hey there, sugar

I have so many beautiful food pictures I just didn't even know which ones to upload. This blog post was inspired after I spent yesterday morning compiling a notebook filled with all the things I believe each individual family member will want to eat at Universal. I am not some hardcore planner, but we like food, and it really saves on stress and time wasted if you know what is offered in advance.

You know, gluttony is a sin too. But it's not one we talk about often. 

I wonder if I can sing this to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire."

We didn't want to diet. We are already addicted. And our bodies are stricken. We didn't want to limit, because clearly obesity is just a gimmick.

Tooth decay, weight gain, heart disease, acne. Diabetes, fatigue and addiction really is a disease.

Ok, maybe I've got something there. Needs a little work though. 

Dextrose, sugar cane, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, maltose, carbitol, erythritol, galactose, hexitol, malts, sorbitol, sorghum, sucanat, xylitol, zylose. Fruit juice, pancake syrup, molasses, and brown sugar. Ah, does sugar by any other name still taste as sweet? 

I know a couple months ago I wrote a post about what is really in our food, but this morning I want to just talk about sugar and how it affects us in ways that we don't even realize. Almost all prepackaged foods are full of sugar. I was actually checking out some boxes in my cabinet yesterday. Carbs and sugar, sugar and carbs. And you know that refined white flour turns straight to sugar, right? 

Not only can sugar cause negative effects on the body, such as fatty liver, chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, reduction in the response of your immune system, and high cholesterol, but I can definitely tell a huge difference in my body and mind during PMS if I have had tons of sugar and carbs in the week prior. And it's hard, because when I'm having PMS do you know what I want? The carbs. ALL OF THE CARBS IN THE WORLD. And then I turn into a big, scary, mutant monster. Normally I'm just a pretty unassuming mutant

Another big cause of sugar intake that people don't think about is alcohol. I feel pretty fortunate that I got that all out of my system before I was 21. (Whoops. I have some major PTSD involving tequila. I can't even type the word without smelling and tasting it in my mind. I think I'm about to barf. Or maybe crack a glass table with my head. I did that once. I've always been so classy.) So if you're wondering why you feel bad in the morning, that nightly bender might have to do with it. Remember what the horribly whiny voice of  Ben Gibbard said: It's not a party if it happens every night." You're killing yourself if it's happening every night. Many people start and end their day with sugar. Lumps and lumps in their coffee, and then a glass or ten of something at night. 

"No doctor, I have no addictions."

What happens when your body has high inflammation? You're fatigued and feel more body pain. You can have gastrointestinal issues and persistent infections. AND it affects your mental health as well. (Just like sugar. Too much sugar can lower cognitive skills and self control.) See, it's like a circle here. For many people, myself included, sugar causes cravings for more sugar. It affects the reward center of the brain where your dopamine production hangs out, and like Lays chips say, "You can't have just one." At least I think that's the slogan. I'm not googling it. 

Obviously our bodies need energy from the foods we eat. But how well that food is converted to energy and put into good use depends on what we ingest. About four years ago I started bypassing breakfast all together on most days. I would just always have this nasty crash an hour after I ate, no matter what I ate. I would get shaky and faint until I sat down and ate something with protein. So I just stopped eating in the morning and I feel more clear headed now. 

Soooo.....aside from the vitamin D and zinc and exercise, if you want better odds against covid, make better food choices. I'm stepping on my own feet too. Sometimes those muffins are like sirens, singing me to shipwreck. 

Deannnnnnnnaaaaa...........it's muffin time and we want to sacrifice ourselves to that giant hole in your face.

Shut up, you vile and delicious load of sugar and carbs. We have talked about this before. I have power over you.

No, you don't.

Yes. I. Do.

DEAAAAAANNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAA.......WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU. DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE 'WE OVER-BAKED' DISCOUNT DISPLAY AT THE GROCERY STORE....

This is literally how my brain works most days.