To Be or Not To Be – Sugar Free

sugar_bestforallusesThat’s a good question. And one that no one can afford to ignore; with all the choices on offer: sugars—white, raw, dark brown, or golden; substitutes, as in corn syrup; sweeteners—far too many to mention. We’re pummeled on every front by the differing food mills who are armed with their legions of scientific experts who will happily supply misinformation to keep their employment safe.

And why? Because we, as consumers, don’t really go for bitter or bland. We cater to the demands of our taste buds and olfactory center, which like to have a grand variety of flavours exotic and appealing. Sugar tops the list as the ingredient to be added to anything from tea and coffee to most everything else worthy of our efforts to chew and swallow.

The other day I was speaking with a friend who was determined to lose a bunch of weight in 6 months—and how? Abstaining from wheat and sugar. Yep, she’s gonna lose a bucket load of weight and may even acquire a body to die for. Am I tempted to follow down that road of denial in order to obtain my own goal?

Not on your life. Well, perhaps I could avoid wheat products, but not sugar.

And why? I like to drink. And I like chocolate.

sugared_donutsI was talking with an acquaintance who told me that in Alcoholics Anonymous, the food of choice at their meetings was trays heaped with donuts. Myself, I don’t go in for those things, because of the consequential elevation of heart rate coupled with nausea is pretty off-putting. (Lord knows I’ve tried.) But they told me that the rationale behind such offerings was that alcohol contained a great deal of sugar, so when you give that up, you need sugar in other forms—in other words, if you’re an alcoholic you may be addicted to sugar.

After reading about High Fructose Corn Syrup this week, I’ll be much more selective in my consumption of chocolate, in that I won’t consume anything chocolate that contains such stuff. Are there any consequences about ingesting chocolate to my heart’s content?

sugar_cornsyrupI think that most of us are aware of the restraining orders that have been placed on sugars of all kinds in our diets. You wanna drink? Only one per day. Chocolate—or anything containing sugar? Only in alarming moderation. We know that we need to stop giving in to every indulgence, stop living for the moment, stop thinking that we’re entitled to just one more sip, swallow or bite.

I have to keep before me the goals of not just losing a bit more poundage, but think about my overwrought liver. Stop taking for granted that lovely low cholesterol and blood pressure level. Remind myself what happens when important people and things are taken for granted. And if I’m gonna have to keep on living, then focus on a high quality of life and the ability to be productive, energetic, intelligent, loving, unselfish, thoughtful and lively. Can’t do all that if I’m blotto-ed out on sugar, in all its nefarious forms. Moderation is a good, healthy goal.

[Img.Src: Sugar, Donuts, Corn Poster]

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