After researching somewhat seriously the fine print,   the conclusion was, I was consuming  a bundle of sugar a day, just by the number of sodas that I had drank. The typical  soda drink for lunch,  perhaps one for dinner, and maybe one later on in the evening.

I seem to always get plenty of exercise, but I was slowly growing around the waistline. something that I have heard from a lot of my readers.                                                                                                                             One day, I decided to see how much gain and I was shocked to find that I had ballooned into obesity big time, weighing 245 lbs. Now the advantaged that I have , I can hide it more easily since I am 6″1″ tall. I could stretch it out a bit, nevertheless I was heavier than I had ever been. Now the truth was, carrying all those extra pounds around, was making my legs and feet ache by the end of the day, and I was just plain wore out.

Now if I were to listen to my own advice, thinking that I was consuming  about 135 grams ( 3 sodas x45 grams)  a day in sugar, just with this one unhealthy habit, what would happen if I just quit drinking the sodas and replaced it with water. Seem like a place to start.

Soda Confession

Since January of 2010 I have broken down and had a couple of sodas but you could count them on your fingers. I have  increased the intake of water,  close to the 8 glasses of water. On hot days. I have passed that. With further research by some of of my articles on Trehalose I find  adding a couple teaspoons to a gallon of water, was refreshing, more energy, and drank less.

Upon drinking the more water, ending the soda routine, and the continued exercise I already was getting, I have slowly dropped several pounds each month since. I have probably eaten more sensibly since I am now known, as the sugar monitor in the family.

I have lost 35 pounds.

Now, I am certainly no nutritionist and do not proclaim to be one, but if just those simple changes can help myself, how many others might be able to do the same. I am thinking positive here, but I think a lot might find this to be an easy step to becoming healthier.

Pick your biggest advocate of weight gain

Now mind just happened to be sweets, the sodas, cookies, ice cream, and pies. I can not really help it, they were all on the dinner table every meal. My Mom and my Wife love to cook. ( MY ADDICTION)

Todays Health Comments…

Sugar has become many folks addiction, being that their intake is overwelming. Like myself I decided to pick on one at a time. Moderation has become my attitude, not saying that I will go cold turkey, but I have chosen to read the fine print on labels now, seeing that sugar or its supplements are in the majority of foods and drinks we eat. Less sugar equals a healthier

 From the  beginning , history has indicated our desire for sweets. Are we really addicted? Does all mankind have  a sweet tooth?

Our Past Desires for Just Sweet…

  We found  this sweetness in a variety of natural foods, such as fruits, berries, honey,and  finding of sugar cane , centuries ago. For hundreds of years civilization excepted what mother nature provided, and each generation pushed on to include a little of the sweet stuff in this food and that until we as a whole world population, excepted the fact that all things just tasted better with the sweet stuff. Sweeter was better and varieties of drinks became more popular as the population demanded the need for more of them, thus pushing aside the old standbys of water, milk, lemonade, or good ole ice tea. ( Remember when your mom used say ” Not too much sugar”, I wonder what she would say today.

Sweeter Than Sweet

If a little is good, than more is better, Right!  That became the marketing scheme for almost all aspects of the food and drink  industry. The problem was , that we all bought into the marketing scheme,  no questions asked.     Major  food manufactures continued placing more and more sugar into their products, and the result was “Mikey not only liked them,  good ole oatmeal went by the wayside. Now you probably saying…” OK I get it!” sugar is in every thing, and plenty of it. OK enough of those  sweeter examples , for those were for my older readers.

Sickening Sweet

Alright by now about 50 years have past by and now we no longer no what sugar, sweetener, or sugar supplement we are now eating or drinking because the demand has become in epidemic proportions.We are  now reading the fine print once and while, because 64% of the population in the USA are overweight.  Cancer is becoming a house hold word because of the many things we eat and drink. But sickening sweet has gone way beyond  ones limitation. The only way to get this  in perspective is some visualization.

Visualize How Sweet is Sickening Sweet

There are articles that visualize a Sunkist Orange Soda to six Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwichs …http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-drinks-america-2010 The easiest way I found is this, remember that old square cube of table sugar, its contents equivalent is 4.17 grams of sugar. So an example what used to be my favorite  drink ( not mentioning  name for embarrassing reasons), contains 45 grams of sugar. You would then divide that by the 4.17 grams= Nearly11cubes of sugar for one drink. Another formula… 1 teaspoon sugar = 1 sugar cube = 1 sugar packet …
 Is this healthy… or have we gone one step too far. Just think people are drinking several of those a day!

