TOXIC TRUTH OF SUGAR BELLY– What is a sugar belly? Just as people who drink excessively get a “beer belly’, people who consume an excess of fructose as added sugar are prone to “sugar belly”. Watch out for sugar belly in all at home including your kids. If the waist is larger than the hips it’s a cause of concern. WHY? Read on-
Fructose is a simple fruit sugar that lends sweetness to fruits. Eating a fructose-laden fruit is healthy. It appeases your sweet tooth, satiates your hunger pangs and the fiber carries the masticated fruit mass gently through your gut. Fructose unlike other sugars is processed in our liver. Small doses enter into the liver to be metabolized and the process is highly regulated by the fiber present in fruits. Thus, eating fructose in its natural state as a fruit is absolutely healthy.
Today there is a growing scientific concern about this fabulous fruit sugar. Liver toxicity similar to that of alcohol consumption is a looming concern and the cause is fructose as added –sugar. What’s happening? The need for easy commercial gains has not spared fruits. Manufacturers are extracting and preparing fructose concentrates from corn, beets and sugar canes where the fructose is stripped of fiber and other nutrients. High fructose corn syrup is a liquid sweetener that is 1.75 times sweeter than table sugar and is the backbone of the booming confectionary industry This is used to sweeten sauces, salad dressings, colas, soft drinks, candy, yogurt, cakes, muffins, jams jellies…..the list is endless.
When the liver senses more fructose than what your body requires, then it converts the excess into triglycerides (fats). Some of the fats enter into the bloodstream, some get deposited on the internal organs around your midsection, and some in your liver. This build-up over a period of time can be the cause for liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. The toll that it takes on the liver could end up in Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease.
Let’s eat healthy, eat natural, and stay healthy. In line with this mantra Foodialogues shares a delicious fructose and fiber-loaded refreshing juice to keep you glowing in the pink of health.
ABC Juice Recipe
Ingredients for ABC Juice:
- Apple 1 big
- Beetroot 1 medium
- Carrot 1 medium
- Cucumber 1 small
- Ginger Chopped 1 Tsp
- Amla 1
- Salt ¼ tsp
- Chaat Masala 1 Tsp
- Juice of 1 Big Lemon
Preparation Method for ABC Juice:
- Wash the fruits/vegetables and chop into rough pieces with skin.
- Blend the chopped pieces along with amla and ginger pieces into a smooth puree with 2 glasses (400ml) of water.
- Strain, and blend again with 200 ml of water. Strain the final mixture.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Pour into 3 glasses and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Healthy & Nutritious “ABC Juice” is ready 🙂
