A DIFFERENT STREET
by D’Elle Milton
If we choose to remain in our old patterns once we realize the detrimental results or self-sabotage required to do so, we have essentially given up on ourselves. No amount of another's effort, faith, comfort or support will alter this behavior. Excuses abound and will always be readily available. Familiarity, safety, brokenness and just plain 'failure' are all wonderful caves of self-comfort available to those who choose to stay locked into their pain.
It is a valid choice . . . no one has the right to take that away from anyone else. Perhaps it is a karmic debt or retribution for past sins. Whatever our justification, we have the incredible ability to become self-righteous in our suffering.
The first steps out of our self-created hell can be the most difficult ever attempted. Breaking through the membrane of self-hatred and doubt takes strength and courage we may not choose to access. Whatever our decision, there is only the truth left at the center of our experience of life. That is the mirror we face at the moment of transition. When confronted with the various points of choice that were pivotal in the direction of the life we created, the moment of truth confronts us all.... I fell, I rose, I fell again.... the next step is either accept defeat or choose a different road.
Portia Nelson said it perfectly in her poem, Autobiography in Five Short Chapters:
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the street.
I fall in, I am lost . . . I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in . . . it's a habit . . . but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It's my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
there is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down a different street.
D’Elle Milton, a founding member of TR1BE global, is also a teacher, facilitator, and writer on meta-physical topics. Her extensive travels as a singer-songwriter has helped develop her vision for a truly expansive conscious community.
Evolving to Sacred Witness
Empaths have a bad rap. They are misunderstood, or worse, exploited . . . Over the past 50 years or so, our culture has praised and celebrated the Empath as one form of “healer” . . . Sacred Witness is a concept that describes the act of holding space for another, without ego, judgment or agenda . . .
by D’Elle Milton
Empaths have a bad rap. They are misunderstood, or worse, exploited. They take on pain and carry it for others, like the sin-eaters of the Appalachians. Empaths suffer in silence and sustain countless emotional traumas simply by being around people who are unaware of the energy they are projecting. It is agony for an Empath to go to a hospital or even a grocery store. The unconscious emotions and pain swirling around the energy field can cause an Empath to curl up around the pain, withdraw into their own haven of misery and simply absorb… until they are able to emerge again. Pain for them is caused by more than physical injury or emotional trauma. Lies hurt, betrayal can be deadly, and disappointment causes severe scarring. Years of experience thickens the skin of most people but not the Empath. They always remain baby soft and vulnerable so they must create their own version of protection for their very survival. Different cultures view those who are empathic as either weaklings or saints. For societies who view this ‘’gift” positively, to take on another’s pain is considered a benefit to the sufferer, as compared to sympathy which implies a certain distance and inherent superiority.
Being able to connect to and become one with the pain of another can sometimes relieve the immediate pressure for the one experiencing it. The great irony is that when the Empath takes on someone else’s pain, it neither heals the cause nor does it take away the ability of the one hurting to continue to access more pain so the cycle keeps expanding. The Empath takes on more pain, there is now more room for the one in pain to bring in more and the net result is that this act of ‘selfless kindness’ actually increases the amount of pain in the world.
Over the past 50 years or so, our culture has praised and celebrated the Empath as one form of “healer”. The metaphysical community in particular was quick to jump on board the “Me Too” train as more and more people began to claim the title of Empath. Some even began to train others to become more empathic.
*empathetic vs. empathic: Although the two words are essentially the same, the concept of empathy was introduced in the early 1900’s while empathetic is a newer (1932) derivation. The current distinction seems to center around empathetic being the ability to feel ‘with’ someone else as opposed to sympathy or feeling sorry ‘for’ someone while empathic implies the intention of taking on the pain of another in an effort to relieve it.
Sacred Witness is a concept that describes the act of holding space for another, without ego, judgment or agenda in order to allow the person hurting to do the necessary work to find healing and/or wholeness within themselves. The Sacred Witness provides an opportunity to access pure potential WITHOUT needing to take on the other’s pain or injury. The first step in moving in this direction is to recognize that the Empath does NOT lessen the pain or brokenness in another by taking it on themselves. Bitter pill…swallow.
Next, we must become our own Empath and ‘take on’ our wounds with acceptance, love and compassion. When we take responsibility for our own healing we may find tremendous resistance to stepping into a new place of wholeness. We no longer have the safety of failure to rely on for comfort. We can no longer claim incapacity or childhood trauma as an excuse to remain in dysfunction. But when we reclaim our own healing, we also declare our willingness and our ability to create a life of meaning and fulfillment, passion and purpose. Personal responsibility is an awesome power. We CAN change our life experience, but it is a choice.
