Christa 0:00
All right. So there's been a lot of talk about, there's always a lot of talk about sugar. Let's be honest, right? Like, everybody has a love hate relationship with sugar. But I wanted to talk about this today, because there was an article recently done, I think there was a study that was released in January 2023. All about Earth are tall and fake sugars. And so I think it'd be really cool to talk about, you know, real sugar, and then also fake sugars and how they can benefit us or not benefit us, as we can see in this article. So but let's start off talking about real sugar. Because I know I love it'll share that we all you know, me personally coming off of, you know, here we are, you know, at least three months out from the holidays, but it takes a while after, you know, spending a month, let's say on just eating whatever, because there's so many parties and goodies in all the things and it's amazing to me every year, how long it takes to kind of break that cycle that addiction to wanting or sweet treat after every meal, or definitely in the evenings, I think it creeps up for me. And I think that I can talk for a lot of people that sugar cravings bump up around them. But there's also so much that we know how bad sugar can be and how it causes disease and how it causes systemic inflammation, all the things. So let's start off talking about maybe the sugar addiction, like what can we do about like, what do you do to carpet for me, I generally start to really focus on protein. And I find that if I don't overcomplicate things, and I just make sure that I am reading labels, or doing the things like getting about 30 grams of protein in every meal, that my sugar cravings are vastly different than if I don't focus on protein and healthy fats like almonds or walnuts or, you know, using avocado oil, as you know, and my salad seems like that. I do find that that does help me break the cycle. What about you?
Sheree 2:03
Yeah, no, I 100% agree. And, you know, sugar is something that I was hugely addicted to very much. So it was very easy to and, you know, share a little bit of a personal story, but I ended up with Candida overgrowth. And I think a huge part of that. I mean, there's so many factors that contribute to it being on steroids, like, you know, steroids, not not putting in training for my asthma when I was younger, and being on the hormonal contraceptive pill. So that's a whole nother conversation to have. But the constant craving for sugar that came from the gut, because I had this overgrowth ventilated to me consuming more and more and more sugar. So overcoming an addiction, from even that perspective was really, really challenging, especially when you're trying to kill it off or stab it off you is secreting more of those little toxic to the brain getting you to crave it even more. And I think a lot of people have that sort of situation going on. If you're drinking too much alcohol, like you said over the holiday season that only exacerbates things like that, too. So I think you touched on that perfectly with the protein. A lot of people underestimate that. And our typical go to snacks is carbohydrates, right, we reach for a piece of fruit, we'll grab some rice crackers will, you know, grab something that's quick and easy and quick and easy. Things tend to be carbs. And so the biggest thing that I focus on if it's coming to snacking is making sure you are pairing that with a protein or you're pairing it with a fat source, it's going to slow down the release of the carbohydrate. And you know, we've talked about this a little bit before, But You are mitigating that blood sugar rollercoaster. And if you mitigate that, you're not going to have the high and the low, which means you're typically not going to end up with the craving or the crash, because you've kept your blood sugars nice and stable. So definitely protein definitely high quality healthy fats. And the other thing I found to be a game changer, and it's not specifically a food source, but magnesium. So huge thing I've helped my clients on myself on I have at least 350 milligrams of magnesium glycinate every single day, sometimes up to 600 milligrams. And that really seems to help one It calms the nervous system down kind of keeps my nervous system at bay and then that also supports the sugar cravings, right? If we even look at it from an adrenal perspective, like there's so many reasons why our body would crave sugar. I think that's another thing we could really touch on.
