17 Jun 10 Nutritional Agreements: Part 2
We’re continuing with more nutrition truths. Last week, we shared that:
- There is no one-size-fits-all diet.
- “Diets” don’t work.
- Vegetables are all-stars.
Catch up the full blog post if you missed it.
This week, we will add two more truths into the mix.
- Added sugar does more harm and no good to our body. It’s widely known that processed food companies add salt, fat, and sugar to enhance flavors. The marketing is usually the giveaway. If the food is labeled as “low fat” then that reduction will be made up for by using added sugar or salt or both. Unfortunately, sugar does not provide any nutrients and it can even train our taste buds to prefer sweet foods and drinks. Although added sugar skips the nutrients it still provides calories which cause the eater to fill up on low-nutrition foods and skip the nutritious foods. Lastly, excessive added sugar intake may also be related to several chronic health conditions (heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and others), plus difficulty achieving weight management goals. The less added sugar, the better – no question!
- Unrefined has its place when it comes to carbohydrates. If unrefined carbs were superheroes then refined carbohydrates would be the villains. Unrefined carbs are whole foods that are not (or lightly) processed and the majority of their make up falls into the carbohydrate category. Some examples are whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, and beans – you know where nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants come from. Refined carbs are processed foods that are stripped of the majority of their nutrients and are generally easy to spot by their first ingredient of enriched wheat flour or high fructose corn syrup, etc. Unrefined carbs can steady blood sugar while refined carbs do the opposite and are catalysts for blood sugar spikes and in the long-run problems with insulin resistance. Refined carbs also miss out on fiber, which means too many refined food choices will cause a person to be low on fiber, nutrients,and antioxidants, plus at an increased risk for chronic health conditions. Choosing unrefined or refined (carbs) has its upside.
By Victoria Emmitt RD
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