefits of GMO. GMOs have allowed farmers to mass produce crops in ways they have never known before. Corn yields in the past 70 years have quadrupled from 40 bushels an acre to 160. This means more food at cheaper prices for Americans and possibly the world. Another benefit is GMO implantation in to farm animals which yields higher milk production. GMOs have created longer shelf lives for our fruits and vegetables. This also pushes the price down for our food. Also, some GMOs are already allowing nutrients from one plant to be inserted in to another.

Now let’s explore the detrimental effects of GMOs. Now that GMOs have made crops so cheap, American farmers have to be subsidized for their corn, soy, etc. in order to make a living. It takes more money to grow these crops than a farmer can make selling them. The overplanting has caused soil erosion. Herbicide and pesticide use has polluted waterways and sometimes makes it to our plates. And the excess crops are often used to make other harmful products (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?). GMOs in farm animals have brought about concern for human health as people have begun to consume more GMO and hormone (rBGH also know as rBST) treated meat and milk. Do not forget the effect it has on the animal itself: swollen utters, sickness, malnutrition. And as corporations began to pursue adding one plant’s DNA in to another they started to see more allergic reactions and antibiotic resistances.

Let’s cover some of the products that are included in the GMO category.

Tobacco Rice Soy Sugar Cane Squash

Tomatoes Corn Canola Potatoes … and more!

You can add meat to this list, as well. 9% of the world’s supply of beef comes from the grazing system. This means they eat a natural diet from fields. The other 91% consists of Integrated Livestock-Crop Farming Systems (the cows eat leftover crop residue) and Industrial Production. Industrial production usually includes hormone treatment and a grain diet. Cows are force fed cheap grains produced from GMO farms. Cows are not supposed to eat grains. Not only does this harm the cow, but now the cow is eating GMOs which becomes part of the cow. When that meat hits the market, humans begin consuming GMO fed meat.

So how does one avoid GMOs? Look for GMO labeled products, and always try to put in a little extra leg work to find out who is using GMOs in your food. Eat locally grown food and buy organic. And perhaps the best advice of all is to grow your own. You would be surprised at how easy it can be.

Written by Robert Marshall
Edited by Joann Agoglia

Five Important Facts You Need to Know About that Summer Tan

  The sun's rays not only cause skin cancer but also promote premature ageing in the skin.  A couple of months ago I went to my local drug store to buy sunblock.  My partner and I planned a hiking trip through the Virginias so naturally I wanted to make sure I had my sunblock.   I was very suprised to find that spf #'s went as high as 100 even 110.  I grabbed waterproof and sweatproof spf 70 and was on my way.

SPF stand for sun protection factor.  If you are like most people you will start to burn after 15 min in the sun without protection.  The spf number tells you how long you can be out in the sun without getting burned.  The formula for your protection time is the spf number multiplied by 15. For example the spf on my sunblock was 70, so 70 x 15 = 1050 min. So theoretically that means I could apply that sunblock and stay out in the sun for 17+ hours.  That sounded too good to be true.  I've done some digging around and found a few facts about sunblock you need to know.

But before we get to those facts, let's cover an old one. If you don't use sunblock you should know that the American Cancer Society is saying that the rays from the sun are definitely carcinogenic to humans and are as harmful as cigarettes and asbestos. And something for the indoor tanners out there: if you think tanning salons are the way to go you, you should pay particular attention to number 5 below.

Here are 5 facts you need to know about protecting yourself:

1. No matter what the spf number, all sunblocks should be reapplied after 2 hours regardless of how much you put on.

2. Make sure your sunblock says  "full spectrum".  This means it protects you from uvA and uvB rays.  Both have been linked to skin cancer, the most common type of cancer. Many sunblocks only protect from uva.

3. Waterproof doesn't mean you can go swimming and still be protected after you come out of the water.  Waterproof really means water-resistant.  If you get sprayed by a water gun (not drenched) or sweat a little your sunblock won't come off.  If you are submerged in water for any length of time you will need to reapply your sunblock.

4. Check the expiration dates.  You can't keep sunblock from one year to the other and neither should the stores.  Sunblock is only good for one year so unfortunately you can't wait for the end of the summer sales to stock up.

5. All types of uv rays are harmful.  Even the uvA used in tanning beds..  The younger you are the higher the risk of skin cancer from indoor tanning.  These rays also cause premature ageing

If you really crave that sunkissed look try spray tans and lotions.  They have really improved over the years and most of all they won't damage your skin. Remember to take all consequences in to account when you make a decision to tan, and get regular check ups for melanoma.

Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall

An Easy Way to Be More Active and Save Some Gas, Everyday

We all do it.  Comb the parking lot until we find the closest parking space. Getting a front row parking space is like winning a game of musical chairs, but what is the prize?  Sure if it is raining you don't get soaking wet, but do we really need that prime spot everyday?  We think nothing about spending a hour walking around the store or mall. Why not walk a little farther to your car?
 
    Roaming the parking lot is a waste of time and gas.  The traffic is worse the closer you get and people are everywhere.  It is much easier to park in those spaces that are always open.  This is a great idea if you are going out to eat because a walk after dinner is good for the digestion. If you go to a strip mall and have to go to several stores, park in a central location and walk to each store instead of moving the car around the parking lot.

   So leave those close parking spaces for the elderly and those who really need to park close (yes even at the Wawa).  If you have two working legs put them to work, save gas and enjoy the nice weather.

Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall

Wheat Bread vs White Bread, the greener healthier choice

Sorry all you white bread lovers, but wheat wins by a big margin.  Wheat and white start out the same.  Both begin with flour that is made from wheat berries.  Wheat berry has three very nutritous parts: the bran(the outer shell), the germ  (the inner shell), and the endosperm (the starchy part in between the two).  Wheat bread uses all three which makes whole wheat much higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals.   White bread only uses the endosperm.  The flour is stripped of the bran and germ through a process called milling. This is done to give the bread a longer shelf life and make it easier for companies to ship anywhere while making it less suceptable to bugs. Bugs don't like it because of the lack of nutrients. They simply cannot sustain life from it.  Then the flour is bleached with postassuim bromate or chlorine dioxide gas to give it the white color, and make it look fresh when it arrives at a destination no matter how long ago it was baked.  Refining the flour (milling and bleaching) is not done to make the bread healthier, and it is a waste of engery. In fact this greatly reduces the bread's nutrtional value. The process only benefits the needs of the company.

Switching to to whole wheat bread can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.  The fiber in whole wheat aids in digestion. It will also help you lose or maintain weight because fiber helps you feel full.

Don't be fooled by labels that say multi gran or nutrient enriched.  The flour still goes go through refining and then only a small amount of its nutrition is added back. By law a company only has to add back 5 of the 30 vitamins and minerals lost during refining.  You would have to eat more than 6 slices of  multi grain/nutrient enriched vs 1 slice of wheat bread to make up for all the nutrients lost.

Remember to always read the labels!



Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall

A Healthier You and the World Around You

On our quest to live healthier lives we found that our choices lead us to living greener lives.  The food choices that we made to eat healthier started us on a path of discovering just how our food was produced.  What we found about the production of our food lead us to ask how, why and what happens as a result of the production.  We found that it was almost impossible to live healthier without living greener.  Making the healthier choice and the greener choice is usually the same thing.  We want to share with you what we have learned over the past 3 years.  We think you will find it interesting and educational.  We invite you to share any healthier/greener tips you may have and welcome any questions you have about this lifestyle.  Look for our daily blogs.

Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall