8 Reasons to Cut Back on Sugar

Americans eat an average of 22 teaspoons of sugar a day – which is a SHOCKING amount.

A few years ago, we cut out soda completely -we never bought it that much anyways but we drank it if we went out for a bite to eat.. David would run into Circle K to get a 20 oz Coke when he filled up with gas.  

Funny thing is, a few years later, I haven’t seen him with a soda in ages. Literally ages. 

No matter how cheap or free, it’s not worth the space in my cabinets.

It was relatively easy to adjust, we just stopped cold turkey – and we drink water, lots of water. Even the kids drink water.  

Sometimes family scoffs at our choice.

From that packaged pasta to salad dressing, there is sugar in almost everything you throw in your cart in the store.  It’s a dangerous thing when you throw stuff in your cart without any thought as to what you are REALLY putting in your body.  I used to do it. I had NO idea.

Until a good friend of mine gave me a wakeup a few years ago.  I cut out soda after baby 2, then slowly started cutting out everything else – including kids cereal which is the WORST stuff to buy.  What child can’t swallow an entire box in a day? No kid can.

Some of the WORST foods to eat that are high in sugar are:

• Canned soup
• Yogurt with fruit on the bottom
• Tomato Sauce
• Bread
• Granola Bars
• Sweet Tea
• Canned Soda
• Juices
• Candy
• Condiments like Mustard & Ketchup
• Baby Food, Baby Formula & Infant Baby Snacks (think Gerber)

If SUGAR is one of the TOP 3 ingredients on the label, toss it back to the shelf. 

But does sugar really do you any harm? I didn’t really think so myself – until about 11 months ago I had an abscess in my gums from a tooth that recently had a Root Canal less than 2 years earlier (that tells you I ate a lot of sugar..)  It came out of nowhere.. and I was in a panic because I had no idea what it was from.

My dentist said I needed a second Root Canal – I refused.   Obviously I’m not a traditionalist so I used my own route and 2 weeks later my abscess was gone – that same week I gave up drinking Sweet Tea (which was incredibly hard for me, because I LOVED going to Sonic).

I haven’t turned back. And my abscess has not returned.  (Obviously you won’t hear any dentist or doctor tell you that my route was a better route to take, but I did my own research and am happy with the choice I made.)

The answer is yes — Sugar can have a pretty profound effect on your health.

Here are 8 Reasons to eliminate sugar from your diet.

It can raise blood pressure.  Added dietary sugars can raise blood pressure – high blood pressure makes your heart and arteries work harder, leading to heart problems, stroke, kidney damage & more. Source

Sugar contributes to bad cholesterol... which in turn will clog up your arteries and blood vessels.  That in turn can lead to heart disease. Source

Increased sugar intake increases your risk for heart attack – one of the biggest contributors to high sugar intake is soda.  Source

Increased sugar can lead to depression.  Your brain needs glucose and insulin to operate – when sugar enters your body, insulin allows it to enter your cells. But when you eat sugar laden items after sugar laden items (sugary kids cereals, ice cream treats, granola bars, etc.) Source

Sugar in excess is not good for your skin. Too much added sugar attaches to proteins in your bloodstream to form advanced glycation – it forms AGEs proteins (which is the perfect name as it really does make you age!)  AGEs affect your collagen and elastin – the damage leads to wrinkles and saggy skin. That’s why you really can say: you are what you eat. Source

Excess sugar triggers hormonal fluctuations which can lead to acne and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

Excess sugar contributes to dental decay & cavities. I can attest to this, too.. with the number of root canals I have had in the past (since, I have treated on my own).  Sugar breeds bacteria which thrives in your teeth – even on those that have been taken care of by a root canal and crown, sugar can still breed (an abscess is common for those teeth that have been previously taken are of..) Source

Increased sugar increases your risk of Cancer.  Unfortunately mainstream medicine promotes that links between types of risks of cancer are insignificant – though when you consider that so much of our food in this country is subsidized (processed food), that our cancer rates are so much higher than other countries and that most people would reach for what is convenient without a second thought, you may realize that this all plays a part. Sugar creates an acidic environment, one in which cancer can thrive.  Source

You’ll save money – not only on junky food, but trips to the dentist, and doctor. It is incredibly difficult to resist the urge to buy cheap food (especially if it’s FREE).  If you can put blinders on, you will feel BETTER, have more energy and have glowing skin that you may not have had before. You will see noticeable difference in your oral health, too.

Is this a goal for yourself this year? If it is, that’s great. If it isn’t, work on getting better. It might not be popular to skip out the fun sale at the store on cheap cereal, but chances are it’s loaded with sugar anyways.

Give up Soda and work on changing your habits. Stop buying kids cereal for your children and find something that they can eat in the morning that satisfies them a little better and still makes them happy (of course, they won’t be happy at first..)

Do your own research and take responsibility for your own health – because if you don’t, nobody else will.