5 Ways I Cut Sugar Back In My Diet

One of the things I have struggled with in my life, is sugar consumption.  If I tried to cut back on sugar from my diet, it would come at me like a zillion monsters attacking me.  The more I tried, the more I failed.

Before a dear friend passed away from cancer, one of the last things she said to me was, "cut sugar out".  It hit me hard and I know that she was correct.

Sugar is great.  It tastes so good.  It is addictive.  It gives me a high.  I love it.  I love it.  I love it and I want more of it.

Unfortunately, too much sugar is not healthy for the body in what I've learned.  No, I'm not some doctor of nutrition or anything like that.  I'm really speaking about my own understanding and comprehension.

So, here I am trying to get off the stuff and the harder I tried, it came back at me like a boomerang effect.  The more I tried, the more I craved it and then it left me feeling horrible and weak and defeated.  I knew there had to be a way.

Here's what I did.  While this may not work for everyone, maybe something in what I'm writing about will help you.

1. Mind Body and Mindfulness 

   This was not about some thought philosophy or mantras or meditation.  Not that those things don't help because they do.  What I'm referring to here is something more than the standard mind body and mindfulness thinking we all preach that we do.  In this case, I went in and started working hard on my inner self and from a cellular body component, I learned to release and let go of things.  It was about using Unified Therapy to go in and face the fears and demons of my past so that I could reclaim my life.  These things are essential for true growth into awareness and consciousness.

2. Mindful Of What You Eat

   What I mean by mindful is to be consciously aware of what you eat.  It isn't about chastising yourself and saying "I screwed up".  It isn't about counting calories or how much you consume or finding something to beat yourself up on.  It is about observing and noticing how much sugar you eat.  Become aware of the sugar content and sources in the stuff you buy.  You'll be surprised at how much sugar is in things you would not think it was.  Just observe and be aware of it.

3. What can you cut back?

   Normally there is something you can cut back that starts to drop the sugar consumption.  Make it something that is small and you think you can do without.  See if you can go a day or a few days, then maybe a week and a few weeks.  Try it small, build up on the success and use that to help motivate you further.  For me, I stopped buying these big bags of candy and having them sit around at my house.  If they were in the house, I was going to eat them.  By not having them at my house, it made it much easier to just say no.

4. The First Thing You Eat

   I noticed and found this by an odd observation, that if the first thing I ate in the morning had no sugar, it helped me the rest of the day.  Without that sugar fix first thing, my taste buds and neural pathways had a fighting chance.  It is almost like my brain found a new pathway to what I ate, rather than getting the early morning addictive fix which set me up for the rest of the day.  The more I did this, even if I followed it by some sugar in cereal or something else, I was more empowered.  I found I ate less sugary stuff and had less of a desire for it if the first thing I hate was without sugar.  I've checked this out a few times on myself and I get the same result.
   
   

5. Splurge

   As much as you may want to cut sugar out completely, sometimes you just have to let yourself go and splurge.  If I said to myself that tomorrow there will be absolutely no more sugar, I'm sure I would be beating myself up very hard.  If I just work to cut it back but allow myself to splurge every ONCE in awhile, then I've got the control.  I'm empowered.  Now, I don't mean splurge every day, but begin to limit it.  

Find alternative sugar and sweet sources that are healthy and delicious.  By searching for these things and reading the ingredients on labels of the foodstuffs you buy, you'll be helping yourself help yourself.  Don't just replace sugar with something that is not healthy because there are far too many products that I don't believe are as good for you as they claim to be.

I think we all chastise ourselves far too much and the shame just fuels what we eat, including the sugar we take in.  Sugar is very addictive and I'm sorry if the sugar industry does not like that, but if you see how much is added to everything we eat, I think the evidence speaks for itself.  If the sugar industry really cared about health, they'd be trying to put themselves out of business.

A little sugar can be good, but right now we are addicted to sugar.  The obesity and diabetes rates have skyrocketed which I feel are a direct result of sugar.  If you can just cut the amount of sugar down in your diet, you done so much for yourself to make your mind and body healthier.

These are 5 ways I used to cut sugar back in my diet.  What have you tried that helps you?  Let's all learn together.  Leave a comment of what has worked personally for you.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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The Truth About Sugar and Heart Disease

Article by Jeff Lemlich

By Jeff Lemlich. There they sit on my living room shelf:   Emmy awards, won during my time as a special projects producer for CBS Miami.  Seeing these statues should be a source of pride -- after all, everyone wants to feel appreciated.

