Guiltless Sweets

El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez takes a look at desserts and sweets.

Would you feel guilty eating sweets? You must not. There’s nothing wrong with eating an occasional sweet. It is much wiser to plan a dessert that is sweet again and now, rather than deprive yourself for weeks only to eat half your body weight in sweets later.

BALANCE COUNTS

Regrettably, way too many Americans eat way too much sugar. Our per capita consumption of sugar is 120 pounds per year! This works out to 600 extra calories a day which are devoid of any nutritional value. In view of the fact, it is obvious why Americans have a problem with obesity while falling short with other crucial nutrients like calcium, iron and folic acid.

A short note has to be stated about carbohydrates along with the bodies’ capacity to burn them. Which food would you believe causes obesity? As sugar is a concentrated supply of carbohydrates, extra calories can be carried by it. Excessive calories are converted into fat!

It can cause other health problems although sugar in the diet does not have the killer status of salt and fats. Tooth decay can function as the effect of sweets taken in between meals. Honey, which many believe is fitter than table sugar, truly has a paste which adheres cavity causing bacteria to teeth.

SUGAR: AN ACQUIRED TASTE

Luckily our taste for sweets is acquired substantially like our taste for salt. This means by changing the numbers in our diet we can alter our flavor acquity for sugar.

Gradually replace less sweet foods, like tea biscuits and fruit tarts, for icing-load cakes and cookies. Make some of your favorite recipes with a third less sugar. Without altering the final product the sugar generally in most recipes can be reduced by 50 to 75 percent. You may use half the amount of concentrate to produce the same amount of sweetness as fruit juice concentrate is as sweet as sugar. Fruit juice concentrate additionally helps supply moisture to baked goods which are reduced in fat.

Assess the “tips” section for additional thoughts on checking your sweet tooth. Don’t forget, you want nutritional value for your calories. More healthy options go a long way in making you fit thin and cut.

STRATEGIES FOR CUTTING BACK ON SUGAR

• If sweets are your downfall, try saving them. Plan cookie or a candy bar on the weekends, say, ahead of time. It’s far better to incorporate them to them than binge when feeling deprived.
• Bake your own sweets. Or try substituting applesauce for sugar in muffin and sweet bread recipes.
• Use dried fruits in cookies as additional sweeteners. As stand alone snacks beware as they may stick to teeth and are rich in calories.
• Use powered sugar as a substitute for icings on chocolate cakes. Get a doilie and position on top of cake. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and remove doilie… Wallah! Poetry with no additional fat!
• Use “conserves” instead of “preserves”. The former do not have added sugar.
• Use sliced fresh fruit for pancakes or french toast. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. This helps bypass the maple syrup.
• Buy basic non fat yogurt and add your own personal fresh fruit. Flavored yogurts can include up to seven teaspoons of sugar that is added. This works nicely for sweetening chilly goods, but breaks down in cooking.
• Search for more than four grams of fiber and breakfast cereals with six grams or less of sugar that is added. Browse the label and beware of words that end with “ose”. These are sugars also: corn syrup solids, dextrose, maltose etc.
• Create your personal drink with half fruit juice and half mineral water. These items can have just as much sugar as sodas.
• Eat fresh fruit whenever possible. When buying canned fruit, purchase those packaged within their very own juice or “lite” syrup.
• Avoid having sweets near “guests.” It is likely that you’ll eat them before your friends and family will.