Why Sugar is Worse than Darth Vader · The amount of havoc sugar and sugar substitutes have wreaked on our nation is horribly depressing. Fear not, as I’ve come up with the perfect

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Why Sugar is Worse thanWhy Sugar is Worse thanDarth VaderDarth Vader

Sugar.

Highly addictive, horribly debilitating, unfortunately pervasive, and freakingdelicious.

If I had to point to ONE culprit to our country’s expanding waistlines and rapidlydeteriorating health, it would be sugar. The amount of havoc sugar and sugarsubstitutes have wreaked on our nation is horribly depressing. Fear not, as I’ve comeup with the perfect solution!

Eat less sugar if you want to live longer.

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By Steve (http://www.nerdfitness.com) on June 17, 2013

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The end.

Just kidding, there’s so much more to this story than that.

I’m sure you probably have a lot of questions about sugar:

Is sugar THAT bad for you?Fruit has sugar! Is fruit bad for you?Are certain kinds of sugar better or worse for you?Can you really get addicted to sugar?What about sugar alternatives that are used in drinks like Diet Coke? What aboutnatural sweeteners?

Let’s nerd out about sugar and find out what you can do to kick your sugar habit andget your life back on track.

Fair warning: This post is MASSIVE (over 4,000 words), even for Nerd Fitness standards.

American’s love affair with sugarAmerican’s love affair with sugar

Before we get into the biological and physiological stuff relating to sugar and

how it affects our body, I want to talk about just how big of a factor sugar plays in

our lives.

This might be the most telling statistic relating to sugar, especially when that closeto 70% of America is overweight with a THIRD of the nation obese(http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html):

1822: Americans consume 45 grams of sugar every five days, or the amount ofsugar in a can of coke.

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2012: Americans consume 756 grams of sugar every five days, or 130 POUNDS ofsugar a year.

As we have grown as a country (in more ways than one), sugar has continued to playan increasingly more prominent role in our food. It’s not just sugary foods like candyand cookies either, but sugar has made its way into practically EVERYTHING we eat.

Unfortunately, it’s not just sugar that’s killing us, but scientifically manufactured “sugar”as well.

Now, we all know that correlation does NOT prove causation(http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/06/14/how-to-analyze-the-news/), so let’sdig into the science behind why sugar is ruining our bodies.

What is Sugar?What is Sugar?

Sugar is a carbohydrate.

If it ends in a “ose,” it’s gonna be a sugar. If that’s all you’d like to know, feel free tomove onto the next section, as I’m about to get all Mr. Wizard(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkJEt1UsUcs) up in here.

There are different kinds of sugar, starting with simple sugars (called monosaccarides)like glucose, fructose, and galactose. Then there are also more complex forms (called disaccharides) like sucrose, maltose, and lactose.

Here’s the cheat sheet to naturally occurring sugars:

Let’s start with glucose: It occurs naturally in plants and fruits, and is abyproduct of photosynthesis. In our bodies glucose can be burned as energy or

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converted into glycogen (essentially: liver and muscle fuel). Our bodies canactually produce glucose when needed.Next, fructose! This is fruit sugar, occurring naturally in…you guessed it, fruit! Italso occurs naturally in cane sugar and honey, and is incredibly sweet.Onto the more complex sugars, starting with Sucrose. This sugar is found inthe stems of sugar cane, the roots of sugar beet, and can be found naturallyalongside glucose in certain fruits and other plants.Last but not least, we have lactose, which is essentially milk sugar! This issomething that is created as result of a process happening in our bodies: childrenpossess the enzyme necessary to break down the molecule into lactose to be usedby the body, while some adults don’t. These are the lactose intolerant folks.

So, we have a few key types of sugar. But where does sugar actually come from?

It is USUALLY created as a result of the processing of one of two types of plants: sugarbeets or sugar cane. These plants are harvested, processed, and refined toeventually resemble the white sugar you’ve come to know and love (or loathe). Thissugar has absolutely no nutritional value: it’s just pure, refined, sugar.

We’ll cover other types of laboratory-created-sugar later.

