Who doesn't enjoy a nice cold drink once in a while? What do you reach for to quench your thirst? In this house it's typically milk or water and after what I read today I am glad those are our choices.I'm sure that most of you have never heard of the book Fighting Invisible Tigers; Stress Management for Teens by Earl Hipp[I had never heard of it until it was mailed to me for a class I am taking]. I'm sure I will post about it more because even though its geared towards teen [bigger font and pictures] it is full of great information on stress that anyone can benefit from.
Once upon a time, humans got almost all of their calories from what nature put into food. That changed with the advent of cheap sugar, and then cheaper high-fructose corn syrup. Sugar is in lots of food we eat, sometimes in foods we don't even think about [Ketchup, Tomato Sauce, Cereals, Pasta, Mac and Cheese, Flour Tortillas...how many of you are about to check you nutrition labels?]. Sugar is also hidden by different names including glucose, sucrose, fructose and corn syrup.Our bodies absorb sugar fast and we get a sugar high. Why? Well our pancreas is surprised but all the sugar we just ate so it secretes insulin to absorb the extra sugar, but if it releases too much insulin it can make our blood sugar drop too low [most call it crashing]. So when you start to crash what do you do? You get a snack but if you just grab a candy bar or chips you are starting the processes all over again, like a roller coaster up and down, up and down.
- The average American consumes 225 POUNDS of sugar every year
- 1 can of pop [soda] contains the equivalent of half a sandwich baggie of sugar
- Americans consume 50 MILLION GALLONS of pop [soda] every year
- Drinking sugary drinks has been linked to tooth decay, obesity, diabetes, bone disease and heart disease
- Soft drinks are actively marketed to children and teens, they are key consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages.
As a mother of 2 I want to give my kiddos a balanced diet, am I perfect? Heck no we each have a big sweet tooth, but at least I know that not letting them have pop [soda] is a step in the right direction. I for one am going to be better about reading labels while in the store.
For more information about sugary drinks and their effects you can check out this study from Harvard
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