But as I gaze upon two, in particular -- for "Heart Disease:  Beating the Odds" and "Cholesterol Counts" -- the realization hits me that maybe I'm not all that proud.  The realization hits me that we, and our viewing audience, may have been duped.

It wasn't our fault.  After all, it was a quarter of a century ago, and back then the things we reported were things that were accepted as fact.  High cholesterol leads to heart disease!  High fat diets also increase our risk!  Odds are your doctor will still tell you that these things are true.

I am not a doctor and have conducted no research, but I know what has worked for me, and I know the tricks that big business uses to advance their own agendas.  Now we are learning how, and why we have come to accept certain things as fact, when in some cases it's very possible (and likely) that exactly the opposite could be true.

Case in point:  a recent report published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggesting that the sugar industry paid tens of thousands of dollars back in 1967 for a favorable report in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.  That report minimized the link between sugar and heart health, and laid much of the blame on saturated fat.

It came at a time when there were competing studies: one looking at the relationship between high-sugar diets and the heart disease epidemic, and another that pointed to saturated fat and dietary cholesterol.   Guess which theory won out?

According to internal sugar industry documents, a top industry executive cooked up a plan to shift public opinion through "our research and information and legislative programs." (see source #1 below).   The industry then (according to the documents) paid big bucks to be able to hand-pick what was published in that study, which in turn influenced the government's dietary recommendations.

To this day, doctors still warn their patients about saturated fat, while believing that sugar promotes... umm... tooth decay.  (Then again, we still believe that fluoride in our water supply is the answer to tooth decay.   Google "the truth about fluoride" for a real eye opener.)

It was recently revealed that Coca-Cola and Pepsi sponsored 96 national health organizations, pouring lots of money into their coffers while opposing measures such as cigarette-style labels on junk food. (see source #3 below).

According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, soda companies have recently been funding scientific "research" about sugary beverages.   

Is that a conflict of interest?   It sure sounds like one to me.

Studies are now pointing to inflammation -- not cholesterol, not saturated fats -- as the leading cause of heart disease.   As Harvard Medical School's Dr. David Ludwig points out, replacing fat in food products with starch and sugar corresponded with the rise in obesity and diabetes. (see source #2 below).  Ludwig points out how some of the most calorie dense foods -- nuts, olive oil, and dark chocolate, among them -- are associated with less weight gain than processed grains, potato products, and other high carb foods that are part of the government's recommendations.

In other words, we were less obese, and heart healthier, when our diets included whole milk, full-fat salad dressings, and fatty meats.  I'm not saying those things are necessarily good for you, just that they're not necessarily the boogie men we were taught to think they are.

In the '60s we were told that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down".   We were inundated with songs in which sugar was something great -- the sweetest treat for the sweetest guys and gals.

What we didn't know was how sugar manufacturers were pulling the strings, making us much sicker as the decades wore on.   It's something that everyone needs to hear, if we have any hope of reversing this epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Yes, it  would have been nice to have had this information 25 years ago, when we researched, wrote, and produced our news reports.   We did a good job of telling the story (or what we believed to be the story) and production-wise, we probably earned the awards we received.

The news series helped my own awareness...

To be fair, there was some great information in there that's still relevant, such as how to read nutrition labels, and identifying some of the bad things to avoid (partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, among them).   Working on those two news series increased my own awareness, and led to a commitment to always read the label before purchasing anything. 

Yet reading a label can only go so far when there's so much confusion about what's good for you, and what's not.  I'm a firm believer in food healing, but the opposite side of the coin is also true.   Replacing highly-processed party treats with whole foods is a good place to begin.

Cholesterol counts?  Maybe... or maybe not.    Heart disease:  beating the odds?   You still can... by keeping an open mind, and not just blindly accepting what special interests want you to believe.

Guest Blogger Note:

Jeff Lemlich is an ex-news producer for Channel 4 (and at one time, Channel 6) in Miami.  He is the music historian for Florida when it comes to Garage Bands of the 1960's.  Jeff is also the author of the book, Savage Lost, and you can learn more about him on his website, SavageLost.com .  Health, well-being, and Mind Body fitness are very important to Jeff Lemlich. This blog post was written by Jeff Lemlich and I'm sharing it exclusively on the Mind Body Thoughts Blog.