What happens in our body when weWhat happens in our body when weeat sugar?eat sugar?

Hopefully you don’t need me to tell you that sugar can cause tooth decay and rot

your teeth.

Sugar is the lifeblood of the cavity creeps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qifLFJ38DWA)!

Beyond that, your body processes sugar in a very specific way.

When you consume sugar, your body has two options on how to deal with it:

Burn it for energy. WEEEEE!

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Convert to fat and store it in your fat cells. BOOOOO!

Depending on your genetic predisposition, your body might be better equipped toprocess sugar as energy, or you might be more likely to store it as fat. Think of thislike you think of people with faster metabolisms vs. people with slower metabolisms.

Problem is, there’s a LOT more room for fat storage, and a lot less room to burn the sugaras energy.

So, we have this sugar in our body and blood stream. What happens next? Whenyour pancreas detects a rush of sugar, it releases a hormone called insulin to dealwith all of that excess sugar.

Insulin helps regulate that level of sugar in our blood; the more sugar in the bloodstream, the more insulin is released. Insulin helps store all of this glucose in the liverand muscles as glycogen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen) and in fat cells (akaadipocytes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipocyte) stored as triglycerides(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triglyceride)).

Now, oftentimes our body struggles to get that balance right (with us putting way toomuch sugar in our system very quickly). TOO much insulin is released, whichultimately results in our blood sugar dropping below normal levels.

This is called hypoglycemia, essentially a sugar crash: Our bodies respond bytelling us: WE WANT SUGAR.

So we cram sugar down our throats and the process starts again.

Unfortunately, the more often this process takes place (the more sugar you

consume), the more severe the blood sugar spike is, and the more insulin is

required. This means it becomes easier and easier to skip using sugar as energy, andgo straight to extra insulin and fat storage.

This is best explained by this three minute video, which is definitely worth

watching: Why You Got Fat:

Why You Got Fat Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE)

Along with making you fat, sugar consumption has been implicated(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101122172002.htm) in a litany ofcrimes, including contributing to an increased chance of obesity, diabetes,cardiovascular disease, dementia, macular degeneration, renal failure, chronickidney disease, and high blood pressure.

So, I should just eat less sugar?So, I should just eat less sugar?

Now, you might be thinking: I’ll just eat less sugar and won’t have this issue,

right?

Well, that’s a good start, but that’s only half of the battle. You see, our bodiesactually process certain types of carbohydrates in a very similar way to processingpure sugar.

Believe it or not, there is an entire area of scientific research on how our bodies processcertain foods.

You’ve probably heard of the Glycemic Index, and its lesser known associate:

Glycemic Load.

The Glycemic Index is the calculation of how quickly a particular type of foodincreases one’s blood sugar level, on a scale from 1-100 (100 being pure glucose).Harvard researchers have found that things like white bread, french fries, and othersimple carbohydrates have nearly identical effects on our blood sugar as glucose(http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates-and-the-glycemic-load/).

Generally, the more refined (processed) the food, the more likely it’ll be to getconverted quickly to sugar in our body for processing.

What about fruit and fruit sugar? Keep reading!

For now, hopefully you’re coming to a conclusion with something like this:

“Oh, maybe fat isn’t making me fat. Maybe it’s the sugar and carbohydrates that I’mconsuming…”

And unfortunately, it’s not JUST sugar, but also fake sugar, which I’ll get to soon.

What surprising foods containingWhat surprising foods containingsugar?sugar?

So, we’re learning that sugar is bad for us.

That’s nothing new, and it’s not a shock to companies that manufacture food. Forthat reason, companies have started to disguise the sugar in their foods, so it’s not asapparent how much sugar you are consuming. Here’s a quick list of what sugar canbe listed (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/added-sugar-on-food-labels/) as on a label:

Agave nectarBrown sugarCane crystalsCane sugarCorn sweetenerCorn syrup

Crystalline fructoseDextroseEvaporated cane juiceOrganic evaporated cane juiceFructoseFruit juice concentratesGlucoseHigh-fructose corn syrupHoneyInvert sugarLactoseMaltoseMalt syrupMolassesRaw sugarSucroseSugarSyrup

Why do they change the name of sugar? Because nutritional labels are required bylaw to list their most prominent ingredients first. By putting two or three differenttypes of sugar in the food (and calling them each a different name), they can spreadout the sugar across three ingredients and have it show up much further down thelist! Tricky tricky tricky!

