Everybody loves the Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing and the rice or mashed potatoes under the gravy. Oh, and then there’s the cranberry sauce! And of course, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie and/or pecan pie!
Unfortunately, all are loaded with sugar. Of course, the “sugar” in the stuffing or dressing and the white rice and potatoes isn’t what we think of as table sugar. But the corn bread or white bread in the stuffing, as well as the white rice or potatoes becomes sugar in our bodies.
And the cranberry sauce would be really tart if not for all the sugar added to it. And then there are the pies…….
The potatoes, stuffing and/or dressing, rice, and pies, of course, are carbohydrates. But some carbohydrates are actually good for you. Fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates, and they supply us with necessary dietary fiber.
Carbohydrates supply our bodies with the energy we need, especially to fuel our brain and nervous system, so we absolutely need SOME carbohydrates. But the typical American diet is way over the 45% – 65% of calories we should get from carbs. And most of those calories come from the wrong kind of carbs—the sugary kind.
It’s a good rule of thumb to avoid anything white, such as:
- White potatoes
- Pasta
- White rice
- White bread
- Grits or corn of any form
- Sugar
One white food that’s actually majorly good for you is white chia seeds. I’ll write more on that in another post.
And it’s not just obesity that comes from too much sugar. With the obesity often comes type 2 diabetes, with all its ramifications. Plus, what can be worse than dementia? And dementia has been linked to too much sugar, among other things. As a matter of fact, Alzheimer’s is known in some circles as type 3 diabetes!
We should make a concerted effort to consume the right kinds of carbs. That includes, but not exclusively:
- Fruits—whole fruits, especially the low sugar fruits like berries.
- Vegetables—especially the leafy green ones.
- Legumes—pinto beans, garbanzo beans, etc.
There’s something to be said for the old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”.
Of course, I HAVE to have something bad for me once in a while—especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I do try not to overindulge. And I’m careful with my normal diet.
May I suggest you do the same?
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