Credits:

1. "Heart Disease:  Beating The Odds" aired in 1990 on WCIX-TV in Miami.   Dr. Steve Greenberg and John Roberts (now with Fox) were the reporters.
2. "Cholesterol Counts" aired both as a news series and on an installment of the WCIX public affairs show "Insight" in 1992.  Dr. Steve Greenberg and Ken Matz were the reporters , with Cheryl Stopnick providing valuable assistance.

Sources:

1. How The Sugar Industry Shifted Blame To Fat
   New York Times, September 12, 2016
   http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html
2. Doctor:  Low Fat Diets Stuffed With Misconceptions
   CNN, October 13, 2016
   http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/opinions/debate-low-fat-diet-ludwig/?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool 
3. Big Soda May Be Messing with Our Most Trusted Health Organizations
   Huffington Post, October 2016
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/soda-companies-fund-health-organizations_us_57fbee6ae4b068ecb5e0e944?

Disclaimer:

This article is meant for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice.  Please consult your medical provider for any health decisions regarding this information.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Mind Body Thoughts and Jeff Lemlich

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Is The Food You Eat Killing You?

I know at one time, I never really worried about what I ate.  In fact, I doubt I even understood what good nutrition was.  I grew up in a home that had a big garden and so we enjoyed fresh vegetables much of the year or even canned produce through the winter.  I didn't realize for a long time that vegetables came from the store.

Unfortunately beyond that, we didn't practice good nutritional eating skills in the house I grew up in.  We didn't have an overabundance of candy or soft drinks, but we had plenty of cookies and other things.  Until I got sick in high school, much of our food was fried or cooked in ways that weren't healthy.

I'm glad we didn't have all the candy that there is on the shelves today.  I'm glad we didn't have the sugar flavored coffees and endless supplies of junk food.  Heck, I'm grateful we didn't have "normal food you now buy" that is so adulterated with foodstuffs and ingredients which in my view, are not healthy.  The food manufacturing industry wasn't quite as toxic as it is today.

Consume far too much sugar...

These days, everyone consumes far too much sugar.  In fact, if people really stopped to look at how much sugar they consume in their day, maybe they would wake up.  Maybe you're one of those people like I was that didn't pay attention to this.  Don't just assume that the products you buy or the things you eat don't have added sugar.

Most people barely eat whole foods in a day.  They miss out on the phytochemicals, the enzymes and the raw vitamins and minerals.  They miss out on the live stuff that helps fuel the body and keep it healthy.  The whole foods helps counteract some of the junk that we stuff into our body.  Every day, we do a whole food smoothie and you can read about it in my blog post at Making Whole Healthy Food Smoothies.

Sure, you may have gotten this far in life and have no health issues that you know of at this moment.  The more junk and sugar and non-whole food stuff that you consume, the more you're taking on a risk that could get life threatening.  It really can.  Just observe the increase in cancer and diabetes and other health ailments.  So many of these things can be prevented or reduced, but once we get past that point of no return, then we play havoc with our lives.

Start paying attention to what you eat...

If you want to change the course of things in your life and really take care of your body, then start paying attention to what you eat.  Know what is in the stuff you consume.  Read the labels.  Take notice of it.

Make little changes each day.  Trying to change all at once can be overwhelming, but make it a goal that you replace something that is junk or full of sugar with something that is more healthy.  Replace soft drinks and coffee with pure water, not some adulterated sugar flavored beverage that claims to be healthy.

Start making yourself whole healthy food smoothies using a Blentec Blender.  I will tell you that this has been one of the best things we ever did.  We don't get sick and we don't do flu shots.  We have a much more responsive and healthy digestive system.  We feel better and don't need to go to the doctor constantly for everything.  Whole food smoothies are nature's medicine.  If you truly care about your body, you will strongly consider doing this.

Take an inventory of what is in your cupboard and look at all the sugar amounts plus other ingredients.  Now, I do realize the food manufacturers try to hide some of the ingredients and there are some I don't think they actually list on products.  Be careful when reading the labels, because sometimes they are very tricky.  Get to know what you consume.

We've only got one body in this lifetime.  If we abuse it, it will try to keep up for a time. If we continue abusing our body, it will not be there for us.  Minor changes in what you eat can make big differences.  We all owe it to ourselves to be the healthiest we can be and we owe it to the ever increasing costs of health care to try to help ourselves, rather then just sit back and let our food kill us.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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180 Nutrition Is More Than A Protein Powder

I want to tell you about a product that I discovered and just started to try.  It is called 180 Nutrition and the company is out of Australia.  I got a sample pack to try and now I'm waiting for our shipment to arrive so I can try it out every day.

