By: Meghan Telpner, Certified Nutritionist
We all want a little sugar now and then, but the right kind of sugar is what we need- and whether or not you have a sweet tooth for candy bars or red wine, the wrong kind of sugar tends to sneak into your everyday foods more than most of us realize.
Sugar is everywhere- in almost everything you can possibly buy that comes in a box or wrapper. It’s hidden away in all processed and refined foods, that when consumed, may temporarily make your taste buds boogie, but can permanently damage your health, not to mention promote, feed and indulge cancer cells.
Ready to talk about preserving your prostate? Likely not a choice topic… but best to discuss while it’s still in tact, or perhaps get right into preventing further health hurdles. Man parts are precious.
So for those of you who enjoy eating food that comes from colourful boxes, fun wrappers, or corked bottles, listen up!
Sugar feeds cancer.
When we consume refined sugary foods or simple sugars, our blood sugar levels spike causing excess amounts of insulin to be released into the body in order to bring sugar levels down. This is a natural reaction of the body in order to maintain balance. Cancer cells and insulin, however, have a passionate long distance love-connection; when they get together, it’s a heated rendez-vous.
Insulin encourages cell growth and cancer cells have a higher concentration of insulin receptors- meaning, they are ready with open arms to welcome in the sugar and get fueled. Another sugar-loves-cancer fact is that cancer cells develop as a survival mechanism. This means that when cells can no longer metabolize with oxygen, they switch to burning glucose in order to metabolize nutrients. In other words, the cells go from respiration to fermentation. This is why all true non-mainstream cancer healing modalities forbid sugar consumption.
A little FYI for you: if you were to drain your entire body of blood, the sugar level in your blood would measure somewhere in the one teaspoon range. One can of Coca Cola has over ten teaspoons of sugar. Do you realize then how much insulin your body has to release in order to avoid hyperglycemic (high sugar) shock?
This is why I’m suggesting you want to live a low sugar lifestyle. This is not the same as opting for sugar-free foods full of artificial sweeteners, those carry hazards of their own. I’m referring to foods that won’t have a massive impact on your blood sugar levels, and thereby won’t stimulate a massive insulin response.
What’s the best way to ensure you are eating low glycemic foods?
You’re going to want to opt for foods that are rich in fibre, protein and good fats. These are things like whole grains (brown rice and quinoa), nuts and seeds, lentils and beans and moderate amounts of lean protein, fish and eggs.
5 Tips For Choosing Low Glycemic Foods
1. Use fruits to resolve those sugar cravings.
2. Stay away from overly salty foods, which could contribute to sugar cravings.
3. Get enough fiber- this helps slow down absorption of sugar into the blood stream.
4. Load up on green veggies. All green veggies are low glycemic and high in nutrients.
5. Consume “good fats” like nuts and seeds with natural sugars to slow the release of sugar in the blood and to help control insulin levels
Make sense? Good. Eat Up!
About Meghan
Meghan Telpner, certified nutritionist, runs a cooking school in downtown Toronto and is the blogstress behind her well loved blog, Making Love In The Kitchen. Meghan spends the colder months in sunny locales leading the most nourishing and inspiring retreats ever. With her realistic and humourous approach, along with her contagious enthusiasm for all things made from scratch, Meghan has quickly become a sought after food, nutrition, and lifestyle expert for major media outlets including The National Post, The Marilyn Denis Show, CTV News, and Glow Magazine. Discover the goodness she's cooking up at www.meghantelpner.com
Some healthy recipes to enjoy:
Prostate Loving Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers
2 cups, black beans cooked (one can or once cup dried, soaked and cooked) 1 cup shiitake mushroom, sliced 1 cup broccoli, coarsely chopped 1 small onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup cabbage, coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped 2 large cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 cup chickpea flour, or whole grain flour of choice 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, ground
1 Tbs curry powder 1 Tbs basil, dry 2 Tbs olive oil 1 egg 1 tsp sea salt
• Preheat oven to 350
• In a food processor, process together the beans, mushrooms and broccoli until well mixed, but not completely mashed together. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
• In a food process, process together onion, cabbage, celery and garlic until well mixed, transfer to mixing bowl.
• Add to mixing bowl flour, pumpkin seeds, curry powder, basil, olive oil, egg and mix thoroughly. If you feel the mixture is too moist, you may wish to add a little more flour until patties can be formed.
• Form into patties and lay out on parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes, flip patties over and bake for another ten minutes until patty is dry on the outside and holds together.
Options
Change up the recipe to use beans, veggies, flour and nuts/seeds of choice.
Beans: use beans of choice: kidney, adzuki, chickpea, butterbean…
Leafy vegetable: instead of cabbage try kale, collards, spinach…
Flour: try quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, coconut…
Seed/Nut: instead of pumpkin seeds try ground almonds, walnuts, flax, pecan, sesame or mix
Mediterranean Tilapia (Can also use Atlantic halibut, cod, trout, or even sardines)
Recipe is for 2 serving size fish fillets, rinsed and patted dry (about 3/4 of a pound)
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup tomato, coarsely chopped 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar 2 Tbs olive oil 1 Tbs dried basil (or 2 Tbs fresh chopped) 1 Tbs dried parsley (or 2 Tbs fresh chopped) Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Using a baking dish or casserole dish with a lid, lay the fish fillets in the center, in a single layer.
• Mix together the onion, tomato, balsamic, oil, parsley, basil, and salt
• Spoon mixture over fish and allow excess to pool beside fish. We’ll be steaming the fish with this cooking method so the extra liquid is helpful.
• Cover the dish either with the lid, or secure foil around it.
• Place in oven for about 20-25 minutes until fish flakes apart easily.
• Serve over mixed greens of brown rice.
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