1. Soda, diet and regular
2. Sports drinks
3. Artificial sweeteners of any kind
4. White flour
5. White sugar
6. White potatoes and rice
7. Caffeine
8. Fried foods
9. Gluten
10. Dairy, especially ice cream and cheese
(both high in heart-clogging trans fatty acids)
Tips on Transitioning Away from Sugar
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Sugar is hiding everywhere, but if you stick to the foods suggested in this plan, you should have no problem avoiding it.
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Avoid high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sweetener dumped into many foods. Two articles published in a 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that HFCS and products containing it may contribute to America's epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes. When scientists investigated our food consumption patterns over the past 35 years, they discovered that between 1970 and 1990, consumption of HFCS rose by 1,000 percent—a trend that parallels the rise in obesity. Another alarming piece of recent research has revealed that pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate. That's the latest word from a team of researchers at UCLA, who published their study in the journal Cancer Research.
The researchers grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose, and the cells used the fructose to proliferate. Although it's found naturally in fruits, fructose is also a component of HFCS. (See the chart on page 220 to understand the difference among these sweeteners.) All of this makes the practice of reading food labels very important. Always check labels for added fructose as well as HFCS, which lurks in many processed foods—including ketchup and other condiments, sauces, salad dressing, jams, peanut butter, meat products, and commercially produced desserts.
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Beware of juices. Fruit juices—even unsweetened juices—contain fructose and should be consumed in moderation, if at all.
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Ban sodas (including diet sodas) from your home. Consider switching to an alternative, such as sparkling water, herbal tea, or green tea. (Stick to home-brewed teas, since most commercially bottled tea is brimming with HFCS.)
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If you have a sweet tooth, grab fresh fruit whenever you feel the urge for something sweet. Or eat naturally sweet vegetables, such as sweet potatoes or squash, to help curb sugar cravings.
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Plan ahead when you dine out. When the waiter comes to take your dessert order, condition yourself to say, "I'll just have some herbal tea."
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Stop eating "dead" foods: junk, fried, and fast foods, as well as processed carbs. They're loaded with sugar and other additives. The more live foods we eat (fruits and vegetables), the more alive we feel. The more dead foods we eat … well, you get the idea.