Just so there is no misleading influence here, I am now an affiliate for 180 Nutrition.  They actually contacted me and when I looked at the website, it fits in with what I needed for my life at this time.  You can go to their website and read up on their products, but I'll share with you my experiences.

It looks like they just opened up the US market and started selling some of their products to those who are not in Australia.  Hopefully as the days go, their complete product listing will be available in the US, but for now - its a start.

Normally I don't get into products such as this, but it made sense for me for many reasons.  In addition, I like the fact that they also feel we consume too much sugar.  I will admit, that even though I know this, I still consume far more sugar than I wish I did and I feel like I'm addicted to it.  So, I'm hoping that this program will help me with that.

Here's Why I Said Yes To 180 Nutrition

• Sugar is something I struggle with and I'm hoping this will help
• I could stand to lose a little weight
• I'd rather find a healthier choice for snacks.
• I like the idea of added protein in my diet. 
• The product is all natural foodstuffs and that's important.
• Planning on making my own protein brownies!  Yummy!

As I start taking this every day, I will keep notes and then share that at the end of thirty days to give my observations.  So, please keep checking back for updates.

One of the things I noticed when I used the starter packs is that the chocolate one tasted much better to me than the coconut one.  Maybe if I would have used different fruits, it would have been better.  The chocolate one was delicious and I mixed it with water and a banana.  The one thing I will say is that I wish I would have used ice.  It was way too warm for my liking.

I've got a video I am working on for YouTube of me making the smoothie with this protein pack the first day.  It isn't quite ready, but check back and hopefully, I will have it up soon.

The one thing I did notice is that I wasn't as hungry as I normally am after consuming the starter packs.  I didn't need to snack like I would on a regular day.  If it helps me that much, it will definitely be a home run.

I also like that the guys who run 180 Nutrition are into the mind-body connection and I did see one of their video interviews with Dr. Joe Dispenza who is phenomenal in my view.

Anyway, if you're looking to step up your own nutrition, take a look at 180 Nutrition.  I think you'll be surprised like I was when I checked out their website.

Full Disclosure:  I am an affiliate for 180 Nutrition.  I only promote and endorse products that I completely love and have used.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Is Sugar Toxic?

In an episode of 60 Minutes, Dr. Sanjay Gupta did a special that I found to be very interesting.  The topic of this episode was, Is sugar toxic?  I found this some time ago and it was very profound in my view.  While I personally have tried to reduce sugar intake and most likely consume far less than many people, it is something I struggle with in my diet.  Sugar tastes so good and it is addictive.  If you combine the addictiveness of it with emotional turmoil, it can really increase your desire and consumption in my life.

I personally never drink most sugared drinks.  If I go to a restaurant, I may have soft drinks, but I limit how much I drink.   The remainder of the time I drink water.   We don't have sugar or sweetened drinks in our house.  Most of the time I try to cut down on sugar in every way possible and in fact also we read the labels of the stuff we buy to determine just how much sugar is in a product.  It will surprise you at how many things you buy in the store that have large amounts of sugar in them.  In fact, you will be surprised at some of the stuff that has sugar added into it.

Are Your Nuts Healthy?

Just wondering when the last time you bought some healthy sunflower seeds to munch on as a snack?  Were they healthy nuts, or did they have stuff added to them that you didn't realize?  If you're like I was, I bought some Planters Sunflower Kernels and didn't even pay attention to the ingredients.  After all, who would think they would add so much junk into a natural product.  It seemed like such a simple purchase!

I know, I know - I've said it a million times.  You've got to read the labels, but on something as innocent as sunflower seeds?  Really?  Unfortunately you do, because if you see what I'm looking at right now, you'll most likely be as shocked as I am.

To Check out "What's In Your Pantry" blog post, click this link.

Some of the ingredients in this Planters Dry Roasted Sunflower Kernels include the following ingredients.

Do You Consume Too Much Sugar

Do You Consume Too
Much Sugar?

These days, so many people eat so much sugar. Some of it we can easily understand in what we eat and the rest of it, we may not be aware. How many labels of the food products that you buy, do you read and understand? The bottom line is that we eat far more sugar than we need.

According to a program that aired (2/17/12) on ScienceFriday.com of NPR, UCSF pediatrician Robert Lustig states that sugar is the main cause of the obesity epidemic and metabolic diseases we face in our country. His premise is that we are eating far too much sugar for our body to take in and adequately use or need.

