My sweet, sweet friend…

If you’re exercising regularly but still eating a diet high in sugar then you’re wasting your time. Fat has had a bad rap for years, but the real enemy to fantastic health and a great physique is the sweet stuff.

Are you struggling to lose the flab around your waist? Annoyed at the lack of muscle definition?

Are you fed up eating tasteless ‘low fat’ foods – while not actually losing much fat?

Do you lack energy and catch every cold, infection, virus that is floating around?

Cutting back on sugar might well be the answer to your problems. Too much refined sugar on a daily basis will play havoc with your body – and prove to be a roadblock in losing fat and achieving optimal health. In fact, it is considered a POISON to the body by some leading medics.

This article will explain how excess sugar converts to fat in the body – and detail why it is linked to the biggest killers today such as cancer and heart disease. It will also explain how sugar weakens the immune system and robs your body of essential vitamins and minerals needed for a strong, healthy body. All of the above of course hampers your efforts to get in great shape.

There are many ways you can drastically cut back on the dodgy sweet stuff in your diet. WTITW will share 10 simple ways to cut out sugar that you can start implementing straight away.

Too Much Sugar Turns To Fat

You will inevitably become fat and put your health at risk if you go overboard with sugar. Simple as that. Before we discover why, here is a quick breakdown of different types of sugar.

• Sucrose – comes mainly from sugar cane or sugar beets.
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – not technically a sugar, it is a liquid sweetener made from corn introduced to our diets in the 1970’s.
• Fructose, maltose and dextrose – comes from fruits and starchy plants.
• Lactose – comes from dairy products.

All sugars consumed in large amounts contribute to obesity and disease, but the first two above are the real problem. Cane plants are stripped of all vitamins and minerals when refined to make common white sugar. In this state, it is considered toxic to the body by medical experts. Meanwhile, HFCS is an industrial food product which is far from natural.

These are both made up of two simple sugars – glucose and fructose. Glucose is vital to life and also comes from starches such as potatoes, however fructose is not. When too much fructose is consumed excess glycogen from the liver returns to the blood – in the form of fatty acids.

Guess where these end up being stored? Your belly, ass, chest, thighs and other most inactive areas of the body.

Now do you see how drinking a bottle of cola every day or eating too much chocolate can all add up and lead to a flabby, out of shape physique?

The Heart Association recommends that most women should be getting no more than six teaspoons (24 grams) of added sugar a day, while for most men the sugar limit is 9 teaspoons (36 grams).

One small bottle of cola contains 12 teaspoons of sugar!

Sugar Is Directly Linked To Killer Diseases

Back in 1957, Dr William Coda Martin classified refined sugar as a poison because it is depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals when processed from sugar cane plants. He said: “What is left consists of pure, refined carbohydrates. The body cannot utilise this refined starch and carbohydrate unless the depleted proteins, vitamins and minerals are present.”

Then in 1972, British physician and endocrinologist John Yudkin wrote the book ‘Pure, White and Deadly’ warning of a health disaster due to the increase in consumption of sugar in our Western diets.

Now in the 21^st century…

• Refined sugar contributes to around 35 million deaths around the world, according to researchers at the University of California. They insist it should be considered as toxic as tobacco and alcohol. ( Full details in this news article ).

• Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and a multitude of other diseases have been strongly linked with over-consumption of refined sugar.

• Childhood obesity is at record levels in the US, UK and in many countries across Europe where processed, junk foods fill most space on supermarket shelves.

• The UK government came under more pressure in October 2005 to introduce a ‘sugar tax’ to tackle worrying health problems. This comes after new stats show that one in five children in the UK are obese by the time they leave primary school. Government nutritionists also recently recommended that sugar consumption is cut in half due to its direct link with obesity and growing evidence of its major contribution to illnesses such as diabetes.

• In the US, the number of people who had diabetes due to chronic blood sugar issues saw an “alarming” rise from 26 million in 2010 to 29 million in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How Too Much Sugar Damages The Body

• Over-consumption of sugar leads to too much insulin being produced. If this continues for long periods it results in obesity and insulin resistance. At this stage there is a serious risk of developing type II diabetes.

