Alternatives to Sugar – the Good and the Bad

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Since excessive sugar consumption leads to obesity and other health problems, what are the alternatives, other than never enjoying the “sweet life?”

Fortunately, there are some.  I have listed 4 common ones to choose from below………….BUT I WOULD ARGUE FOR A DIFFERENT CHOICE.  (SEE # 5)

#1. Stevia – made from the leaves of the Stevia plant

  1. 200 – 400 x sweeter than table sugar
  2. can have a bitter aftertaste
  3. can be used for baking but can alter the texture of food

#2.  Sugar alcohols – erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol

  1. sweet carbohydrates with fewer calories and resistant to digestion
  2. xylitol is common in sugar free chewing gum and mints
  3. erythritol is the main ingredient in Truvia and has fewer GI side effects and can be used in baking
  4. Sorbitol has a smooth feel in your mouth but can act as a laxative in large amounts

#3.  Sucralose (Splenda)

  1. this one is ARTIFICIAL
  2. made from sugar by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups with chlorine atoms
  3. 400-700 x sweeter than table sugar
  4. can be used in baking, BUT at high temperatures may break down and possibly form some carcinogens

#4.  Aspartame (Nutrasweet or Equal)

  1. Artificial
  2. 180- 200 x sweeter than table sugar
  3. can give an aftertaste
  4. breaks down at high temperatures

AND FINALLY, AN EVEN BETTER ALTERNATIVE!!

#5  Monk Fruit (luo han guo)

  1. A small melon, known and grown for 800 years
  2. No known toxicity – recognized by FDA as safe for all, even children and pregnant women
  3. 150 – 250 x sweeter than table sugar, but has 0 calories
  4. has antioxidants and possibly some anti-cancer properties
  5. more expensive and less available in the US than Stevia
  6. can be used for baking

 

If you would like to try out Monk Fruit, here is a brownie recipe from a website called The Smart Cookie (check it out)

Frosted Chocolate Brownies

Brownies:

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dates (5 large)

1/4 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup Special Dark cocoa powder

Frosting:

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted

1/4 special dark cocoa powder

1/4 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw

2 dates

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8×8 pan (or a smaller pan, if you want thicker brownies).  In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients for brownies. Blend until completely incorporated with no oat or date chunks.  Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (baking time may change if you use a different pan), until a toothpick comes out clean.  Once brownies are done, remove from oven and let cool.

Quickly rinse out your food processor and dry (it’s not necessary to completely clean it).  Then, to make frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of food processor.  Blend until smooth and thick, with all ingredients compeltely mixed.  You should be able to take a spoonful of the frosting and tip it upside down without ot falling off.  Spread frosting on top of baked brownies and chill for at least one hour.  Then, slice into 9-16 squares and serve.

ENJOY THE SWEET LIFE WITHOUT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH SUGAR!

(Alas, this was the second writing of this post.  Had it all ready and accidentally hit the delete button.   I hope the “redo” did not convey my frustration!)

THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SWEETS

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This year I am trying to treat my 63 year old frame a little better.  Indulging in a sugar binge in front of a screen (always one of my favorite things) didn’t seem to affect me as much when I was a young thing.  Now, I wish I had not practiced that bad habit so much.  But, of course, I did not know the damage I was doing.

I am wiser now.  I am OLDER now.  The first I like.  The second, not so much.  Anyway, I have learned of the detrimental effects of sugar on the human body.  In small amounts, it can sweeten life.  But we don’t use it is small amounts, do we?

HOW DOES SUGAR DESTROY YOU?  Let me count the ways……….

  1.  First I will state the obvious.  Sugar makes us fat!  Even our children. About 1/3 of adolescents and children in the United States are now considered  overweight.  Obesity tripled from the 1970s to 2000.
  2. With the obesity that follows high sugar consumption, there is an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
  3. Obesity is an underlying cause for joint disease.  It has been said that for every pound gained, there is an added 5 pounds of pressure on your knees.  WHAT A PAIN!
  4. Obesity increases your risk of certain cancers

THEN THERE ARE SOME LESSER KNOWN RISKS……

OBESITY is associated with a 1.5 fold increase in your risk of developing ALZHEIMERS.   It seems that this risk is most closely associated with midlife obesity.  That spare tire in middle age hurts more than just your golf game!