Clutter In Our Life, Part 7

Clutter #7 - Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 7 of 10

So many people turn to soft drinks, tea, lemonade, alcohol, coffee to hydrate the body. However, very few us drink the amount of water in a day that we need. According to the mayo clinic website, we should at least drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day.

Keep in mind that this is "pure" unadulterated water, not water in tea, coffee, etc. When you mix in other substances into the water like sugar, caffeine, tea, etc., you body has to work harder to discard those substances and utilize the water.

In many cases, the other substances alter the pH of your blood which then requires your body to work overtime to bring the pH back into balance.

Our bodies are made up of more than 60% water and in order for our body and our brain to function properly, they need to be fully hydrated.

Yes, I know that sugar flavored drinks taste much better to water but if you set a goal to start drinking more water, you will find that in time, water is perfectly fine and tastes as good. It may take a little time if you are not used to drinking this much water but if you can stay with it, in time you will be much more healthier as a result.

Water is so important to the body of a living organism and without adequate water, we are really stressing and pushing our bodies towards disastrous results.

Come back tomorrow for part 8 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Clutter In Our Life, Part 5

Clutter #5 - Food Choices

Part 5 of 10

In our lives, we clutter our bodies with very poor food choices. Before you start thinking and trying to convince me that you are the healthiest eating human alive, consider how many aisles in the store are for absolutely healthy eating and how many are questionable to say the least. If you don't know, take a trip to any local grocery store and you'll quickly see what I am talking about. Of course, you might be one of the rare people who do eat healthy and if so, I applaud you for it.

We as humans tend to fill our shopping carts up with the processed stuff and we rush past the produce section of whole vegetables and fruits. We pay little attention to the ingredients in the food we buy including such things as amounts of sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup, additives and preservatives among other things.

We think that frozen vegetables and processed foods are just as healthy as the natural stuff but of course, we are only kidding ourselves.

There is much we should pay attention to in the food we buy and what we eat. The more conscious we are of this, the more healthy our body will be in the long term. What we put in our body is what fuels us through our day so if we put garbage in, we get garbage out.

Come back tomorrow for part 6 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Clutter In Our Life, Part 3

Clutter #3 - Numbing Ourselves
Part 3 of 10

Whether it is through food, coffee, energy drinks, sugar, junk food or many other things, we numb ourselves. We look for substances to give us that high in our day and soothe us from the rigors that we force our self into each day. We feel low and down so we reach for the sugar or caffeine to pump us back up.

If it isn't food substances that numb us, we park ourselves in front of the TV or video games or the latest electronic fad on the market and obliterate every hope of actually experiencing all that life has to offer.

There are moments that we need to just chill out but in our day and age, it is an epidemic where we spend more time numbing out than we do feeling and experiencing life. When we do this, we bring on all kinds of health and body conditions as the years progress.

Come back tomorrow for part 4 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Glucose and Fructose

According to an article published by Reuters and found on the website, rawstory.com, corn byproduct fructose literally fuels cancer cell growth a recent study finds. A team at the University of California, Los Angeles published their findings in the Journal of Cancer Research. The specific study or publication this research is in was not stated in the article so it is hard to verify any of these claims.

One quote from this article sort of sums up what the article is all about. Please read the entire article for the full context of this quote and all other information.

The industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.

Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.

Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney's team wrote.

Agave Nectar - Fact Or Fiction?

On June 1, 2010, I posted a blog entry Agave Nectar, The High Fructose Health Food Fraud. While I realize that I'm no authority on this, I was blasted by a comment from various "unknown persons" citing absolutely no sources to back up what they were saying.

Now, I'm not saying they were wrong in what they said or that they were wrong to reply to me. Actually I am glad they did. However, I just cannot understand that if you are bashing someone for giving bad or inaccurate data, that this would be done by giving opinions instead of research and science based facts. Some sources of information would have been nice.

It boggles my mind for this and while I'm sure they have something to back up what they are saying, one would think that they would include this. For all I know, these people could be in the Agave industry and trying to spin things in their direction. Who knows? No one knows because they hid behind a screen name. It is anyone's guess who they are.

The thing is, it is very difficult to tell who is telling the truth in the Agave products. On each side, people are making statements as fact when they do not necessarily have anything to support them. The people against Agave probably have some very good points just as the people for this product. Like everything in the new age versus the main stream culture, gossip is disguised as fact.