• Your body then produces more insulin in a vicious cycle – and this is tied to tumour growth in the body.

• In an insulin resistant, or prediabetic, situation the chances of developing cancer are higher.

• Eating too much sugar also creates inflammation in the body – which is also linked to cancer.

• Sugar also creates an over-acid condition in the body, and more and more vitamins and minerals are used up to restore balance. This stresses the immune system and so much calcium is taken from the teeth and bones that decay and general weakening begins.

Dr Robert Lustig has spent the last 17 years treating childhood obesity and insists sugar is guilty for this epidemic, as well as being the main driver for other major illnesses today such as heart disease and cancer.

His 2012 book ‘Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Obesity and Disease’ has proved to be a top seller and I recommend checking out his 90 minute video on YouTube titled ‘Sugar: The Bitter Truth’, which has had almost six million views! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

The video is a real wake up call for everyone, including the medical establishment, about how our sugar-filled Western diets are making everyone sick.

10 Simple Ways To Cut Out Sugar

The idea of somehow giving up sugar…chocolate…or any sweet foods completely might be rather devastating right now. Take a deep breath – that aint what I’m suggesting you do. Infact most people would go right off track after a short while in the same way many diets fail in the long run.

But you can gradually cut back on refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup by taking a series of easy small steps that will add up to a big improvement in your health.

#1 One lump, not two.

Have one sugar in your tea or coffee instead of two. Then cut back on the number of cups of tea/coffee you have every day…and gradually wean yourself off the sugar.

#2 Super Stevia

Even better, use Stevia in your cuppas or when cooking. It is a 100% natural zero calorie sweetener with numerous health benefits. Studies have shown that Stevia can actually reduce blood pressure and fight type II diabetes.

#3 Go herbal

Try out herbal teas instead of tea, coffee or soda. Herbal teas are awesome, with lots of varieties that are full of flavour and decaffeinated too.

#4 Let the fizzy drinks fizzle out.

If you drink juice/soda throughout the day gradually cut back by swapping some for a cup of water instead. Wean yourself off the fizzy drinks gradually by replacing it with water instead.

#5 Change up your breakfast.

Do you eat cereal for breakfast? Most have high levels of sugar (Up to three teaspoons per small 30g bowl ). So why not swap cereal for porridge or wholegrain toast with scrambled eggs?

#6 Ditch the desserts.

If you have desserts after dinner or chocolate most nights then gradually cut that out one day at a time.

#7 Add spices to your foods.

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom will naturally sweeten your foods and reduce cravings for sugar.

#8 Don’t buy sugary snacks.

The cravings will come and go for chocolate and other sweet foods, but if you don’t have these snacks within easy reach in your house or work office then you will be able to cut down on sugar intake.

#9 Have a piece of fruit instead.

This can help satisfy sugar cravings and the natural sugars fruit contain are healthier than refined sugars.

#10 Read the labels.

Sugar is not always listed as sugar. Look out for names including high fructose corn syrup (remember than one?), dried cane syrup, sucrose and brown rice syrup. These can all be listed as separately on ingredients lists, and if the names are listed close to the top there is probably a considerable amount of sugar in the food.

Will you remember all 10 of these tips? Na, didn’t think so. 

Don’t worry, you can download this free PDF checklist to keep you right.

Print it out and stick it on the fridge, or maybe inside a kitchen cupboard?

Did the sugar message get through? Was all the chat about cancer, heart disease, diabetes and general doom as delightful and uplifting as I intended? Good. Job done.

Let’s be honest, you (probably) won’t drop dead after the next king size Mars bar you eat. But if you want to be healthy and are serious about getting in good shape then cutting out as much sugar as possible is a massive step. Remember, excess sugar turns to fat – and both refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the worst offenders.

Don’t try and go cold turkey on it, especially if you already have a sweet tooth. It won’t last – and you will end up munching like a honey monster in no time. And you don’t have to give up treats forever either. Just follow the 10 steps above and gradually cut back your intake to make life as easy as possible.