A few months back I paraphrased James (Snakehead) Carville, a Democratic consultant famous for getting ole Billy Jay elected some years ago, when I said, “It’s the sugar, stupid!” (Although now is a good time to repeat Carville’s words to all Democrats within earshot, “It’s the economy,stupid!”) I’ve watching the labeling on any number of food products lately, while food manufacturers try and repackage many of their products as new and improved, while they are still the same old junk. Here are a number of things to stay far away from:

1. Powdered cane sugar

2. Sweet and Low

3. Pure Cane Light Brown Sugar

4. Pure Cane Dark Brown Sugar

5. Molasses

6. Agave Nectar

7. Busy Bee Honey

8. Equal

9. Pure Cane Granulated Sugar

10. Corn Syrup

Sugar is sugar is sugar. And these are all “sugar,” as far as your body is concerned. If you want to lose weight, you really should avoid them all, as much as possible. Agave nectar is being promoted heavily these days, especially by the vegetarian crowd, but the reality is, it’s just another sugar. Just for an example, let’s take cookies, which everybody likes. The best commercial cookies could have as many as 4 of the ingredients listed above, in addition to flour and chocolate. Actually, the chocolate is the ingredient least likely to screw up your system, but in all likelihood, there will be more of all the other ingredients than chocolate in the recipe. If you’re looking for a sweetener, you could use Truvia, Stevia, or Xylitol. Stevia and Xylitol products have many different names and can be found in most grocery stores. Truvia is being marketed much the same as sugar packets, which from a marketing point of view makes a lot of sense. But what I would encourage more is to consume fruit in its natural form. Eat an apple, a peach, some cherries, blueberries, watermelon …there is an abundance of great fruit in the marketplace today and you should take advantage of it. It is not only sound medical advice to eat the rainbow of fruits and vegetables, but it’s great for your taste buds, which believe it or not, will not steer you wrong. When you stop eating packaged products and start eating real foods, it won’t take long for your body to signal you that some of that crap you’ve been eating doesn’t pass the taste test, anymore.

Here’s a few more things that are almost all sugar:

1) Welch’s Grape Jelly

2) Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup

3) Maple Syrup

4) Strawberry Preserves

5) Teriyaki Sauce

Are you starting to get the picture? This is why every American is consuming 166 pounds of sugar every year.

About the Author

Dr. Bill is an orthopaedic surgeon and author. He recommends this pharmaceutical grade fish oil for more energy, reduced joint pain and increased heart health.

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