Sweet Sugar

My older brother is a vegetarian turned vegan.  He is also an ultra runner and triathlete.  He's hardcore about his body and his health, and as he has made these amazing changes, I've been turning to him for nutritional advice when stuck with a question for the kids, and now, myself.

He texted me yesterday saying he wanted to "talk about sugar".  I responded that I knew it wasn't good for us (refined), but that I had to pick my battles and sugar wasn't one of them.  We chatted a bit more back and forth, and I went about doing tasks in the house.  As I picked up toys and put away laundry I got to thinking.  Why was I so quick to say I couldn't do without sugar?  And perhaps, if it was my first instinct to say no, I really should say yes.

So I said yes.  And committed it to Facebook (heck, share the accountability and get some others on this band wagon).  So I'm going 30 days sugar free.  Yesterday at 4pm when I decided to do this, I was taking the easy sugarless train.  I was saying no to obvious sugars - candy, syrups in my lattes, things of that sort.  And I wasn't going to check labels.  But I got curious.  I was told no more than 24g of sugar a day, fruit not being counted as it is natural and has fiber.

I started looking at labels.  Curry paste last night had 1g.  Today looking at our Peanut Butter it had ICING SUGAR in it.  Seriously.  Icing sugar.  The soy version had CANE SUGAR.

And the more I delve, the more I see a real change is needed.  I could list here all the scary things about sugar, but you can quickly dig them up with a simple Google search.  I'll get you started with this link my cousin posted yesterday.

I truly thought the kids and I didn't consume much sugar.  But it appears we consume more than we even realize.  I'm not going all crazy, but I am going to start looking for alternatives in our baking, and in the products we use.  Something so prevalent in our diet that can cause heart disease and cancer?  Why would I say yes to that???

Today I've eaten a kiwi and a nectarine I know yesterday I would have passed up.  I'm already grabbing more whole food, and plan tonight to pull out my yogourt maker and get a batch started.

What are your thoughts?  Would you ever think about going sugar free?