Finally, SUGAR CAN HURT YOU BEFORE YOU ARE BORN!   In one study, sugary beverages consumed by the mother were associated with increased weight in their school-aged children.  For every serving of a sugary drink consumed during the second trimester in this study, there was a 0.15 kg/m2  increase in fat mass.  Even that BUN IN THE OVEN is not safe.

So needless to say, many of us need less sugar in our diet.    Sugar is an ADDICTIVE ENEMY, so it may be best to try to avoid it completely for about 6 weeks to lessen the craving for it.

It is a challenge, but one well worth it.  Take it and let me know how you feel afterward!

 

NEW BEGINNINGS

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I am thankful for New Year’s Day.  I am thankful for new beginnings.  New beginnings always means opportunity.  Sometimes it is a chance to try something different.  Sometimes it is a chance to build on something already in progress.  Like making a new friend or deepening a relationship with an old one.

2020 was a difficult year, but it was a year of learning.  There was some amazing progress made in the science of vaccines.  We all did things we maybe thought we could not do, or at least did not want to do.  But we learned of resilience.  Fortunately, the end of the Covid pandemic looks to be in sight.  But some of the things we have learned to do differently may remain.  Working virtually and shopping online will not likely disappear completely.  On the bright side, for many, the shutdown in society has lead to more time with family which is good.

When I think of new beginnings, I think of one of my favorite plants, the Mexican Lilly.  The reason I love this plant is that every morning it bursts forth with a completely new crop of purple flowers.   Every evening the flowers fall off, but then the next morning another crop appears.  It reminds me that God’s mercies are new every morning.

So as 2021 begins, I am hopeful that I have learned from 2020.  Can’t say as I am not glad to see it go.  I look forward to again experiencing some things I have missed, like eating in restaurants with friends, giving and receiving hugs, and breathing freely without a mask.  But whether that comes sooner or later, I am grateful that 2021 has arrived with all of its possibilities.  I am anxious to see what God has in store.

I don’t know what new beginnings the new year holds  I hope for many exciting adventures!  I pray for calm, not stormy, waters ahead.  But though I do not know what the future holds, I know who holds the future.  If you belong to God, remember He is with you always.  Let’s give our worries to Him and enjoy the year ahead!

What This World Really Needs

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I am writing this at 3:30 am.   It is because I cannot sleep.  Like lots of people, I am troubled by Covid and all of the news and events surrounding it.  But there is a deeper matter.

As a physician, I have spent the last 3 decades trying to keep people healthy and living longer.   But there are still two underlying truths that I cannot change.  We are mortal….and God is sovereign.  Somehow, that message is lost in the way that Covid is being handled and discussed.

The CDC, by way of the media, keeps pounding out the message that we can beat the virus with quarantines, lockdowns, avoiding each other, isolating.  But we have not made a significant impact on the spread of the virus and all the while our infection control measures have led to loneliness, anger, frustration, increased poverty, anxiety, and depression.

In my office practice, personally, I see these problems creating much more significant impact on people than I see serious cases of Covid 19.  The Godless world that we live in has nothing to offer as help for these problems.

I would suggest that what we really need is different.  We were created to be together, to look out for others, to love each other.  We are the most unhappy when we put ourselves first and spend all of our energy trying to save and protect our own selves.  I am not suggesting that we act foolishly.  The virus is not a hoax and we should not be reckless in our movements.   However, in light of the fact that we are mortal and God is sovereign, we should be doing two things differently.

Instead of closing churches,  we should be opening church up even more for much needed days of repentance and prayer.  Whatever happened to calling for days of prayer in times of crisis?  This is what God’s people have done in the past during their hour of need.

