Viewing Category: Tips, Tricks, Info & News

Should Sweets Be Taxed?

October 14, 2009 • Comments (0)

There has been talk of a new “soda tax,” as it is being called, that will tax sugary drinks to help pay for health care.¹ Coke and Pepsi, Rockstar Energy Drink and Gatorade would all be eligible for the new tax. As you can imagine, beverage companies are not happy.

Mutar Kent, CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, recently wrote an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal arguing that it is a lack of exercise and not drinking soda that makes Americans fat.

Mr. Kent states, “Policy makers should stop spending their valuable time demonizing an industry that directly employs more than 220,000 people in the U.S., and through supporting industries, an additional three million. Instead, business and government should come together to help encourage greater physical activity and sensible eating and drinking, while allowing Americans to enjoy the simple pleasure of a Coca-Cola.” ²

Bottom line? Don’t stop drinking sugar drinks, just exercise more! What worries me about this is that the Coca-Cola Company is now partnering with the American Academy of Family Physicians to help teach consumers about nutrition. ³

This means that Coke (all-American sugar water fizzy drink manufacturer) is going to be the first corporate partner to work with AAFP on educational materials for your family.

“The AAFP recognizes the significant influence that consumer companies have on consumer health,” said Lori Heim, M.D., president-elect of the AAFP. “We look forward to working with The Coca-Cola Company, and other companies in the future, on the development of educational materials to teach consumers how to make the right choices and incorporate the products they love into a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.”

Sources:

1. Wall Street Journal

2. Wall Street Journal

3. American Academy of Family Physicians

Posted on Oct 14, 2009 • Comments (0)

Alternative Halloween Hand Outs

October 10, 2009 • Comments (1)

For those of you who celebrate Halloween, what will you be handing out this year? When you were a kid, did it annoy you when people gave out something other than candy on Halloween?

Do you go to the store and buy a few bags of your favorite candies, stick them in a huge salad bowl and then secretly hope you don’t get too many tick-or-treaters? If so, does that make you feel guilty?

Why is it that some of us feel guilty about having a huge bowl of candy in the house—knowing we’re going to eat all of it ourselves—and yet we’re fine with handing out tons of sugary crap to all the kids in our neighborhood?

I have vivid memories of trick-or-treating and when people broke from convention they always seemed to give out something “heavy handed” like a toothbrush. No fun!

There are many things that you can hand out on Halloween besides candy and sweets. Here are a few ideas, please add your own. Perhaps we can start a new paradigm.

Juice Boxes - with real fruit juice.
Cool Erasers
Mini Pretzel Bags
Goldfish - real, live ones in bags of water (memories for a lifetime!)
Bat or Spider Rings
Glow-in-the-Dark Fangs!
iTunes (okay, that’s expensive - are you listening Apple?)
Rubber balls
Something you made yourself
Crazy glue — just kidding!

What else can we hand out that’s fun but not part of the sugar machine?

Posted on Oct 10, 2009 • Comments (1)

10 Tips That Will Help You Quit Sugar

September 19, 2009 • Comments (2)

1. Keep It A Secret

You’re at your friend’s house for dinner. Dessert comes and you announce, “No thanks, I am quitting sugar.” The most common reaction is laughter, surprise and disbelief followed by your friend attempting to temp you into just one bite. Instead of telling them you are on a mission, quietly say you just don’t feel like it. Suddenly they’re concerned, offer you some fruit or something else, and soon the situation passes.

2. Get Rid of the Stuff

Get rid of all the tempting foods from your kitchen, pantry, closet, cupboards, car, purse, backpack, desk, etc. Wherever you keep it get rid of it! Even if you get a hankering for something sweet, it’s a lot hard to eat sugar when it’s not there.

3. Replace Sugary Snacks with Healthy Foods

When you’re hungry for a candy bar but you don’t have any in the house, you’ve got to eat something. Stock up on all the good things you like to eat and you’ll end up eating more of them.

4. Bring Dessert to Parties

People do not usually make healthy, sugar-free desserts. When you go to a friend’s for dinner, bring a fruit salad or some other type of sugar free dessert for you and everyone.

