I recently shared in my private women’s Facebook Group, in a live stream, the link between hormones and sugar. While we may be aware of the negative health effects of eating too much sugar — especially added sugars such as that contained in baked goods, soda, candy, and the many commercially-available kinds of cereal out there, added sugar is hiding just about everywhere in the grocery store.

In my live stream, I talked about how refined sugars spike your blood sugar and insulin, which then increases your risk for a whole host of issues like diabetes and hormonal imbalances, and really messes up your digestive health.

I have experienced some of these things myself. You may remember me mentioning before that I am a sugar addict and binge eater. No kidding. I was actually a closet binger. I would hide my stash so no one could take my chocolate or candy, and even worse, I would actually be in a panic when my stash was running low. How on earth would I be able to live without that chocolate I had hidden away? It was a very real experience for me, and to be honest, at times, I still find myself struggling with the draw of chocolate and sweets. In hindsight, I can admit now that I have an addiction to sugar. I didn’t realize how it had an effect on my moods, my weight, my digestive system, and caused inflammation in my body. I really had no clue what type of negative effect all of that sugar was having on my body. I could have saved myself from a myriad of health issues I had to deal with let alone the increasing number of migraines I was dealing with.

During that period of time, while I relied heavily on the sweets, I was also aware of the obvious results – weight gain and belly fat. At that time, I believe a lot of what the food industry, etc. was feeding us through its advertisements. I bought into the whole belief that opting for lower-calorie and/or no-fat/low-fat (and artificial sweetener) option would save calories and would counteract the effect of the high sugar intake my body was absorbing through the sweets, chocolates, and desserts, etc. Of course, all these low-cal/low-fat foods are touted as saving calories, helping heart health, etc. while still tasting great. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the negative effect of artificial sweeteners and all the other chemicals put into the processing of foods and what I now call “fake foods.” After becoming a certified health coach, I was so much more aware of these pitfalls. I started taking control of my sugar addiction, ditching the artificial sweeteners, and living a healthier lifestyle so that I could feel better, feel happier, lose weight and feel more energized.

The food industry has fed us this idea that with these artificial sweeteners, we can still get the sweetness…without the calories. For example, think about how we feel about diet soda instead of a regular one. In theory, the diet version was supposed to help us maintain healthy body weight and help decrease our risk of heart disease, diabetes, and/or obesity.

For so long, I bought into all of this, but not anymore! Let’s talk a little more about artificial sweeteners.

Types of Artificial Sweeteners

In this blog, I specifically want to discuss the type of artificial sweeteners that are synthetic chemicals where a tiny bit tastes very sweet. These are also known as non-nutritive sweeteners because they have no nutritional value whatsoever. These would include sweeteners like:

• Saccharin (Sweet & Low)
• Acesulfame potassium
• Aspartame (Equal & NutraSweet)
• Sucralose (Splenda).

So the million dollar question is this….

What Is the Effect On These Sweeteners on Our Bodies?

My position is that when it comes to artificial sweeteners, we should err on the side of caution. Studies show that some of the following things are a pitfall in our overall health and well-being when it comes to artificial sweeteners:

• They change the way we taste food. Think about that for a minute. That means for some of us, fruit and veggies taste less and less appetizing if we use artificial sweeteners.
• You can trick yourself into thinking you can eat unhealthier foods such as donuts, cakes, etc. because you’ve switched to diet soda, which actually nullifies potential health and weight loss benefits.
• Studies show that artificial sweeteners can actually increase your cravings for sweet things as you stop associating flavor with caloric intake.
• The sweetness of artificial sweeteners sends signals to your body to release insulin to lower your blood sugar; but because you didn’t really ingest sugar, your blood sugar levels get too low, which in turn, causes you to crave sugar again.
• One study performed on animals actually suggests that saccharin may create addictive tendencies.
• Artificial sweeteners are toxic to our gut health.

The whole issue of sugar and sweeteners is one that is “near and dear” to me because I struggled with this issue for so many years in one way or another. I lived with excess weight, poor gut health, IBS, migraines, and other diseases.

If you are trying to avoid artificial sweeteners, or overall find out how to deal with your sugar cravings, believe me, I get it. I have been there and I know the struggle. To make your journey easier, I created this free guide to give you a simple way to stop your cravings and slim down your waistline! It’s time to get off the sweet stuff and get your body back. Download your free guide now.

Quinoa Bowl

Lynne Wadsworth

Healthy lunch option

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Lunch

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup

  cooked quinoa

  (warm or cold)

• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1 lg. cucumber chopped
• 10 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup red cabbage shredded
• Lemon Basil Dressing
• 1 tsp tahini (heaping tsp.)

Lemon Basil Dressing

• 1 lg. lemon juiced
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 cup ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Add quinoa, mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, goat cheese, red cabbage, and Lemon Basil
  Dressing to a large mixing bowl.
• Add your choice of protein.
• Mix well.
• Top with sliced avocado.
• Drizzle with tahini before serving.

Lemon Basil Dressing

• Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until well incorporated.

Notes

Protein Options:

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans; OR 1 5-oz can salmon

Tip:

This is a great recipe to double up on to have lunch for the week.