The thing that most people do not know is sugar is a silent killer. According to researchers, at University of California San Francisco, “sugar contributed to 35 million deaths globally each year.” What does that mean in context?

Sugar should be considered a toxic substance just like alcohol and tobacco.It is one of the leading contributors in obesity, diabetes, dementia, hypo and hyperglycemia, heart disease, and feeding tumors. Scared yet? Well, you should be.

Craving sugar is a real challenge people face today. It’s an addiction, and it’s so easy to fall off that wagon. To help you conquer this cravings, I have 8 game changers to help you decrease your sugar intake.

Crush Your Craving

1. Eat more low-glycemic index foods (low sugar)

2. Eat more frequently (set a timer for 3 hours after each meal)

3. Eat good fats and increase fiber (good fats taste full and rich easily taking the place for sugars)

4. Take an L-Glutamine supplement – it not only helps with muscle recovery after a workout, but it is known to fight sugar cravings

Chromium will also help balance out blood sugar levels and reduce cravings.

Post Meal Mindset Movers 

5. Don’t keep desserts in the house. Remember, out of sight, out of mind. (I personally go out for ice cream, bread, or cereal because if its in the house I’m going to eat it all in one sitting guaranteed. Knowing and being real with your limitations is key)

6. Don’t even bring sugar into the house. Substitute with raw honey or stevia instead (When I add honey to my tea, I always add it first so I see the exact amount I’m using and bc I can feel like a kid and make a fun design.) Depending on your addiction to sugar, you may want to stick with stevia and when you kick your craving you can slowly add honey to the mix.

7. Instead of going right into a dessert after a meal at a Restaurant—drink a warm cup of peppermint tea first (and feel free to add one teaspoon of honey) This has always been a game changer for me because after the mint tea it feels like I brushed my teeth and nothing, even my Mum’s brownies don’t taste good after that.

8. Floss and Brush your teeth immediately after a meal — you won’t feel like eating anything after. (you can’t always brush but floss is easy to travel with, make sure you have the mint floss.)

Bonus: Move well daily, no surprise I’m sure, however here’s a big distinction that many people get wrong. Long distance cardio training will actually increase cravings. Make sure your movement consists of resistance training or as seen in the photo, interval cardio, even yoga or pilates will help you win your war with sugar.

Secret Weapon: Add Apple Cider Vinegar to your water and or salads, or be a true hero and drink it straight up and say goodbye to your sugar addiction.

Your weekly wellness challenge is to start to check the labels of the products you are eating. DO NOT eat anything that has more than 9 grams of added sugar. Write me back in the comments section below to tell me what foods surprised you and which foods you can’t go without yet.

P.S. As I continue coaching my clients out here in Paris, the Parisians think I’m a bit crazy because I always turn down the dessert that comes with every meal, unless it’s my treat meal of course. I’m thankful for the awareness around sugar and how closely it’s related to Cancer. I’ve had too much of that in my family, it’s time to change the family legacy, tea time anyone?

Cheers with apple cider vinegar water,

Coach

P.P.S. My mom rocks and so do her recipes! Check out the latest she whipped up for me while I was home:

Rice Milk

1/2 cup brown rice, cooked
2 cups water
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed
and secure lid.

2. Select Variable 1.

3. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to
High.

4. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.

5. Store in refrigerator.

Shake well before serving.

Enjoy this simple and easy recipe and see many of your food allergies
disappear.

Your friend in health,
Adam aka Guru

– the paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato.

– the darker-skinned variety (which is most often called “yam” in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.

For the technical among us, the true yam (right) is the tuber of a tropical vine (Dioscorea batatas) and is not even distantly related to the sweet potato (center). The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae, and is not really a potato (left) at all. The sweet potato plant is a herbaceous perennial vine, bearing alternate heart-shaped or palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized sympetalous flowers actually related to the flower known as the morning glory.

The nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), tell us the single most important dietary change for most people, including children, would be to replace fatty foods with foods rich in complex carbohydrates. It just happens that sweet potatoes would be the best choice for that.

The CSPI has ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition compared to all other vegetables. Given a score of 184, for its content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, the sweet potato out-ranked the next highest vegetable by more than 100 points. In the ranking points were deducted for fat content (especially saturated fat), sodium, cholesterol, added refined sugars and caffeine. Simply stated, the higher the score, the more nutritious the food.

Here is the CSPI list of top scoring vegetables:

Sweet potato baked 184
Potato, baked 83
Spinach 76
Kale 55
Mixed Vegetables 52
Broccoli 52
Winter Squash, Baked 44
Brussels Sprouts 37
Cabbage, Raw 34
Green Peas 33
Carrot 30
Okra 30
Corn on the Cob 27
Tomato 27
Green Pepper 26
Cauliflower 25
Artichoke 24
Romaine Lettuce 24

Sweet potatoes took first place due to excellent scores for dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. The standard baking potato ranked second more than 100 points back. Spinach, broccoli, and squash, which you might expect to be leaders, lagged far behind.

The nutritional facts speak for themselves. Sweet potatoes have almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, about 42% of the recommendation for vitamin C, and four times the RDA for beta carotene. Although a less common preparation, when eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. All of these benefits come with only about 130 to 160 calories. Not too shabby for the lowly orange tater!

According to the US Department of Agriculture one medium size sweet potato has the following:

Calories 130
Fat 0.39 g
Protein 2.15 g
Net Carbs 31.56 g
Dietary Fiber 3.9 g
Calcium 28.6 mg
Sodium 16.9 mg
Potassium 265.2 mg
Folate 18.2 mcg
Vitamin A 26081.9 IU
Vitamin C 29.51 mg

Sweet potatoes offer the lowest glycemic index rating of any vegetable. The sweet potato digests slowly, causing a gradual rise in blood sugar. As a result you feel satisfied longer. Unquestionably sweet potatoes should be on your “good” carb list. They are found on many of the most popular diets and we can certainly see why. Diabetics may find them a suitable, and enjoyable, choice.

If not already a part of your diet it may well be time to give the sweet potato a try.

[Rev. Stephen B. Henry, PhD., known to many online as the Wiz, is an entrepreneur, web administrator, business coach, and diabetic, interested in personal motivation, quantum physics, and time travel. He writes on a variety of topics for numerous blogs, including his own: Wizard’s Place.]