Recently I’ve received a lot of questions about sugars and which ones are “good.” After much deliberation on this subject, I’ve come to an easy rule of thumb. Here goes:  “If you have to add sugar to your meal, it’s not a good sugar.”  Now this is much easier said than done, right?  Imagine this, would you make a steak and add protein powder to it? Or create a beautiful fresh salad, and then sprinkle it with dehydrated vegetables and top that with protein powder instead of a piece of fresh fish or meat on top? You answered never, right?  So why are we compelled to add processed sugar to all of our meals? Well, the answer to that is another article all together and that deals with sugar addiction. To get to the meat of things here is some information I found that I wanted to share with you about natural, processed, and chemically altered sugars!

First, try to eat a Natural Sugar instead of a Processed Sugar!

Natural Sugars are sugars are something that you or a local farmer could reasonably harvest. They are less likely to be GMO, less likely to have added chemicals, and other processed agents that can cause havoc on your health! Here is a chart to identify some natural occurring sugars.

Avoid highly processed sugars. These are sugars which are cooked down, bleached, and do not resemble their original state.

Finally, understanding that artificial sweeteners are toxic.

Do your best in avoiding additional sugars at meals and with your beverages! Next time you find yourself adding sugar, pause and ponder… why you are doing it. Is it really necessary to enhance the flavor of your already delicious food? Probably not! Improved awareness makes us make improved decisions.

Yours in health and happiness,
Dr. Kathleen Voortmann 

By: Kristen R. Clore