5. Avoid the Places You Used to Go

If you are accustomed to eating lunch in the break room and that includes having some cookies from the cookie jar, a free soda from the tap and some candy from the candy vending machine, then start eating someplace else. Eat at your desk. Eat outside. Take a walk. It is not like you will never go back to the lunchroom, but while you transition from a sweetie to an unsweet person, staying away helps.

6. Write Down Everything You Eat

Include how much you paid as well. You will be surprised at the end of the week.

7. Don’t Do It Alone

If you can, find a friend and avoid sweets together. It really helps to be able to discuss what you’re going through with others who are also going through the same thing.

8. Expect to Eat MORE

When you first quit sweets you will end up actually eating more (healthy) foods in order to satisfy your sweet cravings. This will pass.

9. Read Books & Websites

There is tons of information on the subject of sugar. Read, read, read and learn, learn, learn.

10. Create An Outlet

Create a blog. Keep a personal journal. Make drawings. Cut the lawn. Feed the birds. Find or figure out an activity that you like to do and do it whenever you have the sweet cravings. It will not be easy at first, but in time you will be able to change your behavior.

Posted on Sep 19, 2009 • Comments (2)

Little Sugar Addicts: Why You Can’t Quit Sugar

September 15, 2009 • Comments (0)

Ever wonder why you can’t quit sugar? It’s probably because you are too old to have videos of yourself grabbing for, overeating, overacting to, and being rewarded for all of your cute’n’sweet behavior. With positive reinforcement at such a young age it’s no wonder we just can’t stop ourselves…

Posted on Sep 15, 2009 • Comments (0)

Benefits of Stevia Website Launched

August 29, 2009 • Comments (3)

The nonprofit association Calorie Control Council launched a new website, SteviaBenefits.org, to provide “accurate and reliable information” regarding stevia, a natural, zero calorie sweetener.

The site features recipes, frequently asked questions, and links to external sites such as http://www.caloriecontrol.org, http://www.purevia.com, http://www.steviaextractintheraw.com, http://www.suncrystals.com, http://www.truvia.com, and http://www.fda.gov.

But wait a minute! Truvia? Purevia? Those are Coke and Pepsi’s trade marked brands of Stevia extract. When selecting their external links, why did the Calorie Control Council choose so few companies to plug?

I think we’re in for something big. With reports of sugar shortages and GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status given to Purevia and Truvia, the American Heart Association’s recent report about how Americans should cut down on sugar, and the launch of informative websites about Stevia such as SteviaBenefits.org, one might think we are on the edge of a national push toward eating Stevia sweetened food products.

Stevia is still considered a dietary supplement. That means you can find Stevia sold at your local health food store as if it were some kind of vitamin powder (or liquid). Until Stevia itself gets GRAS status it cannot be used in commercial food products such as cookies or candy bars. However, Coke and Pepsi have created their own versions of Stevia which are a form of Stevia-based sugar alcohol. That’s Truvia and Purevia.

I wonder if the FDA will give GRAS status approval to all Stevia based sweeteners or will they continue to only pass on patented name brand (Coke, Pepsi, etc.) versions of Stevia extracts. I know at least one Stevia company that has submitted their Stevia to the FDA for approval with no word thus far. There’s big money and politics in the sugar and Stevia industries. My hope is that Stevia gets the green light and that it turns out to be the wonder-sweetener it claims it to be.

Posted on Aug 29, 2009 • Comments (3)

Check Out Sugar Stacks

May 07, 2009 • Comments (1)

I’m not sure who they are, but the people behind Sugar Stacks must hate corporate-pushed sugar addiction as much as I!

The website simply shows images of products along with a corresponding amount of sugar cubes representing the amount of sugar in that product, like so:

They’ve also started a new blog called Sugar Delirium that’s worth the read.

I find it interesting that the authors of the site have chosen to remain anonymous (at the time of this writing). Perhaps they’re worried that large corporations will come after them. It sounds like a movie, doesn’t it?

