Sweet Tooth & Diet

Sweet Tooth Diet & Sugar Intake

In a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey it was revealed that the average American consumes the equivalent of 160 pounds of sugar a year – a 30% increase since the early 1980s. That’s the approximate equivalent of 53 heaped teaspoons of sugar per person per day.

Sweet Tooth Diet Problems

Some of the dangers of consuming refined sugar are well known – tooth decay and obesity – but sugar can also suppress the immune system, and upset the body’s mineral balance. It can reduce helpful high-density cholesterol (HDLs) and promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs). Sugar can cause hypoglycaemia, hormonal imbalance, varicose veins, food allergies, hypertension and depression. Sugar is also addictive; it can cause cravings for more food, particularly sweet food, leading to over-eating.

Sugar-free Sweet Tooth Diet

Most slimmers will be aware of aspartame – an artificial sweetener found in nearly all ‘diet’ drinks, yogurts, low calorie puddings… In fact, any sweet food or drink product that claims it is ‘sugar-free’ or ‘low calorie’ is likely to contain aspartame.The demand for such foods is huge. To dieters (and to the companies who manufacture these products) aspartame must seem like a godsend. In fact aspartame is seen by many as a dangerous, unstable chemical compound.

Sweet Tooth Diet & Aspartame

Aspartame consumption has been linked with many symptoms including headaches, joint pain, memory loss, numbness, tinnitus, hearing loss, vision problems, weight gain, rashes, seizures, fatigue, muscle spasms, dizziness, asthma and chest tightness

Sweet Tooth Diet & Molasses

If you are looking for a healthy (and readily available) alternative to refined sugar and chemical sweeteners, one of the best is blackstrap molasses. This contains calcium, iron, and B vitamins, and it has about a quarter of the calories of refined sugar.

Sweet Tooth Diet & Fruit

But the best source of sweetness must come from fruit. There are so many varieties of sweet fruits – enough to satisfy the sweetest tooth. With fruits and vegetables making up about 80% of your diet (in an ideal world) you should get all the sweetness you need naturally with no additives.

SOURCE: www.alternative-healthzine.com 2002

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