Sugar is often one of those hard to pronounce I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-this-is items on the nutrition label. Because of this it often gets overlooked or "hides" on the ingredient list. 
By Any Other Name...
Generally speaking sugar is sugar. There are 2 categories of sugar you are probably already very familiar with: Nutritive and non-nutrative sweeteners. In other words regular sugar and calorie-free sweeteners. Both of these types of sweeteners have a myriad of names that you might see on a nutrition label. 

Nutritive aka regular sugars include: 

• Brown sugar/white sugar/raw sugar/sucrose
• Cane sugar/evaporated cane juice/turbinado sugar
• Dextrin/glucose/dextrose
• Honey/levulose
• Fruit sugar/fruit juice concentrate
• Date Sugar
• High-fructose corn syrup/fructose/corn syrup 
• Molasses
• Maple syrup
• Mannitol
• Maltose/malt syrup

Quite a list, right? Basically all these terms mean one thing: Sugar! Some are higher in fructose than others , but basically they are all sugar. 

Side Note on Fructose: Pretty much all of these sugar have fructose in them. Fructose may possibly lead to more fat storage and for some in large quantities can cause stomach upset, but it is not the evil health killer its been made out to be. It is actually a building block used to make lots of sugars, even the natural sugar found in fruit. 

Non-nutritive aka calorie-free sweeteners include: 

• Sorbitol 
• Xylitol
• Tagatose (aka Naturlose) 
• Cyclamate
• Aspartame (aka Equal)
• Acesulfame-K (aka Sunette)
• Saccharin (aka Sweet'n Low)
• Sucralose (aka Splenda)
• Neotame
• Stevia (aka NuStevia) 

Recognize any of these? Most of us don't use the names of these sugars regularly, but you probably eat them daily without even knowing it, especially if you use sugar free foods. 

Side Note on Calorie-Free: 
These are often sweeter than regular sugars because of their molecular shape. In other words, you need less of these to get the same sweetness of regular sugar. They have less calories because 1) your body can't absorb them and therefore cannot use them for energy/calories or 2) they provide so few calories and you need so little to sweeten a food it comes out to be less than 5 calories per serving. 

What Does This Mean?!
Most people I talk to who are trying to eat little or "no" sugar want to pull their hair out when trying to read labels. Its confusing, no doubt about it. Make it easy on yourself by using these tips: 

• "Sugars" in the nutrition facts  includes natural sugars and added sugars, so don't stress out about that number, just check the ingredients
  
• Compare different brands of foods (i.e. yogurt) and get the one that has the fewest sugars, it likely has the fewest added sugars
• Make sure the sugars are at the bottom of the ingredient list, not the top, so you are getting less of them
  
• Eat more natural foods (fruits, vegetables, and grains) and less processed foods (soups, sauces, pastry, cakes, sweet breads) because processed foods have more sugar  added to them 

Questions? Feel free to ask! I love hearing what you want to know more about! 

*Check out the end of this article to learn about a FREE CLASS and FREE GIFT. 

Most people think that eating healthy is so expensive. Its not. Period. Let me explain. 

Many people confuse convenience and cost. Is it more convenient to eat off the Wendy's menu? Definitely. Less expensive? Not at all. Don't believe me? Click on the image to the left. You can get a whole lot of healthy foods for a lot less than a BigMac meal. 

Still not convinced? Let me teach you the basics of eating healthy on a budget and you'll start to see how inexpensive it can be. 

Where to start
Assess: You need to asses what healthy is for you. Everyone is different (shocker, I kn0w), and therefore their nutritional needs will be different as well. Assess your individual needs to figure out what you need to be healthy. A good general starting place is eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and eat less processed foods, animal fats, and sugar. 


Plan: If you don't make a plan you'll never get anywhere. The same thing goes for healthy eating. Plan out a menu, plan out a shopping list, plan out how much you will spend, plan your snacks, and plan out time to make (and eat) meals. If you don't have a plan you'll spend a lot more on food and eat a lot less healthy. 


Carry It Out: A plan you don't carry out is pointless. Do what you've got to do to make it happen. Get a day planner, get a menu planner, make meals ahead and freeze them, set reminders for yourself. Follow your plan and you'll be successful and save money.  

How You Save
There are multiple ways you save by doing this, but let me list out a few of the big ones.

• Less food waste
• Less eating out
• Less unnecessary purchases 
• Less on medical bills

Seems pretty simple, right? I won't sugar coat it; it is hard and inconvenient at first, but you CAN do it. If you want to get started but feel overwhelmed contact me and I can help or check out my resource page to get you started. 


P.S. 
I teach a FREE CLASS on this in March. Like Natural Nutrition on Facebook so you don't miss the info on when and where and as a bonus you'll be entered in to win a FREE GIFT. 

