Why would you eat clean? or Primal? or Paleo?
"Everything is fine in moderation!" Right? Is this true? Can we consume anything we want, so long as it is in 'moderation'?
What is moderation anyway?
Moderation is restraint; avoidance of excess or excessiveness. The problem with moderation is that it is a subjective term. The other problem is that, when you consume an actual drug in moderation, you can still become addicted, it can still cause mental harm, it can still cause physical harm and you can become ill.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control) recently confirmed that children receive almost 20% of their daily calories from added sugar! 20%! Is that moderation? Keep in mind, that is added sugars, not sugars from natural sources, like fruit. The CDC states that the National Center for Health Statistics recommends no more than 5% of our daily calories come from added sugar. I would venture to say we are NOT consuming sugar in moderation.
What is added sugar anyway?
Granola Bars, cereal, pasta sauces, bread and drinks top the list! What do all these items have in common (besides ridiculously high sugar!)? They are all processed foods! A researcher with the Environmental Working Group states that the only way to reduce sugar intake is to remove processed foods from our diet!
What happens when you eat sugar anyway?
There is a laundry list of health problems, but some that top the list are:
What else?
Diabetes... Type II Diabetes. Currently, there are 27 million people with Type II Diabetes and another 86 million that are prediabetic, in the United States. That is about a 1/3 of our entire population. This is an unbelievable statistic, considering Type II Diabetes is 100% diet/lifestyle related and preventable! Wait for my upcoming blog, specifically on Type II Diabetes. PLEASE NOTE: When writing this post, I discovered that one of the American Diabetes Associations recommendations for helping with Type II Diabetes is to: "try not to eat too much food." Thanks, ADA... are you flipping serious?
PRIMAL MOM
