Just a Spoonful of Sugar

So, I don't know about you, but I have a lot of questions about sugar. I think we can all agree that it is bad for you, but I also think we can agree that giving it up for good is just out of the picture. So what's a safe amount? What kind of sugar should we choose, when we do indulge? What about honey? Artificial sweeteners? I've done some research, and here are some of the facts:

1.) How is sugar bad for your health?

Not only is sugar more calorie dense, it is less filling, and leads to overindulgence and a bigger waistline. Our taste buds also get accustomed to sugar, so you end up gradually increasing your intake. Secondly, sugar raises our insulin levels, which in turn knocks out our immune system.

**For more information on the negative effects on sugar, and the increased risk of disease and cancer, please visit http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

2.) What about artificial sweeteners?

Although the low calorie count is very appealing, studies done in the 1970's linked saccharin (Sweet N Low) to bladder cancer in lab rats.  Questions arose for aspartame (Equal) in 1996, when it was linked to brain tumors, and again in 2005 when it was linked to cancer.  I don't know about you, but these facts scare me.  I'm also not a fan of eating anything manmade and unnatural.

**For more information on the health risks and studies done on artificial sweeteners, please visit http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners

3.)  So what are some healthy alternatives?

While our body treats all sugar the same, there are some health benefits associated with some of the options.  Honey, for example, is a great immunity builder, and cures many ailments.  This article (http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/anti-cancer.html) actually calls honey anti-cancer.  How can you say "no" to that?  There is a lot of research, and many opposing opinions.  As for me, I'm going to stick with honey in my coffee, and the occasional sweets that somehow make their way to my cookie jar ; )  And I'll leave you with one final treat.  Check out this video of a tribesman who climbs a 40 meter tree, just to get at a beehive.  He quickly becomes his family's hero.  Imagine being so excited for some honey, that you would spend hours climbing a tree, and willing to get stung hundreds of times.  But this is what our bodies were designed for, burning and replenishing calories.