Secondly, while we are waiting  on science to come up with a “fix”, we must remember that science is not perfect.  Science gets things wrong all the time.  Science is a constantly changing body of ideas.   In fact many times today’s fact gradually becomes tomorrow’s mishap.  We have leaders who act like they know what is best and issue one edict after another.  They are trying to “follow the science” and change their minds constantly.  This is why what we need is the perfect, all wise, all loving, God who created the world.  

Covid is an infectious disease.  It is behaving like a lot of other infectious diseases.  It can be deadly, as can other infectious diseases.  We should wash our hands.  We should not go to work sick.  We should sterilize surfaces.  We should develop a vaccine.  But we are sinful men and women, who live in a fallen world and Covid is just one more thing.

We are mortal and we are all going to die.  God is sovereign.  God calls us to himself.  I for one, want to live forever with Him.  That can start here on earth, thank God.  I am so grateful that my creator loved me enough to send His Son to die for my sins.  I am so grateful that He is sovereign and not the public officials.  We need leaders who are humble and lead us back to God who knows all things.  All science is just the searching out of what God already knows.  Ignoring God is what will really kill us and make us miserable, not Covid

THE WORST TIME TO EAT

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Do you want to live longer and be healthier, think more clearly, have more energy, and decrease your risk of getting cardiovascular disease, diabetes,  or Alzheimers?  Then you need to seriously consider not only WHAT you eat, but also WHEN you eat.  

Human beings are created with the ability to store excess calories as fat.  That is great, if a famine hits your area occasionally.  But that is not the norm in America.  If the famine never comes,  and we keep eating and storing fat, we not only get fatter, but we also tend to keep high blood sugar and insulin levels.  This, over time, is very detrimental to our circulatory system, which basically feeds every cell we have.  All sorts of damage is done by excess fat.  It happens slowly, and you may not notice it …….UNTIL YOU DO!   At that point, well…..the goal is to avoid that point.

So how (and when) should we eat?  I have talked before about intermittent fasting.  All that means is that in each 24 hour period, you leave enough time with an empty stomach for your body to recuperate from processing food and take care of other matters.  You need to leave time to actually use up some of that stored fat.  It is not meant to keep accumulating.  

FAT STORES ARE NOT LIKE A BANK ACCOUNT.   You do not want to keep storing and never use any of it.  If you keep storing fat and never use any of it, your body suffers.

However, if you give your body a chance to get hungry…to use up the easy glucose and glycogen stores, and then look around for other energy sources, there are a lot of benefits.

Your body will turn to using stored fat.  Since fat is also where the body stores a lot of toxins, there is the added benefit of getting rid of toxins.  ALSO, your body will scout for cells that are damaged and RECYCLE parts from defective cells.  That is called AUTOPHAGY, a process whereby the human body can clean up all sorts of problems.  But if you constantly keep pouring in new fuel, this will never happen.

So,  WHEN IS THE WORST TIME TO EAT?  The worst time is BEFORE BED or LATE AT NIGHT.   Since, for the most part, we don’t eat while sleeping, we get at least a 6 to 8 hour fast while in bed.    If you can add a few hours after dinner or before breakfast (or both) you can fast longer.  You need to get to about 12….or even 16….hours of fasting before getting the benefits.  By eating a bedtime snack, you are not helping yourself.  You are sabotaging your body’s efforts to stay healthy.

So….go to bed hungry.  It is a good thing!

OVERNUTRITION

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TOO MUCH FOOD

What is essential to life but also one of the greatest killers?  What do you need to stay alive but also is responsible for more disease and premature death than Covid or Cancer?  The surprising answer is FOOD!

Overnutrition causes overweight and obesity.  It is easy to find out if you have become a victim by calculating your BMI (body mass index). Here is the formula:

BMI = (weight in pounds/2.205)/(height in inches/39.37) squared

Then plug that number in to the chart below:

  • NORMAL WEIGHT               BMI greater or equal to 18.5 – 24.9
  • OVERWEIGHT                      BMI 25-29.9
  • OBESE                                   BMI greater or equal to 30

It has been know that carrying too much weight is harmful to one’s health for over 2000 years.  But the incidence of obesity has  skyrocketed in modern society.

