We are continuing with our monthly theme of sugar here at Your Health Made Simple. I was wondering what information might serve you best. I think education only goes so far and although fascinating doesn’t really get you to a place of elimination so I decided that the best information to share with you is some tips that would help you to remove/limit this wonderfully tasting but severely damaging substance from your diet.
In the interest of keeping this blog short and concise, I am going to limit the science behind the tips to just what is necessary. My goal is to make this a fast read and to give you some actions that you can implement today.
Tip #1 – More meals
Sounds a little counter intuitive I suppose but one of the big issues that people run into, especially when they have been over doing sugar is a roller coaster ride with their blood sugar. This is very hard on your adrenals. It puts them on overdrive even more than the stress of your life is already doing and we don’t want to add any more stress to your system.
When I say more meals, I mean your main meals and snacks in between those meals and a small snack at bedtime. To combat the effects of sugar in the body, these meals that you are eating have to be healthy. Meaning clean, nutrient dense meals. What do I mean by that? Meats are grain free, free range, antibiotic free. Veggies are organic if required and locally grown when you can get them. Refer to the Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen at EWG.org for a list of what should be bought organically. Fats are clean. Examples of this are coconut, avocado, olive oils. And your starches should also be healthy. Yes you do need healthy starches so carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips are some good examples. You need a little bit of all of this with every meal. This will over time help to balance out your system as it works through any dysglycemia that you may be experiencing. If you need help with the components of your meal, look into a Paleo diet. They cover what is needed in terms of the components within a meal and how to keep it clean. Paleo also does a great job of not including the foods that are going to add to the inflammation you in your body.
Tip #2 – Protein and fat at every meal, even snacks
Protein and fats take longer to digest in your system so they are wonderful at helping to keep your blood sugar stabilized. Because of this, you want to make sure that even when you are snacking between your meals (and you should while you are working through eliminating sugar, see Tip#1) that you have protein and fat with your meals. So, what are some good snacks. A nut butter on an apple, avocado with some boiled eggs, eggs with a good clean yogurt, chicken and avocado or a clean mayo.
In order to have good snacks available to you throughout the day, you do have to prepare in advance. Not having them available means having your blood sugar tank and then needing food in a pinch to stop the hangry or the headaches and that is when bad choices are made. So take the time to prep in advance and it will be very helpful to getting rid of sugar in your diet.
Tip #3 – Shop the outside of the grocery store.
When you think about the layout of a grocery store, all of the processed, chemical laden foods are in the inner isles of your grocery store. The outer edges of the grocery store contain the foods you should be eating like meats, fruits and vegetables. I know, it doesn’t sound very appetizing when you are used to eating the ready made sauces, pastas, and boxed meals. Cereals are easy breakfast food but so laden with unhealthy sugars. Most of the choices in the snack isle are not going to be your friend. Even the healthier versions aren’t great if they are eaten very often.
Stick to the outside edges of the store with the exception of the alternative cooking ingredients section in your baking isle. There are great options there with healthier substitutes for sugar, healthier fat options like coconut oil, avocado oil, etc. Flax seed and chia seed are also good fats you will find here.
If you are interested in learning how to shop your favorite grocery store, I have a video on our Youtube channel that you can view to help you out.
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Tip #4 – Don’t leave home without snacks
I alluded to this in Tip #2. When trying to give stabilize your blood sugar, it is as we said above to feed your system with several meals and snacks throughout the day. Snacks are just as important as the rest of your meals in keeping your blood sugar in a much happier place. Prep early and prep often. Have them available to go at the drop of a hat to make sure that if you are in a rush, you can still make it out the door with your snacks.
Tip #5 – Don’t forget the fiber.
Fiber is important for many reasons and might actually require a blog all its own at some point however, it is not the star of today’s blog so we won’t dive into it too deep. Whenever you are eating sugar, it is important to have fiber with it. Fiber slows down the uptake of the glucose into the cells. Meaning your body won’t get such a big fat hit of insulin after eating the sugar, stressing your adrenals, etc. etc. etc. I did say I wasn’t going to dive deep into the science so just trust me when I say, eat the fiber when you are having sugar. My trainer used to tell me, Tracy, if you can’t give up the chocolate then you have to eat a cupful of carrots with every two rows of your chocolate bar. Now, I’m not suggesting this is a good solution to allow you to continue eating sugar. Even I had to give up my wonderful Lindt milk chocolate. So yummy but sadly not good for me. But, when you do have sugar, make sure you combine it with fiber to slow down the uptake.
Hopefully that was a quick read and useful for you. If you are new to our blogs, we have so many more available on our website. You can find them here. www.yourhealthmadesimple.com Just head on over to the blog page and check out our latest.
Since I have your attention, I’m going to highlight that we have something coming for all of you that are interested in just improving your health. We aren’t quite ready yet for the big reveal but we are getting there. Look for more information in the next few weeks. I promise it’s going to be good.
Have a great rest of your week everyone. Thanks for hanging out in our little community.
And you know, I love suggestions of topics you might find interesting or new themes to tackle from a health perspective. You can jump on our facebook page and give us some suggestions or email us at clientcare@yourhealthmadesimple.com. I’d love to hear from you.
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