Today’s Health Comments

Sweet, Sweeter, and Sickening Sweet has become the normal today. We  have let this just completely get out of hand and now the results are becoming known to us. How are eating the sweet stuff is affecting our health. How sweets are linked to obesity, obesity linked to diabetes, linked to several illnesses…and cancer related as well. Though there are indications that the epidemic proportions are slowing down, regarding our sugar intake, we are far, far from being good. For the first time in American History of Lifes Mortality our children’s life expectancy may be shorten due to our eating habits. We all need to start  looking at our own eating habits if we are expecting to lead a healthier life.

A  large share of our visitors have requested a  new update on the past article on “Unknown Sugars,Why” . This article’s  whole purpose was to bring to your attention a couple of sugars that were recently approved for our consumption, but are basically unknown to the public. The question was, Why?

First of all, the public, by very nature, do eat by habit.  We do not readily except change unless  we are greatly influenced by some source of media, personal friends, influential people,  the movie industry, by now, you are getting the picture. If Oprah says its good, than it must be good, or if the President says it good, well maybe, depending on how you feel about him on that day, may be goo also.

Yet, to all that is important,  our health today, do you find this type of influence being attached to the sugar industry, the addiction  of our need for sugar, and the consequences, which has led us to  epidemic proportions of obesity. The answer is NO!

It takes some courage to speak out and let others know that there are alternatives to our need for the sweet stuff, and perhaps, just perhaps, we can have a healthier life, as the result of it. So, here we go, Palatinose Sugar may have these key words attached to it:

Palatinose is a healthy sugar, it is nutritional, maintains balance of electrolytes, has prolonged energy supply, has low glycenic and low insulinemic response.

The other unknown sugar mention in this article, Trehalose, has been updated since this article and can be read on this site.

Discover Trehalose, the Sugar You Should Consider Today

 For more Technical  and Advanced reading  for Palatinose

 www.beneo-palatinit.com/en/Food_Ingredients/…is…/FAQ 

Todays Comments 

Today we must force ourselves to become familiar with these sugars, step out of the  old eating habits. If we are drawn to the need for the sweet stuff, why not consider a sugar that may be actually healthier for you and the need for less. Those people who are diabetic or in need of loosing weight. should check these out, have a professional nutritionist or  your regular Doctor discuss this with you. Todays  healthier life comment. 

Todays Health Site,  introduced this product in a past article…

                        Trehalose,You Ask for it.

We made this comment, “If you knew about it, you would use it.”  We had enclosed on site, the banner ( Sweet T) used, that actually is a  explaining the product, yet few have click on it. Not to be redundant, but feel this so important to your health. Here is the the link to click for more information.

http://www.endowmentmed.org/pdf/TrehaloseBigLabelForEndowment.pdf

Study Shows Trehalose More Stable Than Other Sugar  

 Study at UT Southwestern Medical Center Shows Trehalose More Stable than Other Sugars with Enduring Source of Energy

WHY?

The fact is… More and more people are unhealthily overweight! “It is to the very  point where eating can and is actually endangering our lives.”

 There has always been some individuals that have eaten unhealthily, mainly because, “Naughty Foods Taste So Good”!  Now the population as a whole,  considering how we eat these days, are we are getting the right amounts of nutrients.

Is it our conscious thought about what we put into our bodies … essential?

Why another article on  a subject that  everybody claims to know but doesn’t want to listen! The answer is, if this just reaches just one persons conscious thought and  results in taking action , than it was all worth it.

Perhaps before our intake of all those naughty foods, which are loaded with all those calories and sugars, you know the ones I am talking about, the ones some people would die for (literally), a bell would go off in our heads, saying “What I am about to eat is hazardous  to my health”!

For some people, warning labels…are just another part of the lable or the fine print that doesn’ t get read anyway, let alone it’s grams of sugar or it’s calorie count. Our consensus is most people eat by what may make them feel good, or by how sweet it is, or how good it taste going down, or just how much I can eat, based on my emotion at the time.

