Society tells us to count our calories because whatever excess calories that we don’t burn turns into added weight. It seems simple, right? Just exert more than you intake. This has been the thought process of millions of people for so many years now. We see the huge 100 calorie statement printed in bold on our candy bars, fruit snacks, and juice boxes. But how many calories are in an avocado? According to what I just found on Google it could be anywhere from 250-350 calories. So if we are following what society is telling us then that would mean that everyone should choose a candy bar over an avocado.
Something obviously isn’t right here. Two years ago I read an article saying that McDonalds is healthier than Chipotle. The reasoning behind this was that you’re intaking more calories at Chipotle. Yes, you are consuming more calories at Chipotle but this is mainly from the fats that are present in the guacamole. Again, this is similar to what I was just saying; society and the media is telling us that refined, white bread and highly processed burgers are better options than Chipotle just because of the amount of calories.
We have also been told in the past several years that we need to watch our fat intake. Why? One reason is because one gram of fat contains nine calories, compared to carbs and protein which contain four calories per gram. It’s also widely believed that LDL from saturated fats causes plaque formation and leads to heart disease/metabolic syndrome. What we aren't told is that there are two types of LDL and the LDL that forms from saturated fats does not easily cause plaque formation because the particles are too big for diffusion through membranes. The other LDL stems from sugar that gets converted to fat. This is the bad type of LDL that is small enough for diffusion to occur. So now that we have been told to not eat fat, food industries have replaced fat with more sugar. After all you have to get food to taste good without fat somehow.
So what’s the worst type of sugar? Fructose. And high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything because it’s extremely sweet and cheap. Your liver doesn’t process fructose like it processes glucose; your body stores glucose as energy so it takes a lot of glucose intake before it gets converted to fat. Fructose is very easily converted to fat because your liver cannot process it efficiently. So all of these sodas, sports drinks, and juices are just poisoning our bodies without anyone knowing because we haven’t been told why.
The first thing anyone should do to become healthier and energized is to eliminate any sugary drinks. Not counting any other sugary snacks or treats, you consume an alarming amount of sugar (40-70 grams) in just one can/bottle of soda depending on the amount of ounces. No one realizes the amount of sugar this actually is, considering nutrition labels don’t state the percent daily value for sugar, like they do for fat. It’s extremely hard to eliminate sugary drinks if it’s all you’ve been drinking for years; sugar is addictive. Some people start with slowly eliminating the drinks by drinking a certain amount less per day or diluting the drinks with water. Just by doing this, you are taking a HUGE step in the right direction.
*** I also don't recommend diet drinks with artificial sweeteners cause even those can cause a whole bunch of problems
CHECK THESE OUT!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&t=4297s (Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Robert Lustig)
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/it-aint-the-fat-people#section1