To be sure, READ THE LABELS OF FOODS THAT YOU CONSUME!

If you’re curious how much sugar you are consuming, check out SugarStacks.com(http://www.sugarstacks.com/), which gives you a simple visual aid as to the amountyou’re pumping into your body through surprising meals.

What about fruit sugar?What about fruit sugar?

Ahhhh, the great “is fruit sugar bad for you” debate…

Honestly, I’m quite torn on fruit and fruit sugar. I’m a big fan of the Paleo Diet(http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/), and I know a LOT of fruit can contain a lot of fructose (and thus a lot of sugar).

That being said, I believe the consumption of fruit can be beneficial.

When you consume fruit, you are not only consuming fructose (in its natural state),but also consuming fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals. Yes, fruit can have aneffect on your blood sugar, it IS sugar. But generally fruit will cause less of a bloodsugar spike compared to nutrient-void table sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

Along with that: Fiber is an important part of a balanced diet (ask your bowels),

and fruit can contain a lot of it!

Here’s my official stance on fruit: Consume fruit that has a low glycemicindex/glycemic load (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/best-and-worst-fruits/#axzz2SdAsMYgN) to reduce blood sugar spikes and insulin secretion. Consume organic fruit when possible.

If your main goal is weight loss, and you need to keep your carb intake low, minimize fruitconsumption and instead load up on vegetables.

However, if your choice is between processed foods, sugary drinks, candy, or fruit…GO WITH THE FRUIT.

What about fruit juices?What about fruit juices?

So, we’ve established that fruit can be healthy if consumed properly.

Unfortunately, fruit juices don’t really fit into that bill. Here’s why: When youconsume fruit juices like orange juice, apple juice, or cranberry juice, the juice issqueezed, giving you all of the juice but very little of the fiber or nutrients that getleft behind in the process.

For this reason, many fruit juices should probably be called “sugar water.”

Here is a typical amount of sugar for four popular beverages (stats

from DailyBurn (http://www.dailyburn.com/)):

Orange juice - 21g of sugarApple juice - 28g of sugarCranberry juice – 37g of sugarGrapejuice - 38g of sugar

For reference, a can of teeth-rotting, insulin-spiking, fat-inducing Coca-Cola has 40gof sugar.

Want to know an even worse offender? Naked Juices! The “Green Machine” variety,with “NO SUGAR ADDED” and promised to be “ALL NATURAL” has 28 grams perserving…and there are TWO servings in those little tiny bottles. That means whenyou consume one small bottle of this “healthy” smoothie, you’re getting almost 60GRAMS of sugar.

Brutal. Shame on you, Naked.

If you’re going to eat fruit, get it in FRUIT form, not juice form.

If you’re going to drink juice, squeeze it yourself, and even then consume it in smallquantities.

What about sugar alternatives?What about sugar alternatives?

So, with more research coming out about the dangers of sugar, companies arescrambling to protect their image by promoting “healthy” alternatives so that theycan slap on a fancy labels and toot their own horn.

There are a few main sugar alternatives that I want to cover, and allow you to

make up your own mind:

Honey – Is Winnie the Pooh onto something here? Is honey a better alternativethan regular sugar? The appeal of honey is that it’s not just fructose or glucose,but a mixture of all sorts of compounds, minerals, and more. A study comparinghoney to various types of compounds resulted in good results for the sticky stuff(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15117561): “Overall(http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/#axzz2SdAsMYgN), honey improved blood lipids, loweredinflammatory markers, and had minimal effect on blood glucose levels.” Alongwith that, honey resulted in a lower blood glucose spike in rats(http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/11/3379.full.pdf+html) compared to othertypes of sugar.

