Friday 15 August 2014

Why Sugar ain't so sweet..

Humans have been attracted to sugar since the beginning of man kind, and that's because to our ancestors , sweetness was a sign that the food wasn't poisonous and was safe to eat, it also signalled to our brains the food was high in glucose which meant an abundance of energy. This is a natural response to sweet food. 

However all sugars are not equal. The sugar you add to your tea in the morning resembles nothing like its natural state. 
The juice extracted from the plant is boiled, then evaporated until it crystallises, and then spun until the wet juice evaporates leaving solid crystals . This is repeated twice more and then served up to you, so you can go  down a path of sweet tasting foods and a lifetime of health problems. 

'Humans are smart enough to produce their own food, yet dumb enough to eat it' 

But on the other hand , the natural occurring sugars in fruit have the perfect balance of fats ,fiber  or protein to allow the sugar to slowly  enter your bloodstream leaving your blood sugar levels balanced and your cravings at bay.

Sugar casuses your pancreas to secret insulin ,(the hormone that delivers glucose to your bloodstream), if you eat an excess of sugar ( more than 6 teaspoons a day) your chances of becoming 'insulin resistance ' grow. This condition leads to heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. 

I can't stress the dangers of sugar enough. It leads to weight gain, heart problems , diabetes, obesity, addiction, liver problems, cancer and a lot more. 

Honey, agave nectar(vegan)  or stevia are substitutes to help you reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. However looking out for sugar free versions of foods and drinks such as coke zero. Although they contain no sugar or calories , they often contain aspartame or acesulfame k. These are by far the most dangerous artificial calories on the market. It still confuses me how they are currently legal. These are much more harmful than sugar and will damage your body and cause weight gain. I will do another blog post on them in the future. 

Thanks for reading, 
Ciara x

Sunday 10 August 2014

Why Diet's don't work, : Calorie Counting.



Diets are hard. Really hard.
The second you decide to go on a diet is the exact second food becomes the only thing on your mind. 

Diets are inevitably going to end in failure, and it's not your fault. It's the inaccurate information that is exposed to you on a daily basis, causing you to make bad food decisions. 

Most of us , have absorbed so much misinformation that we're not sure what to believe anymore. 

Down the line, I'll get into more reasons why Diets are bad. But today I'm starting with Calories. 


CALORIES ARE INACCURATE!.

Definition of a calorie:
 A calorie is just a measurement of energy ; the amount of energy needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius at standard atmospheric pressure. 

In the 1920's the word Calorie was introduce to civilisation , and ever since , we.are.obsessed. 
 Millions of people every day spend endless amounts of money joining programs with calorie restricted meal plans all to find the weight isn't shifting and they feel awful. Calories aren't a measure of how the food will end up in your body. They're a measure of the amount of energy in that food. 

for example, the average avocado has 160 calories, but a cookie can be as low as 60 calories. 

Yet that avocado will make your hair shine, your skin glow , and give you an abundance of energy .
That cookie on the other hand , will stick right to the parts of the body you don't want , unless eaten in moderation. 

Diets became popular around the beginning of weight watchers and other companies alike. It's clear from looking back on history, that the more convenience food , the less 'real' food ,lead people to start diets. Because they we eating all the pre-packed-point labelled foods they could get their hands on, but they severely lacked nutrition so their weight began to rise.

 We are living in a world where people are over fed, yet under nourished. 

Don't believe me? I Challenge you to 20 days of eating pure , natural good foods , with the occasional treat and not counting a single calorie. 
Your weight will go down or stay at a healthy level , and your energy levels will soar. 

Think about it, has a banana ever made anyone fat? 


Ciara, x

Friday 1 August 2014

Intro,

To the few poor souls reading this, My Name is Ciara. I'm 19 years old and living (unfortunately) in Ireland. 
My Goal is to study Public Health in University College Cork and hopefully go on to become a certified nutritionalist . 
Honestly , I have no idea what I'm doing with this blog, but I do love health and fitness so I thought I'd write about it for the few people in the world interested in reading about my breakfast or my quickest mile. 

Enjoy stalking my blog,
xoxo


P.s  I would really appreciate the follows and shares please .