Sanitas: Off Sugar
and added sugar, going on a week.
And so, it’s harder than I thought. I can give up straight up sugar…candy, cake,
doughnuts, even chocolate. That is not
too hard, but the added sugar situation is much much more difficult. In the grocery store, for example, standing
in the bread aisle, not having enough time these weeks to make my own no sugar
bread, I am struck by the fact that every single brand of bread has some form
of added sugar. I lament and buy a box
of triscuits, no sugar. Yeah.
Then, I am realizing that nearly everything we do to
celebrate has sugar in it. You know,
birthdays, holidays, office get-togethers.
Even those times when you have a meeting and they decide to provide food…granola
bars, trail-mix with M&M’s …you name it, there’s sugar everywhere.
This week, I was stunned to find that my consumption of food
grew less and less. I was eating
tortilla chips (corn, oil, salt) and refried beans and salads…these are only
going to get you so far. Yes yes, I ate
my green smoothie every day, sweetened with a banana and a couple of small
dates. But this is difficult stuff!
However, it is going well.
Today I ate a burrito from Moe’s for lunch and asked, beforehand if
their tortillas contained sugar. Their
white ones do, their wheat ones do not.
Whew. I just could not eat yet
another salad today. As much as I adore
salad.
One thing I am really hoping to gain from this is better
oral health…teeth and gums. In a recent
study released by the American Dental Association, there is a high cross-over
rate between gum disease, heart disease and an increase waist
circumference. Sugars seem to be the key
that links all of these because the plaques that cause heart disease increase
so much in the blood stream when we eat sugar…fructose translates directly to
fat because your body really cannot metabolize it and it does not signal the hypothalamus
that you’ve had enough to eat and you are not hungry. Anyway, I am hoping that I will see improvement
in oral health. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/periodontal-disease-heart-health
Speaking of such, since I began my year of total health, I
have been practicing something called oil pulling. It’s simple, you get up in the morning, put a
tablespoon of either sesame or coconut oil in your mouth, and swish it around
for 15 minutes while you go about your business. It attracts all the bacteria from your tongue
and teeth, and then you spit it out. You
can also feel it draining your sinuses a bit as you swish. Then, when you spit it out, you rinse with
water, scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper and brush your teeth as
usual. Three things you will notice
immediately…1) improved energy in the
morning, 2) absolutely it takes away bad
breath (so if you know anyone with chronic halitosis, lead them to this practice)
and 3) your teeth will get really nice and white without chemical
treatments. Here’s a good website on the
subject: http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/oil-pulling-the-habit-that-can-transform-your-health
Oh, and an added psychological benefit, it will keep you
from saying anything to your teenage daughter in the first 15 minutes of the
day that you might regret later. It
focuses the mind. Try it…
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