Coz Being Ageless Is Priceless

Posts tagged ‘white sugar’

Treat or Tricked?

Two cousins, the boy dressed in military camou...

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That’s right! It’s treat or tricked, not trick or treat! Now that Halloween is done and over with, let’s discuss the implications of the so-called Halloween treats. The treats that most people give away to kids during this holiday of sorts are not really a treat. Treats are supposed to be beneficial for the recipient. This is usually not the case when it comes to trick or treating though because the treats are harmful for the recipient long term. They’re mostly white sugar or refined carbs. Empty calories, that is. Sugar is addictive, even though it’s legal (or should I say, sugar is legal, even though it’s addictive). We don’t think about it in this terms but sugar in general could cause more problems than all other drugs combined. Consider how diabetes is now one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in most ages. What used to be an illness found in adults could now be seen in children. Thanks to the abundance of sugary products. And that’s not all, it’s found in products that are supposed to be sugar free under the guise of different names. It takes a more educated or more informed population to decipher the list of ingredients of most food stuff nowadays. I would say that the further refined a food is, the more harmful it is. The closer it is to nature, the more beneficial it is. Go natural!

Let Them Eat Cake….

A chocolate cake decorated with icing, strawbe...

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Not! Is it my sweet tooth talking or what? Anyway, do you know how many tablespoons of sugar there are in 1 slice of cake? It may surprise you like it surprised me back then. You’re talking about 8-16 tablespoons of sugar per slice. That’s a lot! But we never, ever think about it esp. when we’re enjoying that temporary high. However, people tend to get those sugar blues (feeling low/depressed) once their blood sugar goes down (due to insulin spikes). One of my mentors always stated that sugar is poison (white, refined sugar that’s devoid of nutrients) and it’s true indeed. We’re seeing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, not just here in the US but around the world as we see more cultures adopting the Western diet. Do you know that there are so-called fat farms in Japan where obese kids are sent to help them lose weight. A good resource on how diet affects our over-all health is a book called “The China Study.” This excellent book should be on everyone’s book shelves or e-book library (for those techies out there). Anyway, for those who can’t do away with their desserts, they may try raw desserts like the ones I have at Cafe Gratitude. They have a “raw cookbook” available for sale and you’ll be amazed at how creative you can get with preparing a plant-based meal. It’s actually tasty too. Now, you don’t have to just have a boring plate of salad!