Christa 4:18
Yeah, I like to be brought up having an overgrowth in your gut. It's amazing how much the gut brain connection drives our actions in what we eat. So along those lines another thing that I find helpful when it comes to sugar cravings is resistant starch. And resistant starches are really just starches that aren't broken down until the large intestine and they feed bacteria. So the bacteria that are satiated and they're not sending out SOS signals for us to eat more rice. So that's really helpful and easy way. I don't know if they have this. We're in New Zealand but in the US you can get green banana flour just like in the almond flour section you have okay green banana flour, I just added a teaspoon to smoothies. And that is a resistant starch. You can also cook potatoes, cook rice and then cool it and put it in the fridge. And even after it's been cooled, you can reheat it. And it's still it has changed its property enough, that doesn't have such a spike in the blood sugar, and it also feeds the good bacteria. So those are all really helpful, I think, to switch that up. And you know, I guess as long as we're talking about straight sugar, the just the bad parts of sugar are like it creates so much inflammation like we can see this in studies where people drink, let's say a sugar drink that contains fructose blood labs can actually be measured CRP, which is an inflammatory blood marker is actually elevated for hours after drinking this, like it literally is a threat to the body. And straight, let's say fructose, which isn't a lot of things, you know, now it's become such a key word that you'll see a lot of labels say no high fructose corn syrup, because it is so dangerous to the body. But that also, you know, go straight to the liver and really stimulates more triglycerides and things like that. So I think a lot of people don't even think that the sugar that they're eating is actually why their cholesterol or their triglycerides are high. So high triglycerides, actually is a huge source of that is high sugar intake, ironically enough,
Sheree 6:23
yeah. And I think you know, one thing I always say to clients is sugar, your body possess sugar, just like alcohol is a poison. Right? It like you say it causes such a such a high level of inflammation, it can erode ourselves, it can erode things in our arteries and that sort of thing over time. And we really want to make sure that we are keeping it to a minimum. And whilst there is refined sugars that do that massive blood glucose spike, and like you said, it's amazing the impact that it has on our body for hours later. And I know in the states more predominantly than anywhere, the high fructose corn syrup was a huge, huge issue. And it's good that things are starting to shift. Now. You know, I even had a friend that moved over there. And she's, I can't even believe how sweet the bread is here. Like, things that you would like, as naturally savory was really, really sweet. And so it's added to so many things. And one of the biggest things, I think that can empower people is to really look at the back of a label and see how much sugar is in something because they're going to you know, randomly guess at this, but there's like 50, or something odd different names for sugar now, right? Like you've got different syrups, you've got different, like, you've got agape, you've got maple, you've got all these different things that people label sugar as to try and cover up the fact sometimes you can even turn over an ingredients list. And it will literally have four or five different types of sugar, but spread out through the ingredient list. So that was trying to mask how much is really in there. And so if we become more empowered with our shopping become more empowered with our food choices, we can flip the back of a packet over and go, Okay, there's a unique nutrition information panel that literally tells us how much sugar is in that. And you're always looking at the per 100 grams. Because that really the easiest way to look at it say it has, you know, 53 grams per 100 grams, you know that that's 53% of the food is sugar. And so it gives you more of an insight as to whether or not you want to make that choice and purchasing it. Because the more the thing is our taste buds change, as you know, right. And so the more we consume something, the more we tend to crave it. And that also goes back to those relationship with bugs in our gut. But the more again, I read somewhere and totally accurate. It was tried to try and find the study. But some studies even suggest that sugars, like up to eight or nine times more addictive than cocaine. So I really sympathize and empathize and I've been there, right when you're trying to eliminate that sugar addiction. It's a it's a literal, addictive substance. And I think we are.
Christa 8:50
Yeah, yeah. I mean, dopamine going wild when you eat sugar, right? So it's, it's a legitimate thing. And I think that it's, it's one thing to read and say, Okay, great. I shouldn't be eating so much sugar. But it's difficult. And I think, you know, being somebody who has kids at home, I know my kids shouldn't be having a lot of sugar, but let's be real, they do. And it's even more of a temptation for me because it's present, right? So I would say if you have the option, we always have the option but to really just avoid purchasing and having those things hanging out in house for one thing, but when we're faced with those big, you know, even trying to shift from post holidays or post vacation, or you know, maybe we do have an overgrowth of yeast in the gut that's really telling the brain like feed me and so you literally literally are craving this food, it almost feels like you don't have control over your cravings. So things that have helped me is maybe having a mantra that you say like everything is abundant. This will be here later. I do not have to have it right now. I'm going to drink water. I'm going to see how I feel. Some people have said taking a warm shower can help some people say brushing your or teeth or putting in some peppermint gum can really help kind of sidetrack yourself, right. Like, it's sometimes it just takes a good five minutes to really ship that craving and shift your, your focus on, on that trigger. But what about let's talk a little bit about the the fake sugars in quotes, right, because it's kind of feeding the same signal in our brain. But it's interesting, some of the studies coming out that it really isn't healthy for us. And it actually, in some cases, doesn't even lead to weight loss, because it doesn't really tell the brain like it stimulates the brain's hunger signals. And then you're still hungry. So you end up eating a lot anyway, you know, a lot of those, there were studies done with Diet Cokes and, and things like that people were actually gaining weight, because now it's kind of lit up that part of the brain, but there's no calories and so that satiety signals, and it really hit the most popular right now is the earth are tall study. And that was a part of a study that was released in Nature magazine, January 2023, where they talked about like the actual health hazards to this amount. And the interesting thing is that are their research is found in natural fruits, right? I think that's part of what the study says. But that what we're products of Earth's are taller user upwards of 1000 times the natural content. And ultimately, what the study showed was that it's affecting platelets in a way that for people at high risk for heart attack or stroke, or maybe even women on birth control, we don't know there needs to be more studies done. But we know birth control, oral birth control can cause some high risk for clotting. And then on top of that, if you're eating a lot of so called diet foods with resveratrol, now you've got stickier platelets that are more likely to clump together and create a potential clot that could lead to cardiovascular disease. So what are your thoughts on that? I mean, it's interesting, I don't know that it applies to absolutely everybody. It's still still too early to say. But I certainly am going to start looking at how often I'm eating and consuming a resveratrol because there's no there's no dress.
