Sugar, where does it hide?

So many of us think if a label doesn't say "sugar" there must not be any in the food. Did you know sugar has many names and it can hide anywhere? As we work out and make changes in our lives, we realize our bodies just can't take sugar anymore like it used to. Things we eat all of a sudden make us sick or we feel sluggish. We look back at the label, read through it, and ask how can that be? It doesn't say "sugar". As sugar comes in all different forms it can be labeled in many ways. After doing some research, and with the help of my hubby, we found several names in which sugar can and is listed on your products. Below are sugars which hide out in our foods. Be watchful next time you put something in your cart.

In alphabetical order: Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Brown Sugar, Buttered Syrup, Cane Juice Carmel, Carob Syrup, Castor Sugar, Corn Syrup, Date Sugar, Dextran, Dextrose, Diatase, Diastic Malt, Ethyl Maltol, Fructose, Fruit Juice and Concentrate, Glucose and solids, Golden Sugar and syrup, Grape Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Invert Sugar, Lactose, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Mannitol, Molasses, Raw Sugar, Refiner's Syrup, Sorbitol, Sorghum Syrup , Sucrose, good 'ol Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, and Yellow Sugar.

Are you shocked? I know that list is hard to swallow, seriously. What are you going to do? Print this out and carry it with you every time you go to the store? No, just remember what Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser says and I have quoted often: "If it doesn't have a mother or came from the earth, don't eat it."

As always, I highly recommend honey for your source of sugar in coffee, recipes, on your toast or cereal. It's natural. Try and find it from a local farmer as the bees will pollinate with the same pollens you breath everyday, helping to fight off allergies and asthma. Hmmm....funny how that makes sense.

One more thing I want to tackle today is High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS. I found this on Wikipedia and it's the best explanation I could find. Please, Please, Please, make this a New Years Resolution as well, to stay away from HFCS. (By the way, my TV was shut off today for the start of my new TV free life. Football is done and Biggest Loser will be recorded via iTunes and that's that. More time to get healthy.)

HFCS taken from Wikipedia:
"A study in mice suggests that fructose increases obesity. Large quantities of fructose stimulate the liver to produce triglycerides, promotes glycation of proteins and induces insulin resistance. According to one study, the average American consumes nearly 70 pounds of HFCS per annum, marking HFCS as a major contributor to the rising rates of obesity in the last generation. The Corn Refiners Association has launched an aggressive advertising campaign to counter these criticisms, claiming that high fructose corn syrup "is natural" and "has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar". A 2007 study fed rats a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept them relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans.The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, suggesting that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and Type 2 Diabetes."

Who wants something that will suppress the sensation of fullness? That will just make you crave more HFCS. Of course the food industry would just love that. More from your wallet.

I hope this helps you make better choices when it comes to your sugar intake. Get as much natural sugar as you can from fruit, honey, and other God given items. If you have to eat sugar, use the real raw natural kind. No fakes.

Blessings, Taylor.