Sugar Uncovered: Don't Make These Mistakes!

In the last few weeks there has been a lot of buzz around sugar because of the law that Mayor Bloomberg is trying to pass limiting the sale of large sized sugary drinks. As a health coach, I have had many people ask me about sugar and its effect on the body. The short answer is frequent consumption of sugar leads to weight gain, lethargy, and mood swings. Prolonged overconsumption can lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease! How could such delicious treats cause so much harm?

The challenging part is that sugar has become part of our cultural DNA, which makes it almost impossible to avoid completely. Every holiday has its special sweet. When we mark significant life milestones - birthdays, graduations, weddings - cake takes center stage. Children do well on a test; we reward them with ice cream. When I walk around the streets of NYC, there are frozen yogurt shops and cupcake cafes popping up on every corner. We are surrounded by it!

But aforementioned sweets are not the only sugar culprits. The obvious treats are easy to spot and we can try to avoid them. But what happens when we THINK we are making a healthy decision BUT we are actually ingesting large amounts of sugar and don't even know it!

Don't be duped by these seemingly healthy but sugary favorites:

• Sauces/Glazes - Many times to get that perfect complement to your savory dish, chefs will add a sauce or a glaze. But beware, many glazes have added sugars. So that soy glazed salmon dish you love may look like the healthier choice but could have over20g of sugar...more than 1 chocolate glazed doughnut!
• Yogurt - This delicious snack can be very healthy but beware of yogurt with added fruit. Yoplait strawberry yogurt has 26g of sugar...as much as a Snicker's bar! If you are going to eat yogurt, eat the plain and add your own fruit for the touch of sweetness.
• Granola - Eaten by hippies for years...it must be healthy right? As it turns out, Kellogg's Original Granola has 17g of sugar...as much as 3 chocolate chip cookies!! If you are going to have granola, either make your own or be sure to check the labels for lower sugar options.
• Coffee/Iced Tea -I was floored when looking into coffee drinks and iced teas. I never thought twice about these, as they were obviously the healthier choice to the dreaded soda. Wrong!  A Starbucks Grande Cafe Mocha has 33g of sugar, which doesn't include any flavor shots, or sugar people add after they get it. If you are going to drink coffee or iced tea it's best to have it black/unsweetened.

Knowing a few of these sugary pitfalls will hopefully help you to make healthier, informed decisions. At 1 Healthy Life we know that it's easy to get off the healthy track and sometimes difficult to find your way back. That is why we work with people to help them take small steps(like cutting out sugary drinks) now that lead to BIG changes in your health later.

Working with a health coach will:

• Help you to truly identify realistic, attainable health goals
• Develop a customized plan that will step you toward your goal over a series of sessions
• Hold you accountable (in a loving way) to those goals week after week
• Identify if there are certain steps that are not working for you and help you to modify the plan so it works specifically for you. Not everyone is the same...therefore, no plan is going to be exactly the same

1 Healthy Life has partnered with Duffy & Bracken Physical Therapy to develop a program that is the one...two health punch combining wellness & exercise. In only 3 months you will have a Total Health Transformation! We will dive deep into eating right, reducing stress and improving your energy while Duffy & Bracken trainers will kick your butt on their Gravity Training System to improve your muscle tone, flexibility and overall physique.

You only get 1 life; why not make it your best life possible? And you can...with small steps and support along the way.

Schedule your 1 on 1 complimentary health breakthrough session today. What do you have to lose?

Mina Penna, Holistic Health Coach

Mina Penna is a Holistic Coach who works with clients to help them reduce stress, improve their energy, find more balance and lose weight. Mina was certified at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Additionally, Mina is the Corporate Nutritionist for Sabra Dipping Co., LLC.