Sugar, Sugar Everywhere...

Sugar is Public Enemy #1.  Why?  Because of all the awful things it does to our bodies!  Let me explain.  There are different kinds of sugar. There is natural sugar ,(that is found in fruits and vegetables), and processed sugar, (found in pretty much everything else).  Natural sugar is not the problem.  It's all the highly processed crap we eat.  Did you know things like salad dressing, potato chips, salsa, and mustard have sugar in them?  Hard to believe, but it's true.  The biggest question is why manufacturers would put sugar in everything.  There are two main reasons:

• Processed sugar is cheap, (especially high fructose corn syrup)
• Sugar is addictive, so if it's in your food, you'll purchase more

High fructose corn syrup is one of the worst!  The spot in your brain that registers high fructose corn syrup is the same spot in your brain that is affected if you shoot heroin.  Did everyone catch that?  Eating foods with high fructose corn syrup in them gives you the same high as heroin!!  SCARY!



Throughout the next few weeks, I'll be talking more about foods, both good and bad.  There are a couple documentaries that I absolutely love:  Food, Inc and Super Size Me.  They both put quite the reality check on the food industry.  As a whole, people are more educated about food than they have ever been.  We, as consumers, have the power to drive the market towards fresh, wholesome foods!  Use that knowledge!  One great guide to take shopping with you is the Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide.  The entire series is absolutely awesome!  It pays to shop smarter.  Your body and health will thank you!

Opinions & Truths

I heard once that opinions are like belly buttons: everybody has one.  It stuck with me because it is absolutely true.  Here are some of my opinions: Celery is disgusting.  Apricot preserves make the best J-side for a PB&J sandwich.  The orange at the bottom of the Christmas stocking is the best part of the stocking.  The best way to eat a tomato is to pull it from the vine and eat it like an apple.  The best breakfast food ever is biscuits with sausage gravy.  Waffle House has the most amazing grits and hash browns, especially at two in the morning.  Deep Fried Okra and Catfish is perfect lunch for a Friday afternoon.

I know plenty of people would disagree with me on every single one of these opinions.  The flip-side of all this is that there are absolute truths in life, too: Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death all over the world.  This is the first generation of four and five year olds that are not expected to outlive their parents.  Eating fast food has serious health consequences.  Obesity is preventable.

Funny how we live in a world that fights over opinions, but rarely wants to hear the truth, especially when hearing the truth means doing something about it.