For us soda junkies, the announcement by both Pepsi and Coca-Cola that they are now going to offer a version of their respective products with Stevia as in ingredient instead of sugar, could be good news. If you have been following The Critical Thinker you may remember when I announced that my physician, Dr. Karen Young took my daily Pepsi's/Coke's away from me to prevent me from becoming a diabetic. Diabetes runs in my family and when Dr.Young observed that my A1C level was creeping up, she took preventative measures to keep me medicine free and from becoming a diabetic. The measures we put in place such as more exercise and dietary changes such as eliminating sugars, carbohydrates, and starches from my diet worked. At my February appointment, I was weighing 178 pounds and when I returned in May I had lost 20 pounds and was now 158. Dr. Young could not believe that I had lost 20 pounds that quickly. She said "I know you didn't lose 20 pounds since the last time we met?" I smiled and said, "Oh yes I did," and she said "You must have been taking in a whole lot of sugar each day." My A1C numbers were back in normal range and she was correct as I was eating a half pint of Haagen-Daz Coffee ice cream per evening for dessert along with my daily Coca-Cola or Pepsi with lunch and dinner. I did not mention the cookies,doughnuts, Cheetos, Snickers, etc. etc. I consumed as a grab-and-go.I know by now you are saying where is he going with this? Good question.When Dr.Young informed me that I would have to eliminate sugar from my diet, she did offer me a couple of alternatives. She said that I could drink unsweetened iced tea, Diet Coke/Pepsi or water. She also said that I could use Stevia or Truvia as a sweetener. So of course, I did my research on stevia. According to WebMD, stevia is a natural, no-calorie sweetener, made from a South American plant that has been around for centuries, hence the green color in the labeling of both the Coca Cola Life and Pepsi True cans. I also
Now after having read SALT, SUGAR, FAT and having discussions with Dr. Young, I made some significant dietary changes eliminating most if not all "junk foods;" however, I still drink an occasional diet cola, but I don't like the taste of Aspartame, Saccharin, and Sucralose and I am hoping stevia will be healthier and tastier. I use stevia to sweeten my unsweetened iced tea and I actually like the taste; that is why I am excited about it now being in Pepsi or Coca-Cola. So while Coca-Cola Life and Pepsi True are not on the market yet, I am looking forward to them being made available and I will be one of the first people in line to trial it. Now if I can just get Haagen-Daz to follow suit and offer a Haagen-Daz Coffee ice cream with stevia in it instead of sugar. I can only hope. Hear me live each Saturday morning at 6 a.m. ET on gobrave.org as the host of The Reading Circle with Marc Medley. Also you are invited to follow me on Twitter @thinkcritical01 or @readingcircle01.
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1 comment:
My wife and I do 2 week long food challenges often and one of our challenges is "No carbs". This is full blast, this means no: sugars, breads, cereals, trail mix, rice, pasta, anything that has carbs is off limits except vegetables. I can attest that with this diet alone, anyone can look to lose at least 5 pounds, without exercise. If you add exercise you will increase your weight loss by almost 15 pounds.
Marc, I would also recommend a book to you and your readers, it is called "The 100" by Jorge Cruise. My wife and I read this book and it was such an eye opener and it did so much to help me begin to look at foods in a whole new light. My nemesis is sugars, I grew up with a sweet tooth and my only saving grace was the fact that I played sports year round so I did not feel the effects of consuming so much sugar. Now that I am older and not as active, this book has helped me regulate my foods and really look at my carb intake and help manage my weight based on the foods I eat.
Great article Marc, I can sympathize. I am a Mountain Dew junkie.
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