Sheree 12:13
Oh, yeah. And I was always under the school of thought. And when you go through nutrition school, you go study, it's like, that's a natural sweetener, it's fun is xylitol, there's all the sugar alcohols that you can label, then you've got things like stevia and monk fruit and all of that, and you go, Okay, well, it's naturally occurring. So it must be fine, right? When it was in nature, my body can consume. And like you said, the problem is, is in most cases, there's a thousandfold of it, it's not the natural quantities that you would actually be consuming, or you're not consuming it with the fiber that you'd normally consume it with, and that sort of thing. And the other thing was sugar alcohols is that it's quite often, you know, some of them are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar itself. So not only is the brain not getting the calories, and we ended up still being hungry, but then our taste for sugar, or our taste for sweetness increases, which can only further enhance that addiction, right. And so then when we try and take it out, it becomes harder and harder. I know, when I was, you know, calorie counting back through my bodybuilding phase, I was living off like diet, vanilla Coke, and Coke Zero and that sort of thing, just to try and give me something sweet without the calories. And that only made it so much harder to, to kind of come off that. And so, like you mentioned before, we don't know the long term adverse effects of this, when it's not in its natural form. When it's not paired with things natural, it's the same sort of thing as like having a juice versus the actual fruit. When we're looking at pure sugar, right, you're never going to eat eight oranges at once. But that's how much is needed to make an orange juice. So really, should we begin speaking, assuming that quantity of sugar. And to go back to your point about the blood clots and that like we don't know that, you know, this is something that we see in woman, we haven't got the studies to support it. But at the same time, if there is that combined effect of okay, this could put you at adverse risk of blood clotting. And then we've got other medications and it doesn't just have to be the oral contraceptive pill, there are other medications that are known to increase your risk of blood clots, like is there a need now for us to stop putting that on labels? You know, if you are, you know, and where does that start to come in? I totally agree with you. We do need to start looking at the labels a little bit more effectively. But most food that I know you and I would consume, and most people that are really mindful of the health and well being we don't consume much food that has a lot of labels either. So that's the other thing you need to take into account. If you're eating whole real foods. Most things don't come with a label. Right?
Christa 14:48
Well go back to a research Hall. I'm just thinking in the weightlifting world, particularly with men, you know, testosterone injections, that does increase and that's something that You know, I would check in clinic all the time we would check a CBC would look at their blood count, look at platelets look at, you know how, how much because it testosterone does increase red blood cells, right? So you are at higher risk for clotting in some people, especially if you have a genetic predisposition for it, because not everybody is exactly the same genetically when it comes to this area. But when I think about people that maybe are taking testosterone, let's say, and then they're trying to eat well, and they're trying to maybe eat more protein bars, and they want to satisfy their sugar craving, but they're eating a lot, inadvertently, they're eating a lot of Earth are tall. Yeah, I mean, there's just so many different combinations that can put people at risk in areas where people think that they're doing the right thing, or they're cutting, you know, they're cutting out the inflammatory properties of sugar, but they're really kind of causing other issues. So it's just kind of one of those topics, and I think research articles to put in your back pocket and say, Oh, how much am I eating something that's not really it's kind of fake. It's not really, it's not real. And so where to get, I think, like you said, our taste buds get normalized to a certain amount of sweetness. And so when we kind of come down from the sugar high, we realize there really is a lot of, you know, fruits and things like that, that do satisfy some that sugar craving. And I think you mentioned this before, but I do always tell all of my patients and clients and even for myself, if I'm going to have fruit, make sure you're putting it with a protein. So a yogurt or, you know, some kind of some kind of a protein so that you don't have that even Yeah, just regular fruits can really spike the blood sugar without a good balance of protein at the same time.
