Sugar Detox Day 13

The very label I've put on this post sounds extreme. SUGAR DETOX! It sounds abnormal, like I'm trying to make my body to something it wasn't meant to do. And yet, the opposite is what I am trying to accomplish.  It's our food that is abnormal. It is very weird that we have sugar in everything. EVERYTHING. I'm sure even if you don't believe in no sugar, you believe in moderation, and yet, in out current food choices, there is no moderation.

According to the American Heart Association the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons) and Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

Which means, as a women, if you ever drink a coke (12oz can of coke contains 140 calories from sugar) or eat a snickers bar (regular sized snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar) you are already over your daily limit. The AHA is saying women should never drink a coke or eat a snickers bar.

One study showed that in 2008 the average American adult ate 306 calories from sugar per day. That's not good! You can't go over double the reccomended amount of ANYTHING every single day and not have some drastic consequences.

A person can look at those numbers and say "Well, moderation is key. I'll just not drink soda or eat candy bars and I'll be fine!" but that person would be wrong.  This infographic shows how an adult trying eat healthy goes over their recommended amount of sugar at breakfast! Because added sugar is in EVERYTHING! It's in milk and salad dressing and yogurt and tomato sauce and breads and pizza and any sauce you put on anything.

So while a detox sounds extreme, I actually think it's way to restore my body back to normal. My body has been extreme for it's entire existence, and now it's time to calm down and discover what normal feels like.