For health and fitness, sugar is the devil

So you have made the commitment to your health and fitness. Now what? We’ll need to take a look at sugar, as it can be the single most damaging thing for your health and fitness. Is sugar really that bad? The short answer yes, though we do need some level of glucose in our body to function properly. Unfortunately, though, we get far too much sugar in our daily diets. In short, sugar is the devil.

Excess sugar intake can manifest itself in various ways, such as the onset of diabetes, tooth decay, and an increase of inflammation within our bodies. In addition, and according to a study, consuming 17-21% of our calories from added sugar increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Added-Sugars-Add-to-Your-Risk-of-Dying-from-Heart-Disease_UCM_460319_Article.jsp#.V7I3pfkrJdi

Keep in mind, when we talk about “added sugars” we are referring to those sugars that are added to foods and beverages during processing and preparation. It is important to read food labels, as sugar can be disguised as:

• agave syrup
• beet sugar
• cane juice
• cane syrup
• high fructose
• corn syrup
• honey
• lactose
• malt
• dextrose
• galactose
• glucos2
• sucrose
• rice syrup
• fructose
• and others..

Keeping a food log will help you track the amount of sugar consumed. Eating whole foods will provide some level of sugar, but will also provide fiber and nutrients. And while sugar is the devil, monitoring and even lowering your sugar intake will help you to look and feel a lot better.

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

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