If some one has come up as to why obesity is becoming  a major concern…is because food is readily available  in most countries, unlike the underdeveloped countries where many face starvation. Those countries who proclaim to live in the land of plenty…eat with same mentality…plenty.

As we get older, our metabolism slows down and we can no longer burn calories at the same rate as we used to. Fact, it makes it easier for us to put on weight but harder for us to shed it. Having said that, our elderly group face the greatest effect of being over weight. Being overweight can put unnecessary stress on the joints and thus accelerate the affects of arthritis, osteoporosis and other bone and muscle disorders and illnesses. It can also bring about the onset of diabetes, which is more common in seniors than in any other age group as it is.

While a  little of what he or she loves to eat, no matter how unhealthy it may be, a regular balanced nutritious diet is just what the doctor orders!

A well balanced diet can boost your health, but a poor diet that does not fulfil all bodily nutritional requirements can actually cause it to deteriorate.

All should enjoy life to the fullest extent, but eating healthily on a regular basis can actively extend the amount of time you have left to enjoy it! Make the most of  life. Revolutionize your diet and reap the rewards

 Todays Health Articles  or links on Related info.

Enjoy A Happy and Healthy Life”

Todays Health Drinks

Trehalose Sugar seems to be virtually unknown unless you are closely associated with the Sugar industry.

 The product, Trehalose, it is pronounced trē’hu-lōs”.

 TECHNICAL DATA

Trehalose, also known as mycose or tremalose, a natural alpha-linked disaccharide, synthesised by fungi, plants, and invertebrate animal, implicated in anhydrobiosis the ability of plants and  animals to withstand prolonged periods of desiccation. It has high water retention capabilities and rehydration then allows normal cellular activity to be resumed without the major damage that normally follows a dehydration/rehydration cycle.  Trehalose also has the added advantage of being an antioxidant.

In nature, trehalose can be found in animals, plants, and microorganisms. In animals, trehalose is prevalent in shrimp, and also in insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, butterflies, and bees, in which blood-sugar is trehalose. The trehalose is then broken down into glucose by the catabolic enzyme trehalase for use. Trehalose is also present in the nutrition exchange liquid of hornets and their larvae.

Production                                   

Trehalose was previously being manufactured through an extraction process from cultured yeast. But production costs were prohibitive, and use was limited to only certain cosmetics and chemicals.

In 1994, Hayashibara, a saccharified starch maker in Okayama prefecture, Japan, discovered a method of inexpensively mass-producing trehalose from starch. The following year, Hayashibara started marketing trehalose by activating two enzymes, the glucosyltrehalose-producing enzyme that changes the reducing terminal of starch into a trehalose structure, and the trehalose free enzyme that detaches this trehalose structure. As a result, a high-purity trehalose from starch can be mass-produced for a very low price.

 Uses

 Since Trehalose has been accepted as a novel food ingredient under the GRAS terms in the U.S. and the EU….

Trehalose has also found commercial application as a food ingredient. It’s primary one being its use in the processing of foods.

Trehalose being used in a variety of processed foods such as dinners, western and Japanese confectionery, bread, vegetables side dishes, animal-derived deli foods, pouch-packed foods, frozen foods, and beverages, as well as foods for lunches, eating out, or prepared at home.

This is due to the multi-faceted effects of trehalose’s properties,  its inherently mild, sweet flavor; its preservative properties, which maintain the quality of the three main nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats);

Its powerful water-retention properties,  preserves  the texture of foods by protecting them from drying out or freezing. Also its ability to suppress bitterness, stringency, harsh flavors, and the odor of raw foods, meats, and packaged foods.

Cosmetics: Capitalizing on trehalose’s moisture-retaining capacity, it is used as a moisturizer in many basic toiletries, such as bath oils and hair growth tonics.

Pharmaceuticals: Using trehalose’s properties to preserve tissue and protein to full advantage, it is used in organ protection solutions for organ transplants.

 Other fields of use

Trehalose  has a broad spectrum including fabrics,  that have deodorization qualities, plant activation, antibacterial sheets, and nutrients for larvae. 

 Research is bein g conducted, especially in the field of medicine, to achieve uses for trehalose in post-surgery adhesion suppressants, dry-eye treatments and the manufacturing of dry blood.

