Research in the Journal of Nephrology (the study of the kidneys) claims sugar can seriously age you. Sugar is more damaging to the skin than the sun.
When your blood sugar levels go up rapidly (i.e. after eating a very sugary snack or meal), the sugar attaches to the collagen in your skin, making it less elastic.
When you are reading food labels, have a look at the grams of sugar, divide it by four and that equals the number of teaspoons of sugar in that food item. For example, a tin of apparently ‘healthy’ Baked Beans has 24 grams of sugar, which means 6 teaspoons of sugar!
Here are some more shockers:
Average chocolate bar = 8 teaspoons;
150ml low-fat yogurt = 10 teaspoons;
2 slices of white bread = 8 teaspoons;
Small glass of cranberry juice = 9 teaspoons.
Wow. That’s a LOT of sugar. And we often call this ‘hidden’ sugar as it’s not obvious to us.
The solution?
- Eat natural, healthy, one-ingredient foods.
- Make at least half of your diet raw, i.e. lots of vegetables, some fruit, nuts, seeds etc.
- Cut out (or at least cut down) your intake of processed foods, i.e. the foods in packages.
- Use natural sweeteners like Agave, honey and organic maple syrup instead of sugar.
- Reduce your alcohol intake – SORRY!!!
I hope that helps.
Ps/ Watch out for those hidden sugars – ALWAYS read food labels.