Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes + Combating the Holiday Sugar Blues

Photo courtesy of Healthy Jasmine

How much sugar are you or your child consuming every day? And how much do you think is coming from "healthy" foods? We're thrilled to welcome this guest post by Jasmine Jafferali, Lifestyle & Wellness Consultant, about the evils of sugar and how much of it lurks where you might least expect!

"Halloween marks the days and nights of sugar, sugar and more sugar until January 1. It is no wonder that the busiest time in the doctor’s office is right after Halloween. Ten teaspoons of sugar reduces your immune function by 50% for five hours. But what harm is in a piece of candy, or two or three?

Let’s break that down a bit more. One teaspoon of granulated sugar equals 4 grams of sugar. To put it another way, 16 grams of sugar in a product is equal to about 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar. Let’s take a look at some common foods family’s eat in a day:

Breakfast and Snack Foods:

• Pop Tart, Chocolate Fudge: 1 pastry = 20 grams sugar, 200 calories 
• Hostess Ding Dongs: 2 cakes = 36 grams sugar, 360 calorie 
• Otis Spunkmeyer Wild Blueberry or Banana Nut: 1 muffin (4 ounces) = 30 grams sugar, 360-420 calories 
• Quaker Oatmeal to Go, Brown Sugar Cinnamon: 1 bar = 19 grams sugar, 220 calories 
• Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars (all flavors): 1 bar = 12 grams sugar, 130 calories 
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Cinnamon Roll: 1 envelope = 13 grams sugar, 160 calories: 
• Frosted Mini-Wheats (all the different flavors are pretty much the same): 1.8 ounces = 12 grams sugar, 180 calories 

Let’s look at some beverages now:

• Nesquick Fat Free Chocolate Milk: 16 ounces = 54 grams sugar, 300 calories 
• V8 Fusion Vegetable Fruit 100% juice, Peach Mango or Acai Mixed Berry: 8 ounces = 26 grams sugar, 110-120 calories 
• An "organics" store brand of fruit punch with no sugar added (100% juice): 1 pouch = 25 grams sugar, 100 calories 
• Capri Sun 25% Less Sugar, Wild Cherry: 1 pouch = 18 grams sugar, 70 calories 

“Vitamin” and Energy Drinks:

• Snapple Antioxidant Water, Agave Melon: 20 ounce bottle = 32 grams sugar, 140 calories 
• Glaceau Vitamin Water: 20 ounce bottle = 32 grams sugar, 125 calories 
• Gatorade Bring It, Shine On, or Be Tough: 16 ounces = 28 grams sugar, 100 calories 

If a child has oatmeal to go bar for breakfast, organic fruit drink at lunch, then “vitamin” water after school, the child has consumed a total of 79 grams of sugar, which equals almost 20 teaspoons of sugar….20 teaspoons of sugar in one day.

Americans consume an average of 165 lbs of sugar per year. That is the weight of one human being.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are (7): Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

Do I have your attention yet?

Let me say, there is no harm in a few pieces of candy, I am all for having fun and celebrating. Even I will have a few pieces myself and kindly toss the rest in the garbage.

That means the immune system is working overtime all throughout the day and works hard at night to recover and recoperate from the day of sugar. Too much sugar, we fall ill to colds, flus and other nasty infections. This is an immunity

I often hear parents say: “But I don’t want my kids to be deprived.”

My question is: “Do you want them to be healthy? What we are essentially doing is depriving them of being in good health”

Research has shown that sugar is addictive like cocaine. When we rid it out of our diet, our brains are wired to seek it, find it and consume it. We are going through similar withdrawl symptoms, same of a cocaine addict.

What are you to do to beat those post holiday sugar blues? It is easy as 1-2-3!

1. Focus on drinking water only. Aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 140lbs, aim for 70 ounces of water. Water is life and our bodies are made up water. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age. Body composition varies according to gender and fitness level, because fatty tissue contains less water than lean tissue.

• Signs of dehydration: 
• Increased thirst 
• Fatigue 
• Headache 
• Dry mouth and swollen tongue
• Weakness
• Dizziness/Foggy Thinking 
• Palpitations (feeling that the heart is jumping or pounding) 
• Confusion, decline in cognitive function 
• Sluggishness
• Fainting 
• Inability to sweat 
• Decreased urine output 

Urine color may indicate dehydration. If urine is concentrated and deeply yellow or amber by 3pm, you may be dehydrated. Look for light colored yellow by that time of day.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits have natural sugars that can help ease those cravings, especially when you eat them in season, they tend to be sweeter. Eating an orange can reduce sugar cravings They are filled with fiber to help keep you full and help ease any tummy issues.

You can sneak fruits and veggies in your desserts. My gluten free chocolate avocado recipe is a hit with children and adults alike. Decadent and satisfying.

Get the recipe HERE.

3. Take a detox bath with equal parts of Epsom Salt and Baking Soda 1-2 times per week. They work synergistically together to help your body process the icky stuff faster. Baking soda is beneficial for exposure to irradiated food, swollen glands and sore throat. It is also beneficial for those with digestive impairment, which can happen if our bodies are overloaded with sugar. Epsom salt eliminates harmful substances from the body. It also improves nerve function by encouraging proper regulation of electrolytes.

4. Get a good night’s sleep. One of the most important things we can do to reduce those sugar blues is to get adequate sleep. When we sleep less, our body has to work hard to stay up during the day. In order to do that, our bodies will crave sugar to sustain the energy needed to stay awake, typically around 2pm-4pm. This is the ideal time to grab an apple and some almonds to help sustain your blood sugars and keep you from crashing and caving into a junkie treat.

Photo courtesy of Healthy Jasmine

If you can aim and focus on these key points, you can definitely reduce the sugar load in your bodies so it can function and perform at its best every single day."

Many thanks to Healthy Jasmine for this information-packed and sugar-shocking post. Jasmine Jafferali, MPH is a Corporate Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant in fitness, wellness and nutrition. For more of Healthy Jasmine's recipes and wellness tips, follow her on Facebook. You'll also find Healthy Jasmine on Instagram & Twitter - @healthyjasmine.