f a t . d o e s n ' t . m a k e . y o u . f a t . . .

Sugar does.

That's a pretty big claim but according to Sarah Wilson it's true. I've followed Sarah Wilson's blog for quite some time now. If she sounds familiar, perhaps you've read her column in the Sunday Life magazine of the Sunday Telegraph. Or maybe you know her from her stint as host of MasterChef. Or as the editor of Cosmo magazine back in the day. The point is, Sarah knows quite a thing or two about a thing or two and she's not afraid to road test a thing or two. Of all the things Sarah has trialled, I would say that quitting sugar has to be THE biggest challenge.

Here's the thing. Sugar (which is half fructose and half glucose) is in practically everything. The problem is that unlike other substances, fructose doesn't contain a corresponding appetite hormone which tells the body 'Hold up I'm full! So when you eat that row of chocolate you just want to eat more and more and more. And more.  

We crave sugar right from the first meal of the day. For all you smug I-order-fruit-and-yogurt-when-I-eat-out-for-breakfast types, the jokes on you. Just to prove how much sugar you're ingesting, please observe:

Horrible isn't it?

I wont even bother enlightening you with how much more sugar is in your rich & creamy yogurt and your bircher muesli. Actually I will... A 200g mini tub of low fat yogurt = 7 teaspoons of sugar = 2 large scoops of icecream! You're much better off ordering the eggs florentine.

If you're wondering which fruits are the biggest sugar culprits you can find a table here. And if you're proud of your daily "healthy" juice and blueberry muffin for morning tea, then think again. Carrots, apples, grapes, mango and especially bananas are some of the worst offenders. Avoiding coffee? Well even some chai teas contain sugar in the mix. So what's the breakfast alternative? Well coconut water is a good start. Sarah has posted a few sugar free breakfast ideas on her blog and you can find one here. 

With all this hidden sugar in our foods and the very misleading food pyramid, i'ts no wonder there is a growing obesity and diabetes epidemic. These days I'll walk down the breakfast aisle and struggle to find a suitable breakfast option...apart from Uncle Toby's VitaBrits. It's by no means free from sugar, it's just that it's the best of the worst so to speak; it even trumps Sanitarium's Weetbix!

I'm going to give it a shot. Before taking this on though, I'm definitely going to do my research and have alternatives for when those pesky sugar cravings taunt me. Like tonight when I ate three four rows of dark chocolate...before dinner. Sigh.

Join me. I double dare you.

xx