My mother, a diabetic, recently decided to make the gradual switch from artificial sweeteners to agave nectar. She developed Type II Diabetes in her sixties. That was a bit of shock to her being that almost everything she eats is "sugar-free". She's always eaten that way. My brother and I grew eating "DIET" foods. Everything was sweetened with saccharin, Sweet-n-Low, or some other artificial low-cal chemical. Mom thought she was doing a good thing for herself and for us. She was trying to prevent us all from getting fat. Oddly enough, it created quite the opposite effect in all of us. More about how and why, later.
These days; nothing artificially sweetened passes my lips. I refuse to eat anything labeled "sugar-free" or "low calorie". I went to school to study nutrition and ever since, I've been warning my family of the dangers of artificial sweeteners. They will not listen. They are addicted to the stuff and the whole concept of eating sweet things and not gaining weight. Want to hear something amusing? Despite all the sugar-free treats in my parent's home; both she and my dad have always been overweight. Go figure. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I begged my mom to stop pouring those packets of sweet chemicals into his morning coffee. Give him the real thing. Buy a small box or bag of raw, unprocessed sugar. At least it's natural and a teaspoon of it will not harm him. Artificial sweeteners might. She refused to listen to me. I can argue until I am blue in the face about it with her. Logic tells me something natural has to be better than a substance cooked up in a lab. She disagrees. I am not going to get into the reasons why I think artificial sweeteners are dangerous. That's for another time.
Okay- back to my mom and the agave nectar. She's not ready to give up all her sugar-free products, but she decided to use agave nectar in the foods and drinks she normally adds sweetener to: coffee, tea, fruit. Don't get me started with adding extra sweetener to fruit. Fruit is naturally sweet. Sigh. My mom is trying the agave nectar because Dr. Oz said she should! For the record; I secretly hate Dr. Oz. No, I don't. Not really. I think he's great. His knowledge about true health and wellness is invaluable and I have nothing respect for him. I just can't help but be a little insulted because I have been saying the same things about health, wellness and diet to my family for over ten years and long before anyone ever heard of Dr. Oz. So, yeah, my feelings get hurt when my parents actually do what he says.
A prophet is never recognized in her home town. Ever hear that phrase? That's me with my family. Even if I had an MD after my name; it would not make a difference. They would still roll their eyes at me. I know the real reason why they don't listen to me. They know I will tell them to change their diet and their lifestyle. They're not really willing to do that. It's easier to pick and choose some of the things Dr. Oz recommends. I suppose that's better than doing nothing at all, right?
I am getting way off track here. Sorry.........
Agave nectar. There's a lot of debate about it, but I am not going to argue the pros and cons. It's a natural product, minimally processed, and research shows that its low-glycemic load can cause blood-sugar levels to remain stable and free of sudden influx. For a diabetic; this sounds like good news. At any rate; it's certainly better than artificial sweeteners and I was thrilled that my mom had decided give it a try.
After one week with the agave nectar; I asked my mom how it was going for her. She sadly shook her head. "It's not going well at all, " she said. "I just got weighed and I gained two pounds in one week."
She goes to Weight Watchers' meetings once a week. That's another little sore point with me. HELLO! I AM IN THE WEIGHT LOSS BUSINESS! Mom won't listen to me when it comes to weight loss. Once again, I am going to tell her about diet (not DIETING- there's a huge difference) and lifestyle change. What EVER! Anyway, my mom said she is going back to the artificial sweeteners because the agave nectar is making her gain weight.
Really?
"Well, how much of it are you using?" I asked. "Are you pouring it all over everything?"
"No. I mix a teaspoon in my morning coffee," she said. " At breakfast, I mix a teaspoon into my cottage cheese and cantaloupe melon. That's it. I am so disappointed. The agave nectar is making me fat!"
Oh. My. God!
I took a deep breath and tried to explain calories and weight gain as simply as I could. My mother is professional dieter. I thought she knew this stuff. Obviously not.
"Mother," I began. " A teaspoon of agave nectar has less than 30 calories. So, you have added approximately 60 additional calories to your daily diet. That's an extra 420 calories a week. You must eat 3,500 extra calories to gain one pound of fat. Double that if you've gained two pounds in the past week. So where did the additional 6,580 calories come from?"
Uhhh...........
I asked her to tell me about the past week and what she ate since she made the big switch.
Quick stops at McDonald's. Wendy's. Burger King. A few big breakfasts of eggs, home fries and toast at the diner. Snacking here. Snacking there. Chips and dip while watching TV. It was a tough and stressful week. She and my dad were constantly on the go, so there was no time to cook. Lots of Fast Food. More than usual.
Oh, my sweet little mother. It's not the agave nectar that's making you fat! It's everything else you're eating!! Cut back on that stuff and skip the artificial sweeteners!
Artificial sweeteners are a big trick.They are the biggest gimmick on the market. Why? Dependence on sugar-free, artificially sweetened foods and other products do nothing but subconsciously fool us into believing we can EAT MORE FOOD! This is how we gain weight!
Anyone ever order the bacon double cheese burger, large order of fries AND a Diet Coke?
I want to leave you with these few things:
1. Stop using artificial sweeteners and products that contain them. If the rest of your diet is healthy; you don't need them. They are fake, unhealthy and nothing compares to real thing. Also, contrary to popular belief; artificial sweeteners actually make you gain weight. Almost everything is sugar free now. When I go to the grocery store, I notice everyone buying foods, snacks and beverages with artificial sweeteners. With all these low-cal, no-cal, artificially sweetened products, we should be a nation of thin people. Are we? NO. They are actually making us fat. I guarantee that if you eliminate these types of products from your diet; you will lose weight!
2. I am not necessarily anti-sugar. I am against the TYPICAL AMERICAN DIET which consists of too much fast food, too many processed and packaged products, too much fat, too much salt, and too much sugar. Sugar itself is not necessarily bad for you- IN MODERATION. It also will NOT MAKE YOU FAT! There are only 16 calories in one teaspoon of sugar. That's it! Go ahead and put it in your coffee, if you absolutely must have it. Unless your doctor says you must completely avoid sugar; go for the raw, unprocessed kind.
3. Pay attention to what you are eating. Write it all down. Keep a food journal and record every little morsel you put into your mouth. Everything! The drinks at Happy Hour. That handful of potato chips. You know the kid's leftovers you can't bear to toss in the trash, so you eat them? Record all that, too. Don't forget the taste tests while you're cooking. Believe it or not; they add up as extra calories. Some people eat the equivalent of an entire meal in tastes and little samples before they even sit down to dinner. Keeping a record of what you eat will give you a big picture of why you're gaining weight. You might also discover that sugar is really not to blame unless you are eating huge amounts of cookies, cake and candy every day. It's most likely everything else you're eating! When you see it all in black and white and make a few positive changes; you will also begin to see how much you really don't need all those artificially sweetened, sugar-free products.
As for my mom; she is going to give the agave nectar another chance. And this time; she is taking my advice and keeping a food journal. Finally. My words are not falling on deaf ears. How do you like that, Dr. Oz?
