The One Thing

This TOJ is a total fanatic about the importance of regular exercise of all kinds to promote your health and well-being. But, hands down, the one thing that may be more important for your health, especially if you're a typical American, is to radically reduce your sugar consumption.

To understand why, watch this short video (I've posted the 1.5 hr. one before) by Dr. Robert Lustig:

Also, read this excellent discussion by Dr. Mercola.

The typical American diet is embalmed with sugars. The USDA recommends that we not consume more than the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar a day. Of course, many people gorge themselves on pop, candy, and donuts, the usual sickly suspects. But they are only one source.

Where we really get poisoned is from the sugar-by-any-other-name in the list on the right side below. Look at the ingredients on everything in your freezer and cupboard. Whether frozen or canned, it likely has one or more of these sugars (note: molasses at least has a couple of nutrients, unlike all the rest). Then look at the food label chart for sugars. See how many grams on in it. Go down the list on the left. One teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams.

Double check the foods that are labeled "healthy" and "natural" like yogurt and granola bars. Very likely, just one of them contain all the sugar it's safe for you to eat for the entire day.

Look at the photo below, which shows what 10 teaspoons of sugar look like in comparison to 34 teaspoons of sugar, which is what is consumed each day by an average American. Wonder why you feel fat and sluggish? Wonder why so many people, especailly middle-aged and older, have pot guts?

It's possible to run, lift, or pedal off the calories from this excess. However, what's really important to grasp is that what makes sugar deadly is not about the calories, but it's destructive effects on your liver, rapid fat formation, insulin resistance, and the inflammation it causes to your arteries.

Remember, your body has NO requirement for refined sugars. None. It needs some carbohydrates, which are automatically converted to glucose.

Know how much sugar you are consuming in all forms. Never drink soda pop. Rarely eat sweet crap. Avoid processed foods. Learn how to trick your brain with natural sugar substitutes.

By reducing your intake of sugars and increasing your exercise, you give your body a chance to thrive. If you don't, you're poisoning yourself just like a drug addict.