White Out

This one tip is the best, easiest way to improve your health immediately: get rid of the "white food group" or simple digesting carbs. Foods that are "white" are foods that are heavily processed and stripped of many of their vitamins and nutrients. They are also called simple carbs. When I say "white foods" it means those that are not WHOLE grains or complex carbs and are not in their natural state. They have been made to look white through a process of refining the food. In this process, white grains have the healthy fiber removed from them. You need fiber for a healthy digestive track and to help with satiety (the feeling of fullness.) Not only that, but fiber slows down the digestion and lowers the impact on your blood glucose levels. Elevated blood glucose levels trigger a release in the fat storage hormone, insulin. Having insulin in your system is like turning on a fat-storage switch in your body.

 Here is a list of foods in the "white food group":

• White bread (a slice of white bread has the same affect on blood glucose levels as 4 tsp of sugar!)
• White rice
• White pastas
• White table salt (it has been stripped of naturally occurring minerals to make it pure white and has additives in it to keep it from clumping together...moderate amounts of sea salt is a better option. Also, salt does not have an affect on blood glucose, but eaten in excess is creates water retention problems and can negatively affect blood pressure, which is why it should be eaten in moderation as well)
• SUGAR: here's a sampling of some foods to avoid-

1. Candy
2. Syrup
3. Sugary sauces
4. Yogurt with added sugar
5. Ketchup
6. Kool-aid
7. Soda
8. Ice cream
9. BBQ Sauce

• Food with both sugar & white flour are have an even greater negative affect on your blood glucose levels, here's some-

1. Donuts
2. Cookies
3. Pastries
4. Cake

If you just got a little depressed, don't be! There is a place for these foods. Eliminating them entirely isn't necessary. Reserve them for special occasions or special treats and savor them when you get them. A good rule of thumb is to give yourself a treat once a week. My treat is usually reserved for Friday date night or family gatherings.

There are a few instances where being extra diligent in removing these foods from your diet may become necessary, here's some examples:

• If you are diabetic, pre-diabetic or have family history of diabetes
• If you are trying to lose weight
• If you have ADHD
• If you battle with depression or anxiety
• If you have high blood pressure or history of heart disease (in the case of salt)

If any of those describe you, don't mess around with your health anymore and make a change today. You will notice a difference immediately. Refined sugars and refined grains both give you an insulin spike and a subsequent crash that, over time wreck havoc on your system. In the short term, the spikes and crashes cause moods swings, depression, hyperactivity, anxiety, irritability and fatigue. It causes a downward spiral: you eat sugar you feel a burst of energy and then an hour or so later you crash, are hungry and feel worse then before so you eat some more sugar for another boost...and so it goes.

Last year when my son was struggling with the transition from Kindergarten to 1st grade, we found out that he has ADHD (with no hyperactivity, apparently they don't call it ADD anymore). We made sure not to label him or make him feel any different, but knowing that he wasn't just being naughty, but that his brain was misfiring helped me greatly as a mom. Needless to say I went on a great quest for information. I read books, searched the internet, asked friends and family and spoke to the school psychiatrist. One simple natural remedy was agreed upon by all sources: ELIMINATE SUGAR. It seemed to be too easy to be true, but taking into to account my favorite scripture, "by small and simple things great things are brought to pass," I decided to stop ignoring the advice that was hitting me over the head.

I've been reading nutrition labels for a while now, but this time I was on the look out for sugar. I was surprised to find that one of my son's favorite snacks had loads of sugar in it: yogurt. I started buying plain yogurt and sweetening it with stevia, honey or maple syrup. I found other sneaky foods disguised as health foods that had lots of sugar in it as well, like cereals and granola bars. I got rid of all of it. Let me just say it made a huge, immediate difference. There were other things I did that I will share with you on a later post, but this one change made the most measurable difference. So much so, that I also decided to do the same for the other kids and myself.

If you do not have any of the above listed problems, there are still benefits to gain from reducing the amount of sugar you intake. I have learned that when you are living with "false energy" you might enjoy the temporary boost, but because there is opposition in all things, you also have to deal with the crash after. It's much better to strive for the "natural energy" that you get from having stable blood sugar and eating foods that energize and give life to your body. That is the way God intended it. He did not create sugar or refined flour or refined salt. We did. Man's substitutions are never better than God's versions. Just think about that one for a bit.

So here are some of God's versions that you can choose instead:

• Whole wheat
• Brown Rice
• Other healthy grains like Quinoa, Barley, Oats
• Fruit (we call it's nature's candy in our house)
• Natural Sea Salt
• Stevia, Honey or maple syrup for sweetening

As mentioned, there is a time and place for the "white food group" or simple carbs. This will be discussed further in a future post. But for now, if you are interested in fat loss or just simply improving your overall health, why not try to eliminate the white food group for a month and see how you feel?