“Corporate hit men raid renegade anti-sugar group’s offices. Says anti-sugar propaganda website was damaging their credibility. The unsweet terrorists have been detained and are being water boarded with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Officials anticipate the terrorists will soon give up the password to their website so the sugar companies can erase the offending website.”

Posted on May 07, 2009 • Comments (1)

Monsanto Food Strong Arms Us Into A Genetically Modified Future

April 22, 2009 • Comments (0)

Future of Food

I just watched the movie, The Future of Food on Hulu.com. You can watch it too by clicking the link.

I recommend you watch it. Corporations are taking over the food chain and poisoning/polluting natural food growth. They’re not only genetically modifying foods but they’re patenting their brand of mutation and setting it free into nature and allowing it to destroy current forms of plant life! This is outrageous! Something must be done.

It makes me scared to eat! It makes me afraid to raise kids!

Please, at least watch the movie and then tell me that you’re not worried!

Posted on Apr 22, 2009 • Comments (0)

Common Trigger Foods

April 05, 2009 • Comments (47)

I have yet to meet someone who struggles with sugar that hasn’t got a trigger food. A trigger food is something that “triggers” your desire to eat uncontrollably. It’s a sweet that makes you want to binge. When you have a little, you want to eat nothing but that food until you can’t possibly consume another bite. Often people will eat so much of their trigger food that they’ll become sick and wonder why they ate so much.

Chocolate

Of the sugar-addicted people I’ve spoken with, the most common and universal trigger food is chocolate. Chocolate can be found everywhere and there’s a reason for it. Eating chocolate has been said to make you feel happy and experience the same feeling as being in love. People who love chocolate jokingly label themselves “chocoholics.” Are you a chocoholic? It is common that chocolate trigger foods come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For me it was chocolate chips, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate candy bars, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, etc.

Soda (diet)

Soda Some people’s trigger food is soda pop. On the Internet I found statistics saying that the average American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks annually. Imagine having 53 gallons of soda in your house and it’s all you can drink for the next year. For some people that’s heaven. For some people it’s reality. I say it’s gross! Imagine trying to explain to your home insurance provider that you want to claim for a leak from a 53 gallon soda container! And diet soda is even worse. People drink it thinking they are avoiding the sugar. Well that may be true, you’re not drinking sugar but instead you are drinking chemical sweeteners that have been linked to health problems.

Coffee

Coffee Coffee is most certainly a trigger food. It’s often had with added sugar to sweeten the taste. Some people buy and drink several cups of coffee daily. If you purchase coffee from a specialty shop, you’re getting the caffeine high plus the sugar high. Flavored coffees have all kinds of sweet additives and chances are you’re getting some High Fructose Corn Syrup in there. It’s not called an “adult drink” for nothing. Who would give their kids a cup of coffee every morning? Nobody I know. But people will pour it into their own bodies at alarming rates.

Cigerettes

Cigarettes

Some smokers say that a meal isn’t complete without a cigarette afterwards. I knew someone who would have a cup of coffee and a cigarette for breakfast every morning—no food! Is that you? Did you know that sugar is a key ingredient in cigarettes? Who would think smoking was so sweet? Funny thing—when you get off sugar for some time, sweets look and taste gross. It’s very similar to when smokers quit smoking and they get grossed out by the smell of smoke.

Energy Drinks and Energy Bars

Energy Drinks Marketed as healthy alternatives to other forms of candy, these products are readily available in gyms, fitness centers, bike stores, department stores, convenience stores, and are often given out for free when you participate in a community race or bike ride. What you’re getting is a form of sweetened candy disguised at something healthy. With all that sugar, of course you get a burst of “aliveness” but it fades fast leaving you grabbing for more. Energy Bars

What Are Your Trigger Foods?

It’s rare that you will have just one trigger food. So how do you know if your favorite treat is a trigger food? If you are honest with yourself you probably already know. But if for some reason you’re not sure, try going without it for a month. If the very thought of doing that makes you cringe, you’ve probably already identified one of your sweet trigger foods!

Posted on Apr 05, 2009 • Comments (47)