52-Week Challenge: Week Twenty-Eight

Greetings, everyone!  I am so interested to hear if and how anyone of you completed last week's challenge of giving back.  Now, some of you may thing I cheated on mine but I "gave back" by helping out around my parents' house.  I'm here visiting for the summer and, now that I'm a parent, I realize just how hard my parents have worked over the years (and still work!)  So, although I didn't do anything major, I did some little things like cleaning the house, doing the dishes, and running errands for my mom; I also set-up a new stereo in my dad's workshop for him.  So, no, it may not have been exactly what the author was meaning by "giving back," but I thought it was a good start.

Anyways, this week's challenge is entitled "Beware the Beverage."  Reduce your overall sugar consumption by eliminating sweetened beverages from your diet.

The American Heart Association suggests that women should consume no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons) of added sugar (sugar not naturally found in foods) a day, while men should consume no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons) each day.

Let's put this into perspective.  One 12-ounce can of soda contains over 9 teaspoons of sugar, while the 21-ounce bottle contains 17 teaspoons of sugar.  So just ONE of these beverages puts you at or above your limit for added sugars for the day.  Drinking JUST ONE of these means ZERO sugar for the rest of your day, if you're trying to follow the rules.

And why should you follow the rules?  Well, high consumption of added sugars is linked to obesity, high blood pressure, increased risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, as well as constipation, moodiness, and premature aging.  Serious stuff.

I very rarely drink soda (but I HAVE to have it with pizza or popcorn) so I'm not too worried about that aspect of the challenge.  However, don't forget that sugary beverages also include flavored water, gatorade, lemonade, sweet tea, and even juice.  Although juice is full of natural sugar, it can have the same impact on your blood sugar as artificial sugar.  Experts recommend eating a piece of fruit rather than drinking it; you'll get all the health benefits associated with fruit as well as some fiber, which will help level out your blood sugar levels.

So what should you drink?  As we said in week one--water.  Honestly, it's the only beverage you should ever need.  If you feel like you NEED a big sweetened beverage, drink a big glass of water instead and see what happens.  If your craving subsides, chances are you are just dehydrated and nothing else.

Good luck!