It is rumored in the biomedical research community that trehalose, when eaten over a length of time in sufficient quantities, may sometimes provide a partial cure to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. A lot of research into brain-based illness has focused on proteins in the human brain, but it may be important in research to look at sugars that the brain uses, such as trehalose.

Today’s Article…

Unknown Sugar, Why?

This article will discuss two virtually unknown sugars.  

 Questions should certianly be asked….    

* How come nobody is marketing these sugars in our world, where every thing has sugar in it?                              

 Palatinose Sugar

The Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) registration was granted in 2006 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In its consideration of Palatinose, also known under the generic name isomaltulose. Palatinose,  is disaccharide derived from sucrose. The product claims to have a sweetness profile similar to that of sugar, but it has “more scope for flavor development.”

I found that in July of  2005 the product had received the novel food status,which is the European equivalent of GRAS.

With a little research, Japan it has been used as a food ingredient since 1985.

“The FDA’s ‘letter of no objection’ paves the way for Palatinose to be used in a wide range of food and beverage products, including ready-to-drink and instant beverages, snack bars, dairy products as well as energy-reduced, wellness and sports foods and meal replacements,”said Palatinit, a subsidiary of leading global sugar producer Südzucker AG.

The Search for Sugar Supplements… continues to be an ongoing research by man.

The word Supplement, it’s definition, something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole. 

By all the demands, the needs, or a criteria for a healthier life style, man has used several natural supplements or the word replacements, may better describe them.

Yet it seems we have this unsatisfied desire for something sweet, and  lots of it, since it is really difficult today to find a food product that does not have sugar in it.  Our crave for sweetness has led this movement now for generations, with little thought to the consequences of our actions.

Then by some strike upon mankind,  we woke up , and if you look at when all the the so called SUPPLEMENTS, sweeteners (artificial), all have been created in the last 50 years.

Why are we to Continue on this endless path to replace what comes naturally… is the so called supplements are just not satisfying our taste buds… or the  adverse effects of its use, are becoming known through a period of time.

Through continuous studies of these products which will be listed shortly, you can find endless pros and cons on each one of the products. If this is indeed the case, and you are seeking a need to supplement your sugar intake and not have adverse health effects, how do you make the right decision?

For that very same question is why man is still seeking…to have his sweet, without no limitations, and no health effects.

 I have listed some  ingredients… that have been  used to supplement  sugar or replace where sugar is normally used .

I have  included artificial sweeteners (they have variety of chemical and brand names).

Some other replacement ingredients, example, licorice is a natural sweetener that adds no calories and may be consumed by diabetics. 

 You may find some may still contain sugar in a different form, changing the  flavor or digestibility of the food.

  Also another form of sugar mayprovides fewer calories or more sweetness per calorie.

Sugar supplements may be placed into these groups

• non-sugar sweeteners
• sugar substitute

• artificial sweeteners

The list below is a partial list to give you an idea of some of sugar substitutes:

• sorbitol
• xylitol
• honey
• licorice
• stevia
• saccharine
• aspartame
• sucralose
• neotame
• acesulfame potassium

In Conclusion, ” Moderation and consumption of sugar may be the first step to a healthier life.

Next know your intake, and take the actions to have your blood sugars tested and seek professional advice regarding the change in your diet.

This concludes the second series on Sugar, stay close by for The Unknown Sugars.

Today’s Article… Three  Articles Covering …

1. SUGAR’S Basics

2. SUGAR … Supplements

3. SUGARS… UNKNOWNS

Sugar…

 * Has been defined as an edible crystalline substances such as a sucrose, lactose,and fructose, and now ? (to follow, the sugar you need to know about)

 * Is  defined as a carbohydrate that is found naturally in every fruit and vegetable.

 * Is the major product of photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform the sun’s energy into food.

 * Occurs in the largest quantities within sugar cane and sugarbeets.

Facts 

 Refined sugar is 99.9 percent pure. It contains no preservatives or additives of any kind.

 White sugar is pure sucrose, a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates provide energy, contain no fat, and like protein contribute 4 calories per gram in your diet (as opposed to the 9 calories per gram contributed by fat).