Sacred Witness is a stance that is not easy to hold initially, but once it is fully understood and mastered, it allows every interaction to be mutually beneficial rather than one sided or sacrificial. The Empath in all of us will evolve into Sacred Witness as we move toward greater awareness of our inherent ability as conscious beings to create and sustain our moment to moment reality.
original artwork/image creator unknown
D’Elle Milton, a founding member of TR1BE global, is also a teacher, facilitator, and writer on meta-physical topics. Her extensive travels as a singer-songwriter has helped develop her vision for a truly expansive conscious community.vision for a expansive conscious community.
We Are Our Stories
We are our stories. We carve them in stone, we repeat them in our minds like a mantra, they become the fortress that is the "truth" of our life. We allow others to see us through the prism of our stories, told and repeated over decades. Indeed, this prism is the lens through which we see and understand ourselves. These stories, carefully packaged and ever ready to display, are borne throughout our existence. Yet in spite of new experiences offering us a depth and subtle shading to our perspective, our stories often remain frozen in the moment they were honed. Our understanding of the world is formed and reformed, but rarely do these self-defining stories change in the face of new experiences, new information.
The whole purpose of storytelling -- whether on a date, around the table with friends, or over the phone staying in touch with family -- is to help others understand how we think of ourselves and our place in this universe. Most of us have a catalog of stories that we go to for a given situation. These stories are the ones carved in stone. They reveal everything about us: where we're stuck, how we've evolved, our biases and desires. The epic stories we tell repeatedly: that Bad Relationship, the Unfair Divorce, that Life Changing Car Accident, of Graduating From College, or Why I Don't Talk to (fill in the blank) Anymore, are just stories frozen in time. Rarely do we bring them forward to examine in the light of new awareness, new perspectives, or evolved consciousness.
The downside of never reexamining the stories through a lens of hard-earned insights is that we remain forever in that fortress constructed from lower conscious beliefs. This realignment is a step beyond the exercise of recognizing the gift or lesson of a particular situation, or "seeing the pony," as one friend describes it. By tearing apart and rewriting a story that supports your awareness in this moment changes the way that you present yourself to yourself and, by extension, to the world. As we become aware of new ways of thinking (apropos of Maya Angelou's maxim, "When you know better, do better"), part of doing better is re-understanding our life stories with that new knowing.
In a recent conversation with a friend, an authentic and curious woman who firmly walks the path of awareness and higher consciousness, she told me a story about why she didn't get into Stanford and went to a UC school instead which, in her mind, was a tragedy. Her story described uninvolved parents, a (private) school advisor who unfairly wrote a mediocre recommendation letter, as well as a series of other unfortunate events that were supposedly out of her control. As we talked about the circumstances around her story called "Not Getting Into Stanford," which I had heard on several occasions, I asked questions with genuine curiosity. Her story telling was so completely at odds with her current state of consciousness, of taking full responsibility for her actions, that I was confused by it. When reminded of the principles that guide her day-to-day life, this carved-in-stone tale began to crumble. There was some resistance, some victim consciousness arose, but as she used her evolved awareness of how the universe works, she slowly began seeing and describing the event quite differently. Not only did the story change, she realized that where she went to school had been the best possible place for her. By releasing outdated versions of how she described her life, she allowed a forward momentum to take over and move her closer to her best self. She even reached out to the advisor on whom she had bestowed so much unfair angst over the years and apologized.
For many of us who have been on this planet for more than five decades, we have had ample opportunity for our consciousness to expand. Every experience we've had, and will have, is an opportunity to see the world, not through the blinders of ego and victimhood, but through a lens of empowerment and self-awareness. The stories you perpetually tell can either keep you frozen in place, in spite of hard work expanding your consciousness, or they can be re-written and re-understood in the light of awareness. It often is the missing stepstone that someone else needs as well.
The next time you are in meditation or quiet reflection, find one of those carved-in-stone stories. Think about what you know now that your younger self could not understand, what new information you can bring to that story to release it from the past and pull it into the now. This may be uncomfortable and sometimes painful because we are examining dissonance. If discomfort arises, use your breath to move through the physical and emotional sensations. See the feelings as you would thoughts during meditation. As they come into your awareness, recognize and then release them. As the release happens, see what thoughts appear that rewrite the story knowing that the only person that ever needs to hear the revised story is you.
