Happy MORSELICIOUS Monday!
Have I got treats for you! Not only is the weather cooling down so I can ship MORSELS across country and a 10% COUPON CODE: “TENMO” to use upon checking out:   http://shop.macnmos.com/main.sc

I’m also excited to announce my 1st published article with The Examiner: Click to read and please share your comments: http://www.examiner.com/article/what-is-inflammation?goback=%2Egde_79627_member_172648746

Today, we have the incredible Registered Dietitian, Susan Dopart as a guest blogger & she’s shared her MORSELICIOUS blueberry “cobbler recipe

and a FANTASTIC article about

The Toxicity of Sugars and Sweeteners

For thousands of years sweeteners were rare with honey from bees and sweet coming from fruit. Granulated sugar was invented in the 18^th century with sweeteners and non-nutritive sweeteners being relativity new to modern day society.

In fact it’s challenging to keep up with all the new sweeteners and non-nutritive or fake sweeteners in our food supply.

If you peruse the grocery stores and happen to look at the lists of ingredients on food labels you will see there are many names for sweetness: sucrose, dextrose, maltose, glucose, mannitol, sorbitol, molasses, monosaccharides, polysaccharides, maple syrup, maple sugar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and agave to name just a few.  Non-nutritive or fake sweeteners come in many forms as well.

Sometimes it’s even a hidden game to find them.

Has our incurable craving for sweet gotten out of control and what does it do to our taste buds?

How does all this ‘sweet’ affect us and can we reset the American sweet tooth?

Minimally it conditions our taste buds to want more and more sweet.  If you consume excessive amounts of sugar and highly processed starchy foods you eventually start running on sugar.  This triggers your brain and body to want sugar most of the time.  If your blood sugar dips down you body gets a signal to eat more sugar. It’s almost as if our systems have been hijacked.

What eventually happens is that you run on sugar, rather than real energy making it close to impossible to tap into fat stores if you want to lose weight and/or have a strong metabolism.

In the same way, when you eat fake sweeteners you are consuming packets of “sweet” that are at least 300-500x sweeter than sugar and eventually you more and more of that sweet.  Sugar is not even sweet enough for those consuming multiple packets per day.  Current research shows that fake sweeteners are associated with weight gain and even possibly a link to increased rates of diabetes.

Besides weight and metabolism there are more serious consequences.

A high sugar and processed carb diet eventually harms the pancreas.

There are the ultra important cells in your pancreas called beta-cells that manufacture insulin and help you digest your food.

If you are eating a high sugar diet your beta cells are working on over-drive all the time, which wears them out, and eventually they start to die (sort of like your car transmition).  However, unlike an automobile you just can’t “replace” the beta cells.

Eating a high sugar diet on a daily basis wears out your pancreas just like alcohol eventually wears out your liver.

If you have elevated blood sugar on a few occasions and/or have diabetes approximately 50% of the beta-cells of your pancreas are gone.

Some new medications exist which can help regenerate the beta-cells but they are still in the early stages of research.  Changing your diet and exercise HELP immensely but why play with fire?

Why get to the point where you have a 911 in your body?

Diabetes, pancreatic cancer and obesity is at all time high in America.

Calming down your sweet craving is possible.  Sometimes it takes a few weeks or maybe even months depending on how much of a sweet craving you’ve acquired.

Eating protein at each meal with healthy fats and non man-made carbohydrates like fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds and foods without a label are a good place to start.  Adequate rest and regular exercise help immensely.

Changing your recipes to minimize or eliminate sources of sugar is key.

And remember – there is nothing sweeter than a good healthy body so spread the word.

Blueberry Peach “Cobbler”

Servings:  4

Prep Time:            10 minutes

Cook Time:            20 minutes

Ingredients:

3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons steel cut oats

¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Mix together all ingredients.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes until tender.  Serve warm.

Variation:  Omit steel cut oats and add 3 tablespoons of Healthy Nut Mix

Susan B. Dopart, MS, RD, CDE, is a nutrition and fitness consultant who has been in private practice for more than 20 years.  Susan specializes in child and adult medical nutrition-related issues associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and endocrinology, pregnancy, infertility, PCOS and exercise.  Before establishing her own practice, Susan worked at UCLA as both a medical and kidney dietitian.

As a consultant, Susan has worked for UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Extension, the Beverly Hills Country Club, Sebastian International and Procter & Gamble.  She has written and contributed to multiple publications, including The Huffington Post, SELF Magazine, UCLA Medicine, Sports and Cardiovascular Nutritionists SCAN publication, Best Life, Men’s Health, Message Magazine, Diabetes Health and Diabetes Forecast.

After receiving her bachelor of science degree in nutrition and clinical dietetics from UC Berkeley, Susan earned a master of science degree in exercise physiology and sports medicine from California State University, Hayward.  She is a certified diabetes educator (CDE).

Susan is the author of A Recipe for Life by the Doctor’s Dietitian – a nutrition guidebook, resource, and teaching tool with cutting-edge nutrition information, and Healthy You, Healthy Baby:  A Mother’s Guide to Gestational Diabetes.  Her mission and passion are helping her clients find lifestyle solutions for optimal health and well-being.  Connect online with her at www.susandopart.com

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