  • In the United States, from 1988 – 1994, the obesity rate was 22.9%
  • Then form 1999 – 2000 it was 30.5%
  • From 2015 – 2016, it was 39.6%
  • By 2030 it is projected to be 50%

It is important for citizens to begin to learn how to avoid becoming obese…and how to undo damage already done!

OVERNUTRITION, in addition to leading to overweight and obesity, also leads to

  • -poor health outcomes
  • -premature deaths
  • -cardiovascular disease
  • -diabetes
  • -hypertension
  • -cancer
  • -sleep apnea
  • -GERD

It is also associated with osteoarthritis, gallstones, depression, and the list goes on…………

But we can learn to avoid OVERNUTRITION.   It starts with a few simple rules.

Rule#1 – avoid caloric drinks and stick with water, unsweetened tea, coffee, milk – drinks like gatorade and soft drinks have great marketing but leave you fat and empty

Rule#2 – avoid processed foods.

Rule #3 – practice portion control

Rule #4 – self monitor.  Keep a food diary.  Avoid mindless eating in front of the TV.

YOU CAN DO IT.  START SMALL.  LITTLE STEPS STILL MOVE YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.  IT’S NOT A DIET….

IT’S A LIFESTYLE

Soul Food

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I am interrupting my nutritional blogging to highlight some wonderful food for the soul.  It is the story of a kettle that is passed down through generations.  Will Ford tells the story of the kettle.  The kettle story goes back a number of generations and weaves its way from plantation to Lee’s last battle to Appomattox and all the way to Martin Luther King.

The story of the kettle alone is fascinating, but even more fascinating is how a descendant of the slave owner comes to hear the kettle story.  This story is so miraculous that it cries out that God’s hand has been on the kettle throughout its existence.  

I first heard about this story on an Eric Metaxix Show podcast.  When you hear the men tell their story, it is obvious that they themselves are amazed at the events that have occurred.   So I bought their book, The Dream King, and  it was even more miraculous to read.

If you want to be encouraged and uplifted……it you want to learn some very interesting history…..if you want, perhaps, to see a glimpse of a future where black and white people are truly brothers and sisters and love each other as they were created to do….then explore this story!

TWO WAYS

Listen to the The Eric Metaxes Show Podcast (encore presentation) – August 27 featuring Will Ford and Matt Lockett

OR

Read THE DREAM KING – how the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. is being fulfilled to heal racism in America by Will Ford and Matt Lockett

And when you are finished being amazed, pass this information on to all your friends.  I think they will thank you.

PROCESSED FOOD

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I talk to my patients a lot about negative aspects of processed food.    But I’m realizing that the term “processed” is not very specific.  It can mean a lot of different things.   So, for my own sake, as well as others, I need to be more specific.

Processed food just means that a plant or animal product has been altered in some way.  Wheat from the field, for example, is not very useful until one grinds it into flour.  Then it can be mixed with some salt and yeast to make some delicious bread.  Therefore, processed food is not necessarily bad. It all depends on the type of processing.  How has it been changed?  What has been added or removed?

In general, I tell patients that if God made something and that something is pretty tasteful on its own then it is best to eat it in is most natural form.

For instance, let’s consider an apple.

A small apple picked fresh from the tree has about 77 calories and 3.6 grams of fiber.  The skin is mostly insoluble fiber and the flesh of the apple is mostly soluble.  This soluble fiber is largely pectin, a fiber that can bind cholesterol…and therefore lower your cholesterol level.  Hence, the “apple a day keeps the doctor away!”

But now consider one cup of unsweetened applesauce.   The apple has been processed by having it’s skin removed.  A cup of applesauce has about 100 calories but only 2.7 grams of fiber.  It is still good for you, just not quite as good for you as the apple.

Now consider one cup of unsweetened apple juice.  It has 116 calories and only 0.25 grams of fiber.  Nothing bad for you …just not as good.  So processing can take a food from “GREAT” TO “GOOD” TO “OKAY” for you to eat.

And in modern America it can even become something bad for you — just look at some juice boxes for kids and how much added sugar is in them!

