There is something wrong with me reading a book about A Year of No Sugar while munching on frozen yogurt complete with chocolate topping that's left over from my child's party. But Eve Schaub's book shows just how prevalent sucrose and its cousins can be.
I was initially intrigued by the the book, as I had actually attempted a day off no sugar on several months back and I was shocked by the sheer amount of sugar that was an everyday things I didn't think of. But as I'm a working mom and a diabetic who's working to improve her health, I approached at A Year of No Sugar with the idea was there a lesson that I can learn and take to improve my children's and my family's health for the future. While I'm not certain the level that sugar is linked to other health conditions, other than the strain on your pancreas and increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes is never a good thing.
Lately I've taken more attempts at reducing sugar in my own life, whether it's watching the carbohydrates that I use in my breakfast or simply counting carbohydrates to match my insulin. It's so surprising how quickly the sugar in any form -- honey, sucrose, etc. -- adds up. Even things that I might otherwise ignore, like ketchup and pasta sauce, have extra added sugar in it.
After my one-day, frustrating experience, the idea of a family with giving it up for an entire year blew me away. It wasn't easy by any course; in fact the family enabled "cheat days," which probably helped their sanity and saved the project. Most interesting to me was when Schaub detailed her family's trip to Italy and how vastly different other countries see the use of sweet treats and sugar within processed foods.
What did I learn from her Year of No Sugar? The book reinforced what I learn time and time again from registered dietitians: Moderation is key. You don't have to completely remove sugar from your diet - but any reduction in it will have a positive impact on your health. I'm encouraged by the fact the kids were healthier during that year-long experiment.
I have recently tried to cut way back on sugar. It is associated with so many unhealthy conditions - Alzheimer's, cancer, obesity, you name it. It is so hard to cut it out completely, especially the way our society eats but cutting back seems good. I do admire what these folks tried to do in the book.
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