Friday, May 21, 2010

sugar is evil!


Sugar is a controlled item in Malaysia. Come festivals and celebrations, sugar becomes scarce as it's one of the main ingredients in most festive food that is high on the list of everyone... from bakers, restaurateurs to housewives. Sometimes, the demand is so high that we are limited to only 2 packets (@1 kg) of sugar, not that everyone actually follows that rule.

The following articles are excerpts taken from the net...

Do you know that processed sugar is not necessary at all in anyone's daily diet. It should be avoided. Our body gets enough carbohydrates from ordinary foods and converts raw carbs to sugars as needed. Grains, fruits, and other carbs provide enough(sometimes too much) sugars as is. Dried fruits such as raisins are especially full of sugars. To add even more processed sugar is harmful.

Sugars found naturally in fruits, vegetables and milk are not a problem. Added sugars can be found in soft drinks, candy, jams, jellies, syrups, ketchup, mayonnaise and table sugar we add to coffee and cereal.

Guidelines for sugar intake are based on the total amount of calories consumed. No more than 10% of your total calories should come from sugar. So, if you eat about 2000 calories per day (roughly an average amount for a woman in their 20's to 50's), it would be recommended that you eat no more than 50 g of sugar. (approximately 11 teaspoons).

One teaspoon of granulated white sugar is equal to about 4.2 grams (16.3 calories). If you are buying a bottle of Cola with 44 grams of sugar, you would divide 44 by 4.2 which is equal to 10 teaspoons of sugar.

One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level. An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level.

Prolonged, elevated insulin levels can increase the risk for disease by causing inflammation within your body and by inhibiting key hormones that regulate the immune system. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat excessive sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglycerides, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Don't take artificial sweetener as well (aspartame). It's poison!

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gimme crumbs! gimme more crumbs! ^-^