3249: A Low Sugar Diet - What's The Big Deal? by Elly McGuinness on Self Improvement & Personal Development

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 3249, A Low Sugar Diet. Whats The Big Deal by Elly McGuinness of ellymcginness.com And I'm Justin Malik. This is the show where I usually read to you kind of like an audiobook, but on Sundays,

[00:00:16] I think it's nice to share an episode from another podcast where we read to you. Today's comes from my brother's show Optimal Health Daily. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for Optimal Health Daily.

[00:00:29] So without further ado, here's my brother Dr. Neal as we optimize your life. A Low Sugar Diet. Whats The Big Deal by Elly McGuinness of ellymcginness.com Recipes and nutrition plans centered on sugar-free, low sugar, or free from refined sugar meals

[00:00:50] and snacks can be found aplenty on the internet and in modern cookbooks. Why is everyone so obsessed about having a low sugar diet? Some of the problems with sugar. Many people are now choosing a low sugar diet because sugar can, 1. Lead to accelerated tooth decay.

[00:01:08] 2. Lead to a release of the hormone dopamine which may cause your brain and body to want more and more sugar. 3. Cause insulin spikes and troughs which over time challenge the body's ability to use insulin effectively and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

[00:01:27] 4. Cause energy peaks and troughs rather than steady energy throughout the day. And 5. Lead to excess storage of body fat. Sugar that is required for energy is burned off. After that, the liver and muscles do store some, but anything remaining after is stored as fat.

[00:01:47] But don't I need sugar? All carbohydrate foods will eventually be broken down into sugar inside the body. This includes foods like fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes. So if you're eating a balanced diet, your body and brain will be getting plenty of it.

[00:02:05] A diet rich in real, whole foods can be considered an excellent focus for a low sugar diet. Real foods contain sugar but in a more sustaining form, allowing a gradual release of energy throughout the day.

[00:02:19] High sugar foods on the other hand will make you more likely to experience energy spikes and troughs throughout the day. Can less refined options form part of a low sugar diet?

[00:02:30] Cain sugar, whether it be white or raw and even the highly refined high fructose corn syrup or HFCS may have negative impacts on the body. This is partly because during the refining process many nutrients have been removed.

[00:02:47] This makes the end product a very unnatural thing for the body to deal with. Unrefined natural sugar substitutes include raw honey, fresh dates and pure maple syrup. These will provide nutrition for the body and will not impact it in the same way that refined sugar will.

[00:03:05] For example, honey has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar, meaning that it will release sugar into the body more slowly. Unrefined alternatives can still result in insulin spikes and are best consumed alongside other foods that are primarily fat and or protein based.

[00:03:23] Beware of any substitute for sugar whether they are natural sweeteners such as stevia or claiming to be less refined such as brown rice syrup. Reliance on or craving for any form of sweetener, even unrefined ones,

[00:03:38] is a signal to your body that there's something missing in your overall nutrition picture. Practical tips to help you with a low sugar diet. Tip 1. Avoid processed juices and fizzy drinks. Instead, have a couple of servings of fresh fruit like berries.

[00:03:55] These foods will provide you with a sweet fix along with fiber and a lot of nutrients. When craving a sweet drink, add squeezed lemon or herbs such as mint to fresh water to add flavor. Tip 2. Significantly reduced packaged and highly processed foods which contain hidden sugars.

[00:04:15] If you must eat something from a packet, check for added sugars. These would be things like high fructose corn syrup. Avoid foods with added sugars like high fructose corn syrup whenever possible. Tip 3. Dressings and sauces are usually high in sugar.

[00:04:34] If you can, make your own so you know what's going into them. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil can make a simple yet tasty salad dressing. Tip 4. Choose options such as dates, pure maple syrup, not the stuff with sugar added, or honey as a sugar substitute for baking.

[00:04:52] Also ensure there are protein and fat based foods in the recipes such as nuts or seeds. These will lower the glycemic index of the food and slow down the release of sugar into your body.

[00:05:04] Tip 5. If you're struggling with sugar addiction, find out how to curb your sugar cravings naturally. And 6. Check out my blog post about my favorite healthy cookbooks. There are some great options in there that will fit in with your quest for a low sugar diet.

[00:05:21] You just listened to the post titled, A Low Sugar Diet. What's the big deal? By ellymaguinus of ellymaguinus.com Dr. Neal here for my commentary. Most health organizations agree that added sugars may increase the risk for certain diseases.

[00:05:41] I should mention though, it's impossible to avoid all sugar in the diet. That's because as today's author, Ellie said, basically all foods we eat get converted to sugar at some point. Many foods contain natural sugars and those are okay for most of us.

[00:05:57] Whole grains and fruits for example, not only contain natural sugars in the form of carbohydrates but they also contain dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, processed foods like let's say highly processed juices

[00:06:14] not only contain added sugars but no longer contain the good stuff like dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. So it's these types of processed foods with these added sugars and the loss of nutrients that may make these types of foods harmful to our health.

[00:06:32] Most health organizations recommend that as adults, we consume no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar each day if we identify as male or 6 teaspoons each day if we identify as female. Now to put these recommendations in perspective, 1 12 ounce can of regular soda contains about 8 teaspoons of sugar.

[00:06:55] So just one can of regular soda would be enough to put someone that identifies as female over their daily limit and nearly meet the daily limit for someone that identifies as male. Again, that's just one regular soda, one can.

[00:07:12] That doesn't include any other foods that were consumed during the day like breakfast cereals, snacks and desserts. Now does this mean that we can never drink a regular soda or ever enjoy our favorite desserts? No, not at all. I'm no way am I saying that.

[00:07:29] Instead it just means that we may want to cut back and think of consuming these less often or in smaller quantities. Alright that'll do it for today. I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time

[00:07:42] and I'll see you back here tomorrow for The Sunday Show and where your optimal life awaits.