Eating Less Sugar During the Holidays: Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept It
I need to lose 15 pounds or more.
This is a challenging goal at any time of year, but it is especially challenging during the holidays.
All of the organizations I belong to have holiday luncheons or dinners.
Yesterday I received an invitation to a dessert party and accepted.
You understand my dilemma if you are trying to eat less sugar.
Though I am avoiding sugar, it still creeps into my diet.
Fat-free yogurt contains sugar.
Plain rolls and whole grain bread contain sugar.
Salad dressing often contains sugar as well.
Sometimes I think sugar is out to get me.
Kathleen Zellman writes about sugar in her MedicineNet website article, "Those Sweet Extra Calories.
" She focuses on high-fructose corn syrup, used widely by food manufacturers to sweeten carbonated drinks, cookies, cakes, and dinner rolls.
According to Zellman, high-fructose corn syrup is cheaper than sugar and saves manufacturers money.
"It has become their sweetener of choice, especially in sweetened beverages," she writes.
But weight gain isn't due to a single ingredient, Zellman continues.
Sugar and sweeteners are a problem because they provide "little more than calories and can displace other foods that contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that fight disease.
" Mayo Clinic, in a website article titled, "Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with These Nutrition Guidelines," says processed sugars are basically extra calories.
Food manufacturers add sugar and extra fat to products and this combination is known as SoFAS.
In another article, "Artificial Sweeteners: Understanding These and Other Sugar Substitutes, " Mayo details a category of sweeteners called sugar alcohols, used in chocolate, candy, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and fruit spreads.
Sugar alcohols are often combined with artificial sweeteners, according to Mayo, and should be listed on the food label.
"While artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may help with weight management, they aren't a magic bullet and should be used only in moderation," Mayo Clinic explains.
How can we eat less sugar during the holidays.
These are the steps I am taking and they may help you with your nutrition mission.
* Eat something sweet, such as an apple, before you attend a luncheon, dinner, or dessert party.
* Avoid carbonated drinks that contain sugar.
* If you imbibe, limit your drinks because alcohol contains sugar.
* Eat plain cereal and sweeten it with raisins, dried apples, or apricots.
* Always have fresh fruit on hand.
* Keep prepared snacks (baby carrots, celery sticks, green pepper sticks, grapes) on hand.
* Choose fresh fruit for dessert.
* Buy plain yogurt and sweeten it with fresh fruit or sugar-free jam.
* Avoid sweetened juices.
* Pass on candy all together or eat one piece only.
* Choose one sweet indulgence before you sit down to eat.
* Make plain water your beverage of choice.
Do these tips work? My clothes are already an inch too big at the waist, thanks to walking and following these tips.
I am reveling in my success.
Like me, you may wish to eat less sugar during the holidays and the rest of the year.
The choice is yours.
Copyright 2011 by Harriet Hodgson
This is a challenging goal at any time of year, but it is especially challenging during the holidays.
All of the organizations I belong to have holiday luncheons or dinners.
Yesterday I received an invitation to a dessert party and accepted.
You understand my dilemma if you are trying to eat less sugar.
Though I am avoiding sugar, it still creeps into my diet.
Fat-free yogurt contains sugar.
Plain rolls and whole grain bread contain sugar.
Salad dressing often contains sugar as well.
Sometimes I think sugar is out to get me.
Kathleen Zellman writes about sugar in her MedicineNet website article, "Those Sweet Extra Calories.
" She focuses on high-fructose corn syrup, used widely by food manufacturers to sweeten carbonated drinks, cookies, cakes, and dinner rolls.
According to Zellman, high-fructose corn syrup is cheaper than sugar and saves manufacturers money.
"It has become their sweetener of choice, especially in sweetened beverages," she writes.
But weight gain isn't due to a single ingredient, Zellman continues.
Sugar and sweeteners are a problem because they provide "little more than calories and can displace other foods that contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that fight disease.
" Mayo Clinic, in a website article titled, "Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with These Nutrition Guidelines," says processed sugars are basically extra calories.
Food manufacturers add sugar and extra fat to products and this combination is known as SoFAS.
In another article, "Artificial Sweeteners: Understanding These and Other Sugar Substitutes, " Mayo details a category of sweeteners called sugar alcohols, used in chocolate, candy, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and fruit spreads.
Sugar alcohols are often combined with artificial sweeteners, according to Mayo, and should be listed on the food label.
"While artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may help with weight management, they aren't a magic bullet and should be used only in moderation," Mayo Clinic explains.
How can we eat less sugar during the holidays.
These are the steps I am taking and they may help you with your nutrition mission.
* Eat something sweet, such as an apple, before you attend a luncheon, dinner, or dessert party.
* Avoid carbonated drinks that contain sugar.
* If you imbibe, limit your drinks because alcohol contains sugar.
* Eat plain cereal and sweeten it with raisins, dried apples, or apricots.
* Always have fresh fruit on hand.
* Keep prepared snacks (baby carrots, celery sticks, green pepper sticks, grapes) on hand.
* Choose fresh fruit for dessert.
* Buy plain yogurt and sweeten it with fresh fruit or sugar-free jam.
* Avoid sweetened juices.
* Pass on candy all together or eat one piece only.
* Choose one sweet indulgence before you sit down to eat.
* Make plain water your beverage of choice.
Do these tips work? My clothes are already an inch too big at the waist, thanks to walking and following these tips.
I am reveling in my success.
Like me, you may wish to eat less sugar during the holidays and the rest of the year.
The choice is yours.
Copyright 2011 by Harriet Hodgson
Source...