Round Rock
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HEALTH<br />
Sugary foods sure do taste good, but the only good they are doing is electrifying<br />
your taste buds. The ugly truth about sugar is it causes weight gain, high cholesterol<br />
levels, cardiovascular disease and even affects your mental awareness. Even worse,<br />
sugar is a big factor when it comes to tooth decay and periodontal disease. We're<br />
marking up sugar to be the bad guy, because it is!<br />
Of course, you cannot cut sugar completely out of your life. It exists in plenty of processed<br />
foods, not just in candy and sodas. You'd have to go cold-turkey on a lot of your favorites,<br />
including cereals, saucy foods, potato chips and especially ice cream. Even healthier options<br />
like apples and citrus fruits have a high sugar concentration. Sugar is bountiful in our diets, but<br />
if you cut down the sugar intake, your oral and overall health will both see a huge difference!<br />
How to Cut Back on Sugar<br />
Cutting down on sugar is pretty easy if you think about it. You control what type of foods and drinks<br />
go into your mouth after all. So, let's take a look at some of the most common sugar fiends that<br />
exist.<br />
Let's start with sodas! Sodas make the most sense. Let's look at their sugar concentration. In a<br />
regular 12oz. can, most sodas have anywhere between 30-50g of sugar. That's a lot! Cutting out<br />
sodas completely may cause you to go through withdrawal symptoms including anxiety, so<br />
medical experts believe a greater alternative is to start cutting your soda intake by half in<br />
moderation until soda is no longer something you're drinking on a needless basis.<br />
What's wrong with sport drinks? Unless you're an active athlete, you don't need to be drinking<br />
sport drinks day in and day out. While they may have a high number of electrolytes, it also has<br />
plenty of sugar. Sport drinks are meant to get athletes through their sport, and you'll often see<br />
them drink plenty of water too. If you have a sport drink regularly without combining it with<br />
physical activity, it could lead to weight gain and sensitive teeth.<br />
Say goodbye to processed foods! Amongst the many things in your diet, cookies, cakes, pastries<br />
and breakfast cereals are notorious for their high sugar concentration. For better or worse, the only<br />
benefits these foods provide is a sugar rush that'll have you craving sugar throughout the rest of<br />
the day. There's plenty of other options you can try instead that're just as fulfilling, including oat<br />
foods, unsalted raw nuts and fruit-based snacks.<br />
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