I'm a recovering...

sugar addict:

I have a confession:... I'm a recovering sugar addict. I love sweets of many kinds and fault my love of sweets for a significant weight gain after my marriage to a country gal who knows how to make them :-). I take full responsibility, however, and even now I break out in a cold sweat at the sight of strawberry twizzlers. One taste of a strawberry twizzler and it's over. This normally self-controlled man will devour the whole pack in minutes and sit with a blurred glaze at an empty cellophane wrapper and little memory of what happened. I'm not alone, however, in my sugar addiction. According to the American Heart Association, the average American consumes over 40 LBs of sugar each year. That's 8- five pound bags of sugar a year! Quite honestly, its killing us in a variety of ways. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and many other afflictions, can be traced to excess sugar consumption. Here's a couple of things to keep in mind. Sugar comes in several forms including sucrose, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup. These forms of sugar and are simple sugars that directly enter our blood as glucose. Over consumption of these sugars, taxes our pancreas which tries to compensate by spiking our insulin levels. Eventually this leads to insulin resistance and inflammation.

I know I sound like a killjoy this holiday season but here's my point; reduce your intake of sugar if you value your health! Watch out for the main culprit - high fructose Corn syrup. It's sneaky and is in many condiments, and foods you would never consider. As a friend who has a renewed interest in being healthy and fit, I would highly recommend that you watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM. You can also watch it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-The-Bitter-Truth/122420818483?v=wall.

It's a little long (over an hour) but very informative and powerful. Watch it before you go to bed as you munch on your celery stick :-). Considering my family history of diabetes, I needed an "intervention" and have made changes in my diet. In making nutritional decisions about your health, please consider reducing your sugar intake and ,of course, exercise often.

your friend

Ruffin: 1 Corithians 6: 19-20