Your body treats sucrose in the same way regardless of its source. In fact, your body uses all sugars in the same way, so eating refined sugar, or honey, or sugars from any other source has the same effect on your body — it is converted into glucose and used by the cells for energy. Remember this fact for later reference.

Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is crystals in specially prepared molasses syrup with controlled natural flavor and color components.

A lso several of  the sugar refiners produce brown sugar by preparing and boiling a  special recipe, a syrup containing these components, until brown sugar crystals form.

Others produce brown sugar by blending special flavored syrup with white sugar crystals.

Sugar Uses

Our  tastebuds  interpret its flavor as sweet in taste and we now find sugar in just about everything we choose to eat or drink. As suggested in earlier articles, we have become so attracted to this sweet substance.

Some of the other uses sugar has been used for…that may not be so common.

 Keeping your flowers fresh by placing a 1/2 teaspoon in a gallon of water.

Improve your plants health by sprinking or feeding with water…we use to feed our watermelon and cantelope sugar water to improve their sweetness.

Cooking your fresh ears in sugar water improves the taste as well.

Sugar can be used as a hand cleaner, since its abrasive, works on greasy hands.

Sugar can help to start stubborn wood, by sprinkling on .

Sugar use for catching your favorite insects and bees by the use of traps

By Sprinkling sugar on top of your favorite recipe, cakes or pies when warm, keeps freshness.

It can also be used to your burnt tongue or skin blemishes.

These are just a few things that sugar can be useful for and not always is sugar associated with what we put in our body.

This completes the first series on Sugar. To healthier life.

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Knowing this,  are we becoming  a population addicted  to Sugar?

How is this “SUGAR CRAZE” affecting our Health.

The average American consumes 2 to 3 pounds of sugar each week, that translates to over 150 pounds of sugar per person per year.

Sugar as an additive,  has attributed to this alarming number. With wide popularity of Sugar, it is in everything, and may be disguised in various forms. Sucrose, dextrose, and high fructose corn syrups  may be found as an active ingredient in  your processed food or condiments. These are highly refined sweeteners.

Most professionals stress a balanced approach to eating. If we limit the intake of acidic foods and increasing the intake of alkaline foods, one can achieve optimum health. One of the main factors in the fight against acidic pH levels is sugar.

Sugar’s Radical Effect:

On insulin levels, when they do drop; so does the release of  our growth hormone. Our growth hormones depress the immune system, leaving the body open to a variety of diseases and illnesses. Insulin also inhances the body’s ability to fight off weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels. Simply put, the higher in sugars a food is, the more likely it will promote fat storage in the body. These fat cells  host  in turn degrade the structure of red blood cells in our the bloodstream.

Within our body Vitamin C and Sugar will also fight for control of the cellular development.  Vitamin C and Simple Sugar, from a structural standpoint, are quite similar. As sugar levels go up in the body, they compete with one another when they enter cells. When a higher concentration of sugar is within the bloodstream,this allows more sugar into thirsty cells leaving little to no room for Vitamin C. Without the phagocytizing effects of Vitamn C on cellular structures they are unable to fend off the attacks of viruses and bacteria. Now having lower white blood cell counts, our immune system  isn`t strong enough to protect the body.

Sugar by absorption, steals vital micro-nutrients to help it metabolize in our system. With this deficit being created, our micro-nutrients are not being replaced, causing our fat cells and cholesterol to not be metabolized, thus leading to high blood pressure and obesity.

The ability of sugar to raise insulin levels artificially eventually leaves the pancreas dysfunctional and the body dependent on sugar. This is commonly referred to as diabetes.

Simple sugars have also been attributed to gallstones, mood disorders, heart disease and even asthma. With all of the negative effects that sugars have been clinically linked to, is it any wonder that sugar is also one of the most acidic things you can put into your body.

Cancer is the most dangerous result of heavy sugar dependence.  The  relationship between sugars and unhealthy acidic levels in the bloodstream is clearly drawn through the connection of glucose (sugar) and cancerous cells.

 Simple sugars are quite simply a poison to the body that will eventually deteriorate the quality of cellular development and suppress the immune system to the point of failure.

By balancing the diet,  you can decrease the risk of disease in the body.  Look carefully at  the  ingredient labels and be aware of the many names that simple sugars hide behind.