Agave Nectar: This is the most recent darling of the fake “healthy food industry.” Unfortunately, despite the fact that it comes from a cactus (which is natural!),this stuff is so processed and refined, and contains an absurd amount of refinedfructose (90% fructose and 10% glucose). Also, the process to create this stuff issimilar to the process used to create high fructose corn syrup.

Aspartame: So, many people have switched to diet soda because they heardregular soda can be bad for you. I would guess that 90% of diet sodas out therecontains aspartame, a laboratory-created sugar alternative. NutraSweet also

contains aspartame and should be avoided. Studies on this stuff have proveninconclusive and wildly different. Although some studies cite an increased linkwith aspartame and cancer, I believe more research needs to be done. Even still,I have made the decision to avoid aspartame until more conclusive studiessurface.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is non-caloric as the body struggles tobreak it down. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose (tablesugar), and thus can be consumed in smaller quantities to get the same desired“sweet” effect as sugar. Sucralose is available in things like protein powders,Splenda, and other products reliant upon remaining low-sugar or low-carb. Allegedly (http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/Sucralose-may-not-affect-blood-sugar-or-insulin-resistance-study-suggests), sucralose has a negligibleeffect on blood glucose levels.

Stevia is a naturally occurring sweetener from the Sunflower family. It isapproximately 300 times sweeter than table sugar, and allegedly has a lowereffect on blood glucose levels. As you can read about here(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia), Stevia has had an interesting history in theUnited States (for political reasons), but appears to have been used in Japan andSouth America with minimal adverse effects.

Saccharin is another artificial sweetener, created back in the late 1890s, that ismuch sweeter than table sugar and thus is consumed at lower quantities. It waslinked to increased risk of cancer within laboratory rats and labeled as dangerousby the US, though this label was removed in 2000 due to the fact that the resultscouldn’t be replicated in humans. That being said, more studies need to beconducted.

This nerd’s opinion: If you’re going to eat sugar, get it from fruit or naturally

occurring sweeteners. With that being said, to minimize the effect on your bloodsugar, minimize sugar consumption across the board if your primary goal is weightloss.

what about High Fructose Cornwhat about High Fructose CornSyrup?Syrup?

I’m writing this section while grinding my teeth because it grinds my gears.

In an effort to keep family farms alive in the Great Depression, the governmentstarted paying farmers NOT to grow food, since crop prices were wildly low. Over 80years later the program has evolved many times, and today we give almost $5 billiona year to growers of commodity crops, creating cheap corn.

Not surprisingly, when given the option to grow a crop with or without a governmentsubsidy, many farmers went the lucrative route.

And thus, we ended up with a crazy amount of excess corn, and nothing to use it for!

(Un)luckily, science stepped in, and found a use for corn beyond just eating it or feeding itto animals.

Scientists discovered by processing and refining the corn, it could be turned into

a sugar alternative, called high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Despite the name,high fructose corn syrup is actually composed of equal parts of fructose and equalparts glucose.

This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-uL2oW4dcY) gives a quickdemonstration of how HFCS is produced.

As the government continued to subsidize farmers to produce corn, the cheap

price of HFCS created a MUCH cheaper alternative for food producers compared

to regular sugar.

Now, producers of high fructose corn syrup (and producers of food who use it) arguethat it is no different on a molecular level from regular sugar, and is thus a safealternative to sugar in food and drinks.

Unfortunately, it turns out that HFCS, despite being molecularly similar to

regular sugar, does not affect the body the same way as table sugar

(http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/4/537.abstract). A recent study

conducted by Princeton University concluded

(http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/):

Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight thanthose with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumptionof high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in theabdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides.

Two groups of rats were fed the exact same number of calories. One group was

fed HFCS, while the other was fed regular table sugar. The rats fed HFCS gained

significantly more weight.

If this was a movie, you’d see an evil scientist in a laboratory, with lighting flashing inthe background as he laughs maniacally while creating his greatest evil creation:HFCS, knowing that it’ll soon take over the world.

I highly recommend you watch the documentary “King Corn

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EP8EOY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?

ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001EP8EOY&linkCode=as2&tag=nerdfitn-

20),” available for free on Amazon Prime for an interesting look at just how

pervasive corn and high fructose corn syrup has become in our nation.

Here’s a list of all the fast food items out there that contain HFCS(http://www.thatswhatsinit.com/).Here’s a list of all other types of food that contain HFCS(http://www.ehow.com/list_5851584_list-high-fructose-corn-syrup.html).Here are 8 “healthy” foods (like Special K and Yoplait Yogurt) that contain HFCS(http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sneaky-syrup/#axzz2NIKXtAg4).

Sugar = bad. High Fructose Corn Syrup = Bowser evil.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhALuvJ_pYs)

Can you get addicted to sugar?Can you get addicted to sugar?

So we’ve covered natural sugars, sugar alternatives, and the evil HFCS. Is this

stuff addictive?

Short answer: YES.

Long answer: Sugary foods can be as physiologically addictive as many drugs. Youcan legitimately become addicted to sugar and sugary foods(http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/03/fatty-and-sugary-food-as-addictive-as-cocaine-and-nicotine_n_1073513.html).

HOLY CRAP!

From another study

(http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698):

In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved inancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to highconcentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of thesereceptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modernsocieties, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with thepotential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

In other words: We are not genetically designed to consume the amount of sugarthat we are currently eating. For that reason, our brains get that ‘happy feeling’ fromsugar and it can override the “I’ve had enough” mechanism.

It’s why your concentration goes to Hell when you eat a chocolate chip cookie

and there is an additional plate of them in front of you. Suddenly it’s the onlything you can think about until you’ve eaten them all! Or you eat a Peanut M&M, andsuddenly you’ve polished off a family-sized bag.

Do this repeatedly, and like Pavlov’s dog, your brain will start to anticipate this sugar rushand get prepared for it…even when you’re merely thinking about food!

It’s why Cinnabon is usually isolated in malls - away from the food court, it has abetter chance of getting its smells into your nostrils from far away…which thentriggers that mechanism in your brain if you love sugar: “SUGAR! CINNABON!HUNGRY NOW!” Suddenly you can’t think of anything else.

It’s also why everybody in line for Cinnabon looks so depressed. As Louis CK hilariouslypoints out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-j72ALHHs) (NSFW language): it’s likethey have no control.

I think I’m definitely addicted toI think I’m definitely addicted tosugar.sugar.

I’ve already covered food addiction

(http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/08/02/how-to-fight-your-food-

addiction-and-win/), but I want to talk specifically about sugar.

Like with any other addiction, you have two main options:

Cold turkey (and suffer through the withdrawal).Slowly ramping down the addiction.

I’m a bigger fan of the second option, as I find that most people end up goingoverboard when they fail on the “cold turkey” and are worse off than before.

However, I don’t know you personally (which is a shame!), so you’ll have to decide foryourself which method is best for you.

Like with any habit (http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/09/04/power-of-

habit/), it’s far easier to build a new habit in place of an old one than just trying to

get rid of the old habit, so let’s take action:

1) Create your new identity. “I am somebody who is completely in control of thefood that I eat.” “I only drink soda once a day instead of four times a day.” “I don’teat cookies.” The more specific and positive and definitive you can make yournew identity, the more likely you will be to eventually make that identity yournew reality.

2) Be aware of your cravings. When you start to crave sugar, don’t just run to getsugar immediately. Take a few minutes and analyze why: is it because you aredepressed and unhappy? Bored? Hungry? Sugar creates that happy feeling in yourbrain, and thus you could be craving sugar for any number of reasons.

3) Once you identify the reason for your sugar craving, decide if there is

another activity you can complete to accomplish the intended desire without

sugar. Maybe you’re bored, so going for a walk or playing a game or talking to afriend could help. If you’re unhappy, understand that the quick rush of sugar doesnot beat out long-term happiness and success. If you’re hungry, eat food withlots of fat and protein and fill yourself up.

