“We don’t need sugar to live, and we don’t need it as a society.” - Dr. Mehmet Oz

 

You’ve been working like a dog all morning long and it’s time to unwind and replenish for a hearty meal. Perhaps you feel that a sinful treat is in order as a topper; after all, you earned it with your professional diligence, yes?

 

The problem, of course, is that the food choices made for lunch lead to that all-too-familiar energy crash in the afternoon.  The culprit in this dietary drama that can wildly swing from exhilaration to exhaustion is sugar. And dessert is not the only accomplice. Savory foods like pizza, pasta, or bread are all high in sugar. White flour and white rice are both sugar-packed. Even when whole grains like wheat and brown rice are stripped of their fiber, what’s left is a simple carbohydrate that is rapidly absorbed by your body just like pure white sugar.

 

Current studies have shown similarities between the over consumption of sugars and drug addiction. One report suggested that sugar cravings were even more demanding than cocaine cravings. What is it about these simple carbs that make them so difficult to resist? Sugar consumption releases opioids and dopamine into the body. Both of these chemicals send pleasure signals to your brain and actually help your body block pain. The narcotic effect makes you feel happy, which is why so many reach for it again and again.

 

Minimize foods that will pique your craving and cause you to eat even more sugar or starchy carbohydrates. These include foods made with white flour, starchy vegetables like corn, potatoes, and winter squash, and high glycemic fruits like bananas, pineapple, and watermelon. Instead eat green leafy vegetables and high fiber fruits like citrus, apples, and blueberries. Consume a lunch that is protein-rich, by ordering fish or chicken.

 

Here are some other tips for slaying the sugar beast: 

Banish all artificial sweeteners (Equal, NutraSweet, Sweet ‘n Low, Splenda). Typically they appear in food and beverages cleverly marketed as "sugar-free" or "diet," including sodas, chewing gum, jellies, baked goods, candy, fruit juice, ice cream and yogurt. Artificial sweeteners are 200-700 times sweeter than regular sugar and cause an imbalance in your palate, causing you to need more sugar, real or artificial, to be satisfied. Aspartame, the active ingredient of Equal and NutraSweet, and a component of many diet sodas, has been linked to cancer in some clinical studies;

 

Honey supplies the body with some valuable nutrients and can help with pollen allergies if it’s organic. However, it also raises blood sugar levels and is high in calories;

 

Agave nectar, despite being a natural sweetener, is high in fructose and calories. Besides the triglycerides issue, some research indicates that fructose doesn't shut down appetite hormones, so the impetus to overeat may be intrinsic;

 

Pure maple syrup is a good source of manganese and zinc, but it is shown to boost blood sugar levels, and is definitely off limits to diabetics;

 

Stevia is a plant-based alternative that is about 300 times sweeter than sugar, but contributes zero calories and may actually help lower blood sugar levels, according to some studies. The availability of Stevia in granular form makes it easy to carry in packets. Its potency in minute quantities makes it inexpensive.

 

QUOTES ABOUT LUNCH  

“I read that 62% of women had affairs during their lunch hour. I've never met a woman in my life who would give up lunch for sex." — Erma Bombeck

 

"When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch." — Douglas Adams

 

"The scientific name for an animal that doesn't run away from or fight its enemies is 'lunch.'" — Michael Friedman

 

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon." — Ronald Reagan

 

"Note on a door: Out to lunch; if not back by five, out for dinner also." — Unknown

 

"Having your lawyer pay for lunch will be very expensive in the end." — Unknown