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Nutrition Simplified — 16 Dietary Truths To Live By

Posted by on Apr 17, 2012 in Diet It UP, Featured Article | 0 comments

4. Limit alcohol, especially sugary drinks.

For most people it’s impractical to cut out alcohol altogether, in fact 1-2 drinks a day can lower LDL cholesterol and keep the body relaxed. Plus it’s social. Don’t overdo it though-once you go over two drinks the fat and health problems start stacking up.

Alcohol is empty calories and promotes overeating. When you eat and drink at the same time the body drowns in excess calories and it has no choice but to store the excess as fat. The body always digests alcohol first no matter what; whatever else you eat sits in the stomach…waiting…and eventually turns into body fat. Eating pizza or ice cream drunk might taste great, but it’s going straight to your ass, thighs, and stomach. The same goes for Long Island Ice Teas, Margaritas, Pina Coladas, etc. All of those are loaded with a ton of sugar and calories, which will just spike insulin and maker you fatter.

  • Drinking too much is also linked to cirrhosis of the liver, obesity, decreased muscle function and strength, decreased testosterone levels, and CHD.

 

5. Eat as little sugar as possible.

Plain and simple, sugar makes you fat. In any amount. Sugar has no nutritional value and has a horrible effect on blood sugar, plus it rots your teeth. In my opinion too much sugar in the diet is the #1 reason for body fat gain and obesity. Read nutrition labels and choose foods with low sugar levels. Skip the gushers, sugary cereals (lucky charms, cocoa puffs, fruity pebbles, etc.), and other sugary foods and choose whole grain, natural foods. You’ll stay fuller longer and stay leaner.

 

6. Avoid Aspartame, Splenda (Sucralose), High Fructose Corn Syrup, and other artificial sweeteners.

Many people believe that weight maintenance is as simple as calories in vs. calories out, and replacing sugar with calorie-free artificial sweeteners is a quick fix. It’s 100% not.

Artificial sweeteners are bad for the body, and in fact may be worse than regular sugar. The body wasn’t meant to ingest chemicals on a regular basis. Even though artificial sweeteners don’t have physical “energy units” or calories, they still have a major psychological effect on the brain.

The brain associates sweetness with calories-the sweetness-calorie link-but all of the sweetness sans calories forces the body into shock. As a result, the body overcompensates by stimulating appetite to account for the missing calories and you end up eating more.

  • HFCS works a little differently. As the name suggests, HFCS has extremely high levels of fructose-a type of sugar found in fruit. Unlike sucrose and glucose, which can be metabolized by all cells in the body, fructose must be metabolized in the liver. Because HFCS has extremely high levels of fructose-much higher than in fruit and whole foods-it dumps the excess fructose on the liver all at once, which has no choice but to convert it into fat. This eventually causes excessive fat build-up in the liver, cirrhosis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
  • Additionally, because HFCS is able to skip the normal digestion process and go directly the liver, the body never gets any fuller, fat is constantly deposited, and the body gets stuck in an endless cycle of eating. HFCS is responsible for increasing obesity and is one of the main reasons why America has become so fat.
  • Recently, crystalline fructose has been emerged as a sweetener in a lot of so-called “health drinks” such as VitaminWater Zero. Crystalline fructose actually has higher levels of fructose than HFCS, making it even more horrible for the body. Avoid it.
  • There is still a lot of research that has to be done about the health implications of each of these sweeteners, but my personal advice is to avoid them when possible. It’s impractical to avoid all artificial sweeteners all the time, but moderation is key here.
  • If you need to sweeten, use Stevia — it’s a healthier and more natural alternative.

 



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Bryan DiSanto

Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP
Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
Bryan DiSanto

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