Feb 15, 2017

Less sugar please?

If you don't know me you should know:

1) I have a sweet tooth! So, I am always looking for healthy alternatives to satisfy those sweet cravings (hence my love for baking healthy treats).

I call these cravings my "sugar monkey". The little monkey that sits on my shoulder and asks for sugar (and often times I give in and feed it).

2) I am very passionate about sugar education. Sugar is EVERYWHERE, and I think it's important to realize how much sugar we are consuming on a daily basis. Becoming more aware can help you make simple small changes that will make a difference in the amount of sugar you are consuming.

Side note: I know that the more I consume sugary foods the hungrier my "sugar monkey" gets!

I came across this article today discussing research out of the University of Waterloo (so close to home -yay for local research). The researchers found after analyzing over 40,000 items that 2/3 of packaged food contains sugar. Does this surprise you at all??

What might surprise you is they found sugar in many products marketed as 'healthy' alternatives or items a consumer might think of as healthy, including vitamin water and baby food! The high sugar content found in items like flavoured dairy products, granola bars, etc. is known to be linked to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Read the short article by clicking here! Learn more about what the US is doing to change food labels (hint: adding a added sugar section) and what Canada has done in terms of sugar labelling.

So my question to you is.....do you think we need less sugar in our foods or are there enough sugarless items available? Do we need more information on our labels? Or do you think you do okay at managing your sugar intake? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Side note: if you do feel like you need some more education on the sugar content in our foods or need help combating that "sugar monkey" of yours. Join me for a 21 day Eat Right Sugar Challenge. Details are below. :)