In 1983 Annie Lennox (Eurythmics) sang:
“Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas,
Everybody’s looking for something…”
Well, nowadays it seems like everybody is looking for something… sweet.
And for a good reason. Did you know that sugar can be more addicting than cocaine?
When we eat sugar, opioids and dopamine are released. Research shows, that our brain’s opiate receptors that affect the reward center, are activated by sugar which can induce compulsive behaviors. The neurotransmitter dopamine release caused by sugar can easily lead to behaviors known as substance abuse.
The problem is we are often completely unaware of how much sugar we consume. Average American eats 150-170 pounds of refined sugars a year! This is ¼ to ½ pound of sugar a day!
While you might be thinking: “It’s not me for sure!” We often simply don’t know that sugar is put in many processed foods we would never suspect. Bread, sauces, hot dogs, ketchup, peanut butter, pickles, soups, nut milk, smoothies, yogurt, salad dressings, flavored water, white wine and many, many more.
What makes it difficult for us is the fact that sugar hides behind many confusing names.
Here are just some of them:
Agave
Anhydrous dextrose
Barley malt syrup
Brown sugar
Beet sugar
Birch syrup
Brown rice syrup
Coconut sugar
Corn sugar
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Dextrose
Fructose
Cane juice
Cane sugar
Caster sugar
Crystal dextrose
Date sugar
Demerara sugar
Sugar cane juice
Fruit sugar concentrate
Golden syrup
Gluto-malt
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Icing sugar
Invert sugar
Karo
Lactose
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Glucose
Fruit nectar
Panela
Pancake syrup
Rapadura
Raw sugar
Sucrose
Treacle
White granulated sugar
Evaporated corn sweetener
Liquid fructose
Read your labels!
Sugar in a processed, refined form has an extremely negative impact on our health!
Please, be aware of what you are eating!