Like I said - who really knows the truth. I don't expect the people that produce Agave to give the complete truth. I don't expect to hear it from the people who claim Agave is bad. But the one thing that is clear or seems to be clear on both sides of the issue is this is a manufactured product and if that is the case, than it is not a naturally occurring substance. If it isn't a natural substance than the health benefits have to be questioned in my mind.

I'm not going to sit here in this blog post though and tell you what to believe or what not to believe. You can google search this and see what conclusions you come up with. Maybe I should have added all of those search results in my post and then the people bashing me with their comments would have been more than happy. Who knows? And if people cannot do a search and check out information presented to them to draw their own conclusions, than there isn't much I can do about that.

So now it is up to you to read both blog posts and then do your own research to truly determine for yourself if Agave Nectar is fact or fiction. That's the best I can do in presenting information and making an argument because I doubt anyone will find the true answer in the information presented.

Some other articles online you may wish to read:

1) Agave Nectar: Good Or Bad?

2) Madhava - Agave Myth Buster

3) Dissecting The Agave Controversy


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Agave Nectar, the High Fructose Health Food Fraud

Agave Nectar, the High Fructose Health Food Fraud

Agave nectar is advertised as a "diabetic friendly," raw, and a "100% natural sweetener." Yet it is none of these. The purpose of this article is to show you that agave nectar is in reality not a natural sweetener but a highly refined form of fructose, more concentrated than the high fructose corn syrup used in sodas. Refined fructose is not a 'natural' sugar, and countless studies implicate it as a sweetener that will contribute to disease. Therefore, agave nectar is not a health building product, but rather a deceptively marketed form of a highly processed and refined sweetener.

Some statements and thoughts from the above referenced article. I have just highlighted some parts of the article, but please read the entire article because it has some very good information stated in a way that is very simple and easy to understand.

1) Found primarily in health food stores under the labels of Agave Nectar 100% Sweetener and Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar.

2) The implication of its name, the pictures and descriptions on the product labels, is that agave is an unrefined sweetener that has been used for thousands of years by native people in central Mexico. But, as one agave seller explains, the agave nectar purchased in stores is neither of these traditional foods: "Agave nectar is a newly created sweetener,

3) The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice. The process in which the agave starch is converted into refined fructose and then sold as the sweetener agave nectar is through an enzymatic and chemical conversion that refines, clarifies, heats, chemically alters, centrifuges, and filters the non-sweet starch into a highly refined sweetener, fructose.

4) Fructose is not what is found in fruit. Commonly, fructose is compared with its opposite and truly naturally occurring sweetener, known as 'levulose'. There are some chemical similarities between fructose (man made) and levulose (made by nature), and so the synthetically refined sugar fructose was labeled in a way to make one believe it comes from fruit.

5) Saying fructose is levulose is like saying that margarine is the same as butter. Refined fructose lacks amino acids, vitamins, minerals, pectin, and fiber. As a result, the body doesn't recognize refined fructose. Levulose, on the other hand, is naturally occurring in fruits, and is not isolated but bound to other naturally occurring sugars. Unlike man-made fructose, levulose contains enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fruit pectin.

6) Refined fructose is processed in the body through the liver, rather than digested in the intestine. Levulose is digested in the intestine. Refined fructose robs the body of many micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use. While naturally occurring fruit sugars contain levulose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup contains "free" (unbound), chemically refined fructose.

7) The reason why refined fructose is used so commonly as a sweetener is simple: it's extremely cheap in cost.


As you can see, there is some mighty good information in this article. While I've quoted a few of the spots in it, again, I urge you to take a moment and read the entire article.

I find it disturbing that high fructose corn syrup or the healthy touted agave nectar are so prevalent in our society. They are ingredients in food products that have no business including them. When I try to prepare meals from all natural foods and substances, I am always amazed at just how much better they taste, how much more vibrant the colors and overall, just how I feel from them.

Granted, we live in a fast paced society and it isn't always easy to grow all your own food, create everything from scratch and select the most healthiest ingredients. Yet, you can help yourself drastically by reading labels on food ingredients and getting to know more of what is in the stuff that you buy. And of course, the more you can grow in your garden and the more you can get away from processed foods, the better your life will be. We all know that of course but in our society where we live in an abundant supply of stores, we have gotten lazy and forgotten what really matters.

If we don't take care of our body, no one else will. We're only given one body and what we do with it is all up to us. It is our choices, our decisions and our awareness.