Happy Saturday!
I have a story for you, which I have been waiting to share. About a month ago I was at Starbucks having some chamomile tea and doing my reflection/meditation for the day.
At the table next to me was a high school kid and a man in his mid-late 30’s. The kid was tall and skinny and his friend was about 40 pounds overweight. It looked as though they haven’t seen each other in a while and they were catching up.
To make this a better story, since I do not know either one of their names, I am going to call the high school kid “Metabolic Freaky Teen” and the 30 year old “Average Joe.”
Average Joe says to Metabolic Freaky Teen, what are you drinking?
Metabolic Freaky Teen says, a Frappuccino.
Average Joe says, back when I was your age I could drink that kind of stuff also, but now I have to watch what I am eating more carefully.
Metabolic Freaky Teen says, yeah I don’t have to worry about stuff like that and then proceeds to add 4 packages of sugar on top of his Frappuccino with a big smile on his face.
Needless to say, I am totally distracted and not doing my reflection/meditation at this point.
Average Joe seemed a little concerned about Metabolic Freaky Teen’s eating habits and shook his head and laughed, but the conversation then changed to another topic. I was left in awe of the whole situation and I still am. Please help me!
I have so many questions & concerns about this interaction:
- When did high school kids starting drinking coffee and even worse specialty drinks like Frappuccino’s? Yes, I know it is now popular to drink coffee and hang out at the coffee shops, but how did we as a society allow this to happen? I need money to live just like the next, but how does one feel good about selling coffee and again (even worse) sugary, caffeinated drinks to kids? You may think I am over-exaggerating this one, but I just don’t get it. I really don’t have anything against a cup of coffee or a little caffeine as there have been reported benefits to both coffee and caffeine in the research. The research also shows negative effects of both coffee and caffeine.
- How do you as parents feel about your kids drinking coffee and even worse consuming caffeinated beverages with high amounts of sugar?
- Although coffee and all caffeine is an ergogenic aid (performance enhancer for high speed action sports) because it is a stimulant, whenever there is a rise there is a fall. Everyone likes the rise, but no one likes the fall. I work with people every day with depression, anxiety, sleep issues, weight problems, sugar cravings, hormonal imbalances, digestive complaints, inflammation, pain and more. These symptoms are the result of a body out of balance. Caffeine certainly will not help you achieve balance with these symptoms, although you will feel temporarily better. Unfortunately, we are a society that wants instant gratification.
- As I mentioned above, the coffee and the caffeine are the least of my concerns. The pasteurized dairy and the sugar are really the devastating poisons to the body. I am not even going to go into more about the pesticides in the coffee and the plastic leaching cups. For more on dairy go to: Fat Loss Tip #16- Eliminate Dairy For 7 Days
- Now on to sugar… the real enemy. Do you know how much sugar is in a Starbuck’s Frapp? Of course they have their regular and light options, but I doubt the kids are getting the light version. Check out a Grande (16 oz) with whole milk and whipped cream: Metabolic Freaky Teen’s Drink of Choice (without the 4 additional packs of sugar). It is loaded with 430 empty calories and 69 g of sugar. The light version only has 180 calories, but it is not light on sugar with 39g.
- According to Dr. Sears, consuming just 75g of sugar (present in two cans of soda or a large cake) can depress your immune system 50% for 2.5 hours. Even table sugar, fructose and honey caused a 50% drop in the white blood cells ability to destroy infection.
- Here is the deal…we have a limited ability to tolerate sugar and when our limits are exceeded, pain occurs. Pain from excess sugar doesn’t lead to weight gain for all. You can be skinny like Metabolic Freaky Teen and still have a number of other problems.
- Pain comes in various ways depending on the person:
- Sweet cravings
- Sleep dysfunctions
- Acne
- Belly fat, Weight gain and Obesity
- High cholesterol and Blood pressure
- Addiction to drugs, caffeine, alcohol & food
- High uric acid and Gout
- Adrenal gland exhaustion
- Anxiety, Depression, Stress
- Arthritis
- Asthma, allergies
- Behavior problems and Learning disabilities
- Binge eating
- Digestive issues
- Cancer (cancer cells feed on sugar)
- Yeast overgrowth and Overall bacteria imbalances
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes and Hypoglycemia
- Thyroid disorders
- Tooth decay
- PMS and Other hormonal imbalances
- Auto-immune conditions
- Muscle and Joint Pain
- And many more….
Here is a great article by Dr. Mercola if you want to learn more about sugar, “This Addictive Commonly Used Food Feeds Cancer Cells, Triggers Weight Gain, and Promotes Premature Aging.
Just because you are skinny, you really can’t consume whatever you want.
Okay, you can, but you will pay the price just like Average Joe has.
If you are feeling the side effects of too much sugar, I have a pattern interrupt for you. Check out my 10 Day Detox Program.
Let me know if you need any help.
Sugar addiction is no joke.
My team and I help our coaching clients every day deal with this deadly poison.
Reach out to me at [email protected] to set up a strategy session to kick this habit and improve your health and well-being once and for all.
Your friend & coach,
Brien
Telephone: 650-654-4604
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