Of course, you can take the processing even a little further — in the form of an apple pie.  But honestly in the old days it wasn’t the apple pie that make a farmer unhealthy.  They had worked in the field all day.  Plus the if they used a home made crust, cut down the sugar, skipped the ice cream and kept the portion small — well then they did not gain weight.

 So the moral of this blog is you can make your pie and eat it too —provided you are careful with how you process things. 

WHEN YOU EAT………DO NO HARM!

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LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD.  That was uttered by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived 460 – 374 BC.  Today we know more about the way certain foods can help us to prevent or even reverse some significant life-altering diseases.

One of these life-altering diseases that affects almost everyone in the United States is cardiovascular disease.  According to the American Heart Association, in the United States, 48% of people over the age of 19 have some degree of cardiovascular disease (CVD).  The category of CVD includes coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack, angina, heart failure, hypertension, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and aortic aneurysm.  Many people have CVD and just don’t know it.  Your vessels may only be partially blocked with plaque and not yet screaming at you, but that does not mean you shouldn’t be worried.

So….when my patients do get worried, what do I tell them?  I remind them how important their diet is!  How do you let food be your medicine?  Well, the good news is that there are a lot of risk factors for CVD that are modifiable, and diet is among them.   In fact, a worldwide study named INTERHEART looked at people in 52 different countries.  This study identified 9 risk factors that could be modified to decrease CVD.  These 9 risk factors were responsible for >90% of the risk of having that first heart attack!  WOW!  So what are these 9 factors you can change or alter?

  1.  smoking
  2.  high blood pressure
  3.  diabetes
  4.  dyslipidemia
  5.  abdominal obesity
  6.  DAILY INTAKE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
  7.  regular alcohol consumption
  8.  regular physical activity
  9.  psychosocial factors

FOCUS on number SIX,  and you will help numbers two through five.

The AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION is promoting a HEALTHY HEART LIFESTYLE and calling it LIFE’S SIMPLE SEVEN

  1. don’t smoke
  2. get regular physical activity
  3. keep a normal blood pressure
  4. have a normal blood glucose level
  5. have a normal total cholesterol level
  6. keep a normal weight
  7. EAT A HEALTHY DIET

Again, focusing on number SEVEN  will help accomplish three through six.   No matter how you look at things, your diet is important and plays a factor in your health and longevity.  Food is medicine, one way or the other.  There is good medicine.  There is bad medicine.

It’s your choice!!

To Fatten A Belly

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To fatten your belly fast, there is a simple solution.  FAST FOOD.  It is everywhere.  If you would like to be healthy, it would be best to  AVOID it.  But that is nearly impossible to do.  But if your goal is to grow to the next size, it is helpful to have fast food on every corner!

So what are the fast foods most helpful for enlarging your girth?

FRIED FOODS – having something fried in oil adds so many calories, that you can eat a lot less and still maintain or even increase your current weight with no effort at all.  A FIVE GUYS Bacon Cheeseburger will supply 920 calories.  (If you wash it down with a coke (290 cals) and add Five Guy style fries (953 cals)you can get up to 2163 calories in a single meal!  How is that for efficiency?)

SODIUM (SALT) –   Most people have no idea how much salt they eat, but they do know they love it.  Eating fast food is a great way to get a lot of salt.  Health experts say to limit you sodium intake to < 2400 mg a day, but that is only about one teaspoon.  That can be hard to do if you like a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese since it has 1110 mg just by itself. But, even better,  the Bacon Smokehouse Artisan Grilled Chicken sandwich has 1940 mg!  

CONDIMENTS – Ah, a few of these will really increase your belt size.  Zaxby’s ranch dressing = 190 cals.  And it is hard to get by with just one!  Honey mustard for your chicken.?  180 cals.  And don’t forget the ketchup for your fries!  See how easy it is?

BEVERAGES  –  A large soft drink can give you up to 560 calories.  Or you could go for a milkshake.  A Cookout milkshake is up to 900 calories.  A Hardees peach shake is only 700.  Personally, I love Frosty’s, but the large is 590 calories.  So I get the junior at 200.

So, there you have it!  A guide to gaining weight.  If you’re interested!!