I don't eat much sugar (besides fruit), but lately, due to Valentines and other celebrations, I've eaten a LOT more than I normally would. Anyway, today I ate one of the chocolates that my husband gave me for Valentines and I immediately noticed a shift in my mood; I got angry for almost no reason, and 20 minutes later I felt extremely depressed. That's when it hit me, it's true when they say that sugar can really have an effect on your attitude.
Tip: If you're prone to feeling down, avoid sugar.
(Other things that might help include: Going to sleep at the same time every night, Getting up at the same time every morning, Incorporating regular exercise, and Making healthier food choices.)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday's Suggestion: Find alternatives to Fructose
The health trends in society come and go. RIght now it's all about something's 'glycemic index' levels. Since fructose has the lowest glycemic index levels, people think that that's how they should sweeten stuff. However, if you're trying to lose weight you might consider the following:
"The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar," says Meira Field, PhD, a research chemist at United States Department of Agriculture, "but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high-fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic."[59] While a few other tissues (e.g., sperm cells[60] and some intestinal cells) do use fructose directly, fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver.[59]
"When fructose reaches the liver," says Dr. William J. Whelan, a biochemist at the University of Miami School of Medicine, "the liver goes bananas and stops everything else to metabolize the fructose." Eating fructose instead of glucose results in lower circulating insulin and leptin levels, and higher ghrelin levels after the meal.[61] Since leptin and insulin decrease appetite and ghrelin increases appetite, some researchers suspect that eating large amounts of fructose increases the likelihood of weight gain.[62]
"Excessive fructose consumption is also believed to contribute to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose
I think it's important that people increase their education. Never stop learning, always question what you hear. I believe that fructose in moderation as it comes naturally as part of fruit is a good thing. However, if you want to bake something sweet, and feel full and satisfied afterward, you might want to consider using something with a higher glycemic index, like old-fashioned corn syrup which contains no fructose.
"The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar," says Meira Field, PhD, a research chemist at United States Department of Agriculture, "but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high-fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic."[59] While a few other tissues (e.g., sperm cells[60] and some intestinal cells) do use fructose directly, fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver.[59]
"When fructose reaches the liver," says Dr. William J. Whelan, a biochemist at the University of Miami School of Medicine, "the liver goes bananas and stops everything else to metabolize the fructose." Eating fructose instead of glucose results in lower circulating insulin and leptin levels, and higher ghrelin levels after the meal.[61] Since leptin and insulin decrease appetite and ghrelin increases appetite, some researchers suspect that eating large amounts of fructose increases the likelihood of weight gain.[62]
"Excessive fructose consumption is also believed to contribute to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose
I think it's important that people increase their education. Never stop learning, always question what you hear. I believe that fructose in moderation as it comes naturally as part of fruit is a good thing. However, if you want to bake something sweet, and feel full and satisfied afterward, you might want to consider using something with a higher glycemic index, like old-fashioned corn syrup which contains no fructose.
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