Heart Health Tip: Avoid Added Sugar in your diet

Consuming too much sugar can be one of the greatest threats to your heart health. According to a Harvard Study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine 2014: “The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke. In fact, they found an association between a high sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease.

~ Sugar reduces good cholesterol (HDL) and promotes bad cholesterol (LDL)

~ Sugar increases triglycerides

~ Sugar causes obesity

~ Excessive sugar consumption causes chronic inflammation in the body which can lead to heart disease

Tips for decreasing added sugar in the diet:

~ Avoid processed and refined foods

~ Opt for whole foods, include fresh veggies and fruits. 5-7 servings of veggies is recommended. If you are trying to loose weight or have blood sugar issues keep fruit consumption to 1/2 cup or less per day.

Use natural sweeteners in moderation: raw honey, maple syrup, maple sugar or dates. Coconut palm sugar and liquid stevia are options that produce less of a blood sugar spike.

~ Ditch the sugar sweetened beverages (sodas, sweet tea etc) they are the number one source of added sugars in the American Diet.

~ Become a Label Detective: Make sure that sugar or one of its other names does not appear in the top 3 ingredients (5 is even better)

~Sugar is listed on the labels in grams – 4g’s of sugar = 1 tsp. Stay at 5g sugar or less per serving and 20-25g or less per day

~Try to avoid foods that contain more than 5 ingredients ~~ Don’t eat foods that say low or no fat, these contain more sugar than their full fat counterparts

~Avoid white flour and processed grains

We would love to support you on your wellness journey.

References: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar , Nancy Appleton “Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health”