Is It Sugar, “Sugar-Free," or “Fat-Free” That’s Causing You To Gain Weight?

It’s definitely not a secret that there is more obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease than ever before. Nor is it a secret that the people that are struggling are desperately looking for help. They need real answers that can give them the direction, hope, and encouragement needed to finally, with total certainty, take the necessary steps towards losing weight and improving their health. They find themselves searching for solutions, yet find only continual compounding problems.

So what has to be done to move in the right direction?

Well, for starters, let’s go over the basics of what sugar, sugar-free, and fat-free products are and how they are DESTROYING your health. That’s right, they’ll completely set you up for a lifetime of problems according to a little common sense and a lot of research.

Listen, because you potentially may be in a state of denial, where your addictive thoughts keep you from admitting the truth, sugar is inarguably bad for you. Sure, a little may be acceptable for most people, but we don’t have a current issue of people deprived of sugar to talk about. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. The USDA currently estimates that the average American is consuming roughly 25% of their total calorie intake in the form of sugar. This means that the average person is estimated to be eating about 142 lbs. of sugar each year. Some reports estimate as high as 180 lbs. per person. What’s worse is that although most people already know that excessive sugar is addictive and increases their risk for weight gain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, depression, fatigue, digestive problems, pain, etc., they continue to consume in epic portions.

So how much sugar is acceptable? The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of added sugar you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance. In other words, for the average woman, that means that this is no more than 100 calories per day of sugar which translates to about 6 teaspoons per day. For men, the sugar intake should not exceed the average of 9 teaspoons per day.

This is especially true if you’re already struggling with being overweight and/or suffering from any of the previously mentioned symptoms or conditions.

But what most people don’t know is how fructose plays into the bigger picture of sugar intake. Back in the 1970’s, the “Fat-free” craze really started to take off. By the 1980’s, Americans were consuming large amounts of processed foods.

Most people have been around long enough to figure out that processed food is just that, it’s manufactured. In other words, much like your car is manufactured in the industrialized manner, so too is the likely hood of your food source. Sadly, much of the food that is consumed by Americans today is now void of any natural properties.

As hard as it is to believe and although it may come across as being silly to think of, next time you go to the grocery store, time yourself on how long it takes you to find “real food.” Seriously, it’s so accepted to eat processed, chemically-laden food that you have to go out of your way to find natural, healthy foods.

So when the fat-free foods came out, in order to magically take away the fat, they had to change the natural properties of the foods. If you take away the fiber and decrease the fat, but add in some high fructose corn syrup, well now you have a tasty treat. A treat that will increase your likely-hood of causing significant health problems.

However the form of the sugar that comes, it’s important to know that it’s bad. But, reports now show that eating “fructose is the number one contributing factor to the current obesity epidemic.” As a result, you may be trying to “take care of your heart,” or “trying to shed a few unwanted pounds,” not realizing that by eating these foods, your causing the problems that you’re trying to avoid. Eating fructose is worse than eating fat. Think about it, how many people do you see all around you consuming the “diet” foods and beverages or the “fat-free” stuff, yet they struggle more each year with their weight? The people who make an effort to lower their cholesterol by eating fat-free foods, actually increase the LDL as well as elevate triglycerides, raise blood sugar, increase blood pressure, and cause the liver to have severe complications.

Here’s the thing: sugar is everywhere! Mistakenly, many people even make bad choices when they’re even trying hard. Take, for example, juice. Have you ever looked at how much sugar a 15oz bottle of apple juice has? According to a CNN Live report, it’s about the same as having 10 Oreo cookies.

So sugar is now not only a known addicting substance but is a major contributing factor in the declining health of people around the world.

But wait, we haven’t even discussed the “sugar-free” foods yet.

Aspartame is the giant in the “sugar-free” world. In fact, most foods on the market, including gums, mints, athletic drinks, supplements and “dieting” foods, frequently use this.

“Why?” you ask. Because it’s super sweet and has fewer calories than sugar. Therefore if you were in the “diet-food” business, you’d know that cutting calories is a popular method of attempting to lose weight. Although most people know that cutting calories alone to lose weight has not been shown to be an effective method, those products are used and sadly accepted by most.

By using aspartame or like substances, you have a product that is still sweet but has fewer calories. Society has accepted this, and people go out of their way to purchase and consume these products on a regular basis.

So what’s the problem? According to recent reports, 75% of all food-related reactions reported to the FDA are Aspartame related. Aspartame has its very own death category and has been shown to include common symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, weight gain, obesity, seizures, depression, insomnia, fatigue, and ADD/ADHD. Additionally, aspartame has also been linked to more chronic and deadly conditions including brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, diabetes, lupus, Gulf War Syndrome, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.

Knowing that, and looking back in history, people might want to ask themselves a couple questions: When did obesity and weight gain start to increase the most? When did our country begin to see diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease increase the most? When was it that Aspartame, processed foods, and fat-free foods became most prevalent?

Just a few things to think about.

It doesn’t have to be this way though. If you’re serious about making a shift towards losing weight and improving your health, we can help! Contact our team today to see how we can help you achieve your health and weight loss goals.

Vilulu. Beyond Dieting.