Too much sugar
9th Mar 2016 14:06 (UTC)
By now most of us will have heard, that we should be taking note of our sugar intake. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) is just 30g, which is around 6 level teaspoons in a 24 hour period.I once had a lovely conversation with a new customer about sugar intake, one of her friends had introduced her to a Nutribullet, swearing by the health benefits. The new Diet Plate customer watched as she emptied a full 450g container of Onken yoghurt into the bullet, followed by a banana, 2 apples, half a pineapple, strawberries and blueberries.
Refusing a portion, she watched her friend consume the full Nutribullet cup of smoothie. Here is what she consumed in calories and sugar grams;
Onken Yoghurt 350 cals 54g sugar (refined)
Banana 150g 135 cals 18g sugar (fructose)
Strawberries 200g 66 cals 10g sugar (fructose)
Bluberries 200g 114 cals 20g sugar (fructose)
2 apples 104 cals 20g sugar (fructose)
1/2 a pineapple 150 cals 30g Sugar (fructose)
Total Nutribullet contents 919 calories
Total Sugar content 152g
Putting the calories to one side for the moment, but noting that no one is losing weight any time soon on a smoothie diet, the sugar content equals to 5 days intake alone, "shocking" and this is not taking into account anything else she may have consumed that day.
This level of sugar would send the pancreas into a spin as it tried to deliver enough insulin to ratify the effects on the body. Her blood sugars would be so high, that if this was a regular meal, she risks becoming Type 2 Diabetic and once that switch is pulled, then it becomes a daily battle to regulate.
Symptoms of diabetes to look out for...
A raging thirst, ie 2 pints of water just about helps quench it.
Vaginal itching/thrush - a major sign of too much sugar in your diet.
Frequent visits to the loo.
Blurry vision when you wake in the morning, taking more than a minute or two to clear.
If any of these sound familiar, then please get to your GP and have your blood sugars taken. Do not stick your head in the sand, diabetes is a killer and while it is killing you, it can take your legs, your eyesight your kidneys and your quality of life, because if your end up on pills, then you need to be very close to a toilet all the time.
But - it is a disease that can be controlled with diet, pills or insulin and last but no where near least, education.
If you don't use the Diet Plate to control portions, then learn to read nutritional labels, I can't emphasise enough how important and educational this can be, it can make the all the difference. Shop sugar free, make a list of foods you can eat for your shopping list and stick to it.
I am not saying fruit is bad for you, it is not - what I am saying is be aware of how much you eat - a portion size of the above recipe for a fruit smoothie is 50ml - a shot glass! Not a whole Nutribullet glass, even if you do consume it over a few hours - remember - a shot glass only!
I am aware that, here at the Diet Plate, we say unlimited fruit and free vegetables, but this is whole fruit not juiced or made into a smoothie and we will be revising this in our next booklet to make it more clear. The reason we say unlimited fresh fruit is because it makes a great healthy snack, on the first week of using the Diet Plate you may turn to more fruit than usual but by the second week, this has normally returned to more reasonable levels such as; a banana, apple and pear in on day which is perfectly acceptable.
Regarding the nutribullet - it is an amazing bit of kit. However, we highly recommend that you juice vegetables, and only add 1 apple or pear for the added sweetness. Be fruit smoothie and juice aware! 30g of sugar from any source is your RDA Thanks for reading, please share if you have friends who should know this.
The Diet Plate Online
Check out our adaptive weight management system, that's like having your own personal dietitian.
The Diet Plate range
Our calorie counting portion controlled plates and bowl, which alleviate the stress of measuring or weighing your food. Available for men, women and children.
James Dennis
Lost over 105 KG / 17 Stone
After an injury which left me unable to exercise anymore, I started to gain weight at an alarming rate. It did not take me too long to reach a whopping 36 and a half stone.
I used The Diet Plate every night and followed the plan. I started to lose weight and quite rapidly began to look much better.