Sheree 16:35
Yeah, and I think, you know, just to tack on to that a lot of whole real food recipes and that are moving towards, okay, well, if it's natural sugar, it's fine. And I think the you know, there's a little bit of a discussion that needs to be had around this too, because one date, you know, one, I don't know, if I say recommend your date, or whatever, they, you know, contains a full teaspoon of sugar. And so we're making these bliss balls and making these healthy slices, we're making these, you know, alternatives to buying something off the shelf, which in all fairness is a lot better. Because the recipe ingredients tend to be whole real foods, our body knows what to do with it. So I'm not putting them down in a huge way. But I think we consume them going oh, it's just like a normal snack, when really, we should be viewing it as a treat foods still, it still is the same caloric if not more, because we tend to combine the sugar and the fats in it. And then a normal slice of cake. And we've got that huge surge of potential using something like dates or maple syrup to make it that sweet, yummy tasting, raw, delicious treat or whatever it is. And so we can end up snacking on these. And I one of my friends had found one during the whole lockdowns and she was like he's having one a day, you know, they're super healthy. And she happened to reach out to the brands and ask them How do you know by chance? Like how much like how much calorie count they are. And you know, she's Oh, there's such a variety between the slices but they average around 500 calories a slice, and you're looking at about 40 grams of sugar per slice. And it's like if you're eating that a day you pretty much consumed your sugar content for the day. And your blood sugar's you know, even though it's paired with that little bit of fat, like probably going into haywire. You wonder why you end up with brain fog, you wonder why you end up with low mood or mood swings. You wonder why your energy starts to crash? Right. And I think that's something that even though we might be having these healthier, quote unquote, options, are they really just like the earth for tall? Are they really serving up body?
Christa 18:30
I think a question you can always ask yourself is who's driving the bus? Like, am I driving the bus? Or is the sugar? Like, do I really feel like I could say yes or no and be okay. Okay, either way? Or am I really like, oh, my gosh, I can't I can't help it, I have to have XYZ. And that's where I think if you're getting to that point in the I know, this is a trigger for me, if I'm getting to the point where I'm like, Oh my gosh, that's all I can think about right now. Like I've had dinner and now I have to have a sugary treat. It's time for me to you know, do some of the things that I know that help me get back on track, which is higher protein, really concentrating on that and high end that are healthy fats with every meal, and then maybe adding some of that resistance starch. But I do find that when I really focus on good protein, I don't need I don't crave that sugar. And it's so great to feel like I'm in control. I'm dragging the bus of what we're doing in the sweet department. So yeah, anything else to add? I think I think this has been really hopefully helpful in deciding what's best for your body and recognizing I think we all know that sugars, somewhat bad for us, but recognizing what to do about that craving because it's not always Yeah, it's just not always something that we feel like we're in control of.
Sheree 19:44
Yeah, and I think yeah, everything you said so far has touched on it so beautifully. And just to further reiterate the protein, you know, and we've talked about this a little bit before as well when it comes to a lot of women do this, but I know men are guilty for it as well as skipping that breakfast in the morning. And if you miss that Initial protein hit first thing in the morning, you know, you're 30 to 40 grams, if you can get that much in the 40 grams, if you're 30 grams of protein first thing in the morning, you're setting your metabolism up for success, you're setting your day up for success, you're regulating your hunger cues, your appetite, hormones, all of that sort of thing. And making sure that the next meal you have, you're more likely to pick a protein rich, balanced snack or a balanced meal, because you've had something that satiated you. And then you get to the end of the day, and you're not going, oh my goodness, I have stabbed myself or morning, or I've relied on is that cup of coffee or you know, quick muffin or something to get me through. And now I'm at the end of the day going, I need to not only consume those calories, because you know, the other thing I think we forget about to the body is really smart. If you've missed out on a whole lot of caloric intake in the morning, and you're tired, you're rundown. That's why you get that sugar craving like two or three in the afternoon, right? Your body is so hungry for some quick energy, you've started to slump, you've started to crash. And the quick energy is the sugar. Your body's smart. It's trying to help you but doesn't realize you know that short term when it's not helping you in the long term. And so when it comes to setting yourself up for success, making sure you've got enough protein but starting with that protein first thing in the morning, so you mitigate that role on effect that tends to happen throughout the rest of the day. Yeah,
Christa 21:20
it's game changer. It really is. You don't feel near as much of a struggle with eating healthy when you really focus on proteins and fats. Like you know, there's a bazillion diets out there. There's a bazillion different techniques, but man if you keep it simple and you really focus on those two, it can be a game changer with how frustrating it can be to kind of get off that sugar wagon. So yeah, this is a good talk. I hope you guys found it helpful and I'm off to eat more protein.
Sheree 21:45
We will drop the study below as well in the show notes. So if you do want to have a read over that or just want to use it as a little bit of a resource then it's definitely there and hopefully you've got some some great tips that you can go and start applying right now. If you are struggling with that you are craving and trying to kick back to the curb.
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