4) Identify rules for yourself, and stick with them by minimizing willpower

required. “Today, I will replace one of my sodas with water.” “I drink water withdinner, I don’t drink soda.” “I don’t ________.” It’s important to use “don’t”instead of “can’t”. Studies have shown that using “don’t”(http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/663212?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101998189543) results in a much strongerdedication to habit building.

5) Increase the difficulty to continue your bad habit. Don’t keep cookies on thecounter. Don’t keep ice cream stocked in your fridge. If you are trying to eat lesssugar, increase the number of steps between you and sugar. If you are on yourcouch and see a commercial for something sugary, use your own laziness to workfor you. Suddenly, getting in the car, driving to the store, and buying somethingsweet is more effort than its worth.

Along with those few steps to get started, here are some other things you can do

to help yourself fight the battle and win.

Get mad. Like, really mad. I hate not feeling in control, and right now, the sugarand food companies have you under their control. If anything, you’re going tokick your sugar addiction to make yourself healthier and happier, but also out ofspite. Stick it to the man, and let him know you’re taking back your brain.Don’t do it alone. Have somebody to talk to through the process. Work withothers who have successfully kicked their sugar habits (check the NF boards(http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/) if you don’t have somebody at home).Need SOMETHING sweet? Try dark chocolate or fruit. If you are cravingsomething sweet, aim for alternatives that aren’t as bad for you or don’t triggerthe same blood glucose spike. Eat dark chocolate with a cocoa content above70% – you still get to feed your sweet tooth, but the sugar content in minimalcompared to milk chocolate.Slowly scale it down. I don’t care if it takes you a year of slowly changing your

habits to kick your sugar habit. Every change counts, and every little bit adds up. If you drink a case of diet coke every day, tomorrow only drink 11. In two weeks,cut it back to 10 per day. And then 9. And then eventually maybe it’s “only one onFriday.”Keep busy. If you are thinking about sugar, get up and go do something orengage your brain in another way so that you are not stuck with a one-track mind(focusing on the sugar that you’re not currently eating).EXERCISE! Sugar raises serotonin and dopamine levels, which can factor intoyour cravings. Exercise can do the same thing! Try exercising when you have sugarcravings…get that rush (and build your habits around that). Get addicted to thehigh from exercise.If you have children, save them now! Sugar addiction is built up over time, andyours might have started back when you were a child. Instead of creating areward system with candy and treats, create a reward system that rewards yourkids back with a healthier lifestyle (like in Zelda(http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/07/29/what-we-can-learn-from-the-greatest-video-game-of-all-time/)!).If you have to have sugar, consume it close to a workout. When you consumesugar before or after a workout, you will have a greater chance of burning thesugar/carbs as energy or having it stored as glycogen in your muscles and liverrather than being stored as fat!.

At the end of the day, understand that you are in control. If you are going to eatchocolate or something sweet, it’s because you made a conscious decision to do soOCCASIONALLY, not because you had to have it. Understand that it will bechallenging. Understand that there will be cravings that get better with time.

Most importantly, understand that what you really want (a happier, healthier

life) can’t happen if you keep settling for what you want RIGHT NOW (sugar!).

Understand that you can change.

Vote with your walletVote with your wallet

Every time you buy food, you are casting a ballot.

Every time you purchase something with high fructose corn syrup in it, you’resending a message that you don’t care about your body, that you are satisfied withfood that is making you sick, fat, and unhealthy.

Why not cast your vote for a better life?

Today’s article is educational: without action it’s just a pile of underpants

(http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/04/05/underpants-gnomes/).

I challenge you to decrease your sugar intake.

I challenge you to start eating more real foods and less processed ones.

I challenge you to cut back on candy and soda purchases.

Are you up to the challenge?

I’d love to hear about your personal relationship with sugar. Would you callyourself addicted? Have you kicked an addiction? If so, how did you do it?

Share your story below and help out your fellow rebels!

-Steve

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Photo source: action figure and sugar pile(http://www.flickr.com/photos/shellysblogger/7126876507/sizes/c/in/photostream/),beaker(http://www.flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4273968248/sizes/l/in/photostream/),