Michael’s Pollan book serves us this one. A bold one. One hard to argue with. And a difficult one to implement, I am fully aware of it. And one you have probably already heard of.
It is easy to agree that in nature, most of the sugars come packaged with our beloved and mighty fiber. There is a reason for it. Fiber is not only for your gut bacteria, but it is accompanying the sugars on purpose. It slows sugar absorption and gives you a sense of satiety before you’ve ingested too many calories. Nature is so smart. Nobody ever got a sugar rush from devouring a handful of dates or a pile of grapes of cherries, right?
Sweets and desserts are some of the most commonly craved foods. Table sugar or sucrose is a substance in food that when consumed creates a dopamine response in the brain. Dopamine is the “feel good” hormone that gives us a sense of pleasure when we eat foods that contain a high amount of sugar, salt, or fat. This hormone being released over time begins to create a positive relationship with high sugar foods and makes us always go back wanting more.
So not only are you better staying away from sweetened treats and foods, you are always better off eating the fruit rather than drinking its juice. Sorry to say, but in general, calories taken in liquid form are more fattening because they don’t make us feel full.
Think about it. Humans are one of the very few mammals that obtain calories from liquids. So don’t drink your sweets, and remember what Pollan highlights here: There is no such thing as a healthy soda.
So next time you want to reach for that soda, chocolate bar or slice of cake, use one of these healthy alternatives to make a better decision:
- ‘Trail Nut Mix’ with added dried fruit like raisins, apricots or cranberries.
- Fruit salad; taking seasonal fruits and making a big batch for snacks throughout the day.
- Adding fruit to your water: instead of soda, sweetened iced tea, or fruit juice adding fresh cuts of lemon, limes, or berries to plain water gives you that sweet taste without ten packages of sugar.
- Making your own sorbet/smoothie: instead of creamy sugar filled ice cream, blending your own mixture of fresh fruit and yogurt could make a yummy alternative to ice cream.
For other post on Pollan’s Rules of a Conscious Eater, see this summary.
Next post in this collection will cover Rule 36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
THE SMALL, GOOD THINGS 