It is 21 days after most of us made our new years resolutions. Are your goals losing momentum? You are not alone. Most people don't keep up their new years resolutions past January. Sad, but true. Here are some tips to get you back on track with your goals if your motivation is starting to fizzle.

Focus on the positive. Say to yourself "I'm going to eat beautiful vegetables, I'm going to exercise and enjoy how great I feel after I do, I'm going to skip that doughnut and take a step closer to my skinny jeans!"  Focusing on the positive aspects, instead of the negative hardships, of your goal setting will get you a lot farther and keep you motivated. 

Focus on the does. Instead of thinking about all the things you can't have focus on what you are planing to do. "I am going to eat whole grains.  I am going to eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. I am going to have fruit for dessert. I am going to exercise."  You want what you can't have, so don't bring attention to it by formatting your goals as don'ts. 

Replace the bad. If you are trying to stop a bad habit you need to replace it with something good. If you don't want to eat sugary snacks, not buying them isn't enough. You need to replace them with fresh fruits and vegetables or some other healthy snack. If you don't replace a bad habit with a good one you are leaving a void that is likely to be filled up with another bad habit. 

Set up for success. Your environment absolutely has an impact on how successful you will be at your goals. You need to change your environment to set you up for success instead of failure.  Place your exercise clothes in an easy to access place. Have fruits and veggies cut up in the fridge. Put vegetables on your plate first. Little steps like these immediately set you up for success. 

Practice patients. You will mess up. It is a part of goal setting and change. Instead of beating yourself up when you fail, use it as a chance to assess ways you could prevent setbacks in the future. Maybe you need to change the time you exercise, or get a partner. Maybe you need to find a better diet tracker, or learn how to cook vegetables in a new way that tastes good to you. Be patient with yourself and see setbacks a opportunities. 

Would you like some individualized help  finding ways to keep you motivated to accomplish your goals? Share this article with 3 friends, then contact me here and I will give you a free 30 minute consultation to help you find ways to succeed at your goals. 

 

Detox and cleansing have been  all the rage as of late. Anything from detoxing baths, workouts, diets,  juice cleanses, and mud-wraps have been claimed to help detox your body and get you feeling great. Do they really work? Bottom line is, no.
Plain and simple your body was made to detox itself from anything short of poison. But isn't some of our food so bad  it is basically poison?  While processed food may not be the best for you, there is no evidence suggesting they are toxic to your body (alcohol on the other hand is). Why do people feel so great after a detox or juice cleans? It is actually a euphoria caused from starving your body. Marjorie Cohn, a registered dietitian and spokes person for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics compared detoxing to anorexia. She stated  that "at some point your body shuts down that feeling of immediate hunger, you become lightheaded and dizzy, and that euphoric feeling starts to come on,” she says. “I work with a lot of anorexics, and they feel euphoria, too.” Detoxing diets that cause you to starve yourself are not healthy and may have a negative impact on your health. Still feeling the fatigue, headache, bloating or other symptoms you were hoping to cure with with a cleans? Contact me for more information on diet and lifestyle changes that can help. 

Borgan, J. Juice Cleansing is Going Mansteam. Accessed December 17, 2012. Available at http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/12/17/juice-cleanses-commercial-companies-sell-and-ship-fresh-juice-those-eager-fast/C09bxd7IyT8nYpTtSKtJZM/story.html. 

Feel like you are trying to recover from a holiday nutrition hangover? I know I am (I think I ate almost 2 pies in 1 week...Nobody is perfect).  

The holidays bring an abundance of treats and goodies, but the extra indulgences often leave me with a nutrition "hangover.” If you are feeling the bloated belly and cotton mouth effects of a nutrition hangover here are a few tips for you. 

Refreshing Breakfast Smoothie: 1 banana, ¼ cup berries, 1 tablespoon protein powder, 1 small apple, ¼ cup water, ½ cup ice cubes, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, ¼ cup garbanzo beans, 1 serving probiotics. Blend and enjoy a light, refreshing breakfast for you and a friend that will get you started off right for a day of good nutrition!

Tea Tree Oil Rinse: To help me with my cotton mouth I like to take ¼ cup of water and add 3 drops of tea tree oil and swish my mouth out. Rinsing a couple times a day gets my mouth feeling refreshed in no time. 

Forego the Feasting: As tempting as it is to feast all through out the holidays, its best to stick with small, frequent meals. Even after a day of feasting don't skip meals. Instead fill your small meals with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. This will help quickly get you back to following a nutritious diet. 
 
Use Your Body: Get out and use your body to do something active. Go for a walk, hike, ice skating, sledding, run, or grab a partner and dance! Make it something you enjoy that leaves you feeling powerful and invigorated. Enjoying exercise makes you more likely to continue and helps you stay on track with your healthy lifestyle during the holidays. 

Most importantly don't beat yourself up if you ate a few more treats than you would have liked. Good nutrition is a journey, not a pass-fail test. Find ways to enjoy the journey!