It is often helpful after this exercise to journal the experience. Writing is the best way to make changes in your thinking and incorporate your new understanding of a past event.
More Good Salt May Not Be Bad
Challenge your understanding of salt, as the relationship between salt and our bodies may not be that simple, and the variables that seem to have the most impact on our bodies are far more complex.
The variables that seem to have the most impact
by Virginia Eaton
For years my younger son was a chocolate maker in Portland, gifted in combining flavors to create unusual combos that were remarkable yummy, like chili and orange, lemon with lavender and honey, or curry chocolate.
My favorite of all time was dark chocolate sea salt caramels. I still occasional crave that heavenly salty-sweet combo!
I have always found it curious how salt interacts with flavors, increasing the sweet flavors and minimizing bitter flavors. Some people even mix salt in their coffee grounds as a way to boost the flavor and reduce coffee’s bitter bite.
Sadly, salt has experienced some bashing during past decades for exacerbating blood pressure and kidney problems, but recent research is starting to change how the medical community talks to patients about the role this seasoning plays in a healthy diet.
As the medical community is looking more favorably on salt, the cooking world is embracing the myriad types of salt that can build complexity in everyday cooking.
The New York Times described research that challenges our understanding of how salt, or more specifically sodium, affects the body (NY Times article).
For decades, the idea has been that when you eat salty foods, your body has to dilute the concentration of sodium by retaining water. Remember science 101 and osmosis? The process, it was thought, stresses your kidneys and increases your blood pressure.
However, it seems the relationship between salt and our bodies may not be that simple, and reducing sodium may not be the key to controlling blood pressure. According to the New York Times, in addition to controlling blood pressure, sodium can have an interesting affect on weight.
“New studies of Russian cosmonauts, held in isolation to simulate space travel, show that eating more salt made them less thirsty but somehow hungrier. Subsequent experiments found that mice burned more calories when they got more salt, eating 25 percent more just to maintain their weight.”
If your doctor has told you to reduce your dietary sodium, please have a conversation with him or her before making any changes to your diet.
Over the past five years, I have been reading research that describes the relationship between sodium and blood pressure as far more complex than “less salt equals lower blood pressure.”
The variables that seem to have the most impact on lowering blood pressure are alcohol and sugar consumption — the less the better. If you are obese, losing 10 pounds can make a big difference in many areas, but especially blood pressure.
The interesting part of the NY Times piece is the weight loss that was noted when sodium intake was increased. Researchers explained it like this: the additional dietary sodium increased the output of a hormone that causes your body to actually produce more water. It comes not from the kidneys but from breaking down fat and muscle which creates more water for the body to use.
This process requires lots of energy, so your body burns more calories. The New York Times used the example of a camel crossing the desert. The camel doesn’t need to drink water in spite of the heat because its body breaks down the fat that is in its hump to stay hydrated.
Researchers cautioned that increasing salt in your diet would not be a suitable way to lose weight, but is one piece of the complex picture of how your bodily functions like blood pressure and kidney function, for example, are far more complicated than we’ve known.
The consensus seems to be that, aside from the sodium question, the most effective way to reduce blood pressure and stress on the kidneys is to eat five cups of quality vegetables and fruits a day, exercise for 30 minutes each day, if you are overweight, lose 10 pounds, and add 15-20 minutes of meditation or prayer time daily.
When I talk with clients about dietary salt and limiting their intake, I explain that once you remove processed food from your diet, you can use salt in your cooking freely without negative consequence.
Processed food is not only extremely high in sodium but also in other ingredients that stress the various body systems including blood pressure and kidneys. While the FDA may have declared ingredients in processed food as “safe for consumption,” there has been no research on how the interaction of the numerous non-food substances impact your body.
One caveat: there are some people who have a genetic predisposition to reacting negatively to sodium at even low levels, and must be judicious with how much they salt their food. The rest of us though, when cooking real food, can salt our home cooking to our taste buds’ delight.
When using salt in cooking you have many choices these days, and there really is a difference.
Table salt is usually processed rock salt, often with iodine added to prevent it from sticking together. There’s a wide range of quality in basic table salt. Some tastes metallic and others very bland. The level of saltiness can also vary considerably. Take a taste and see what you think.
Sea salt comes from evaporating seawater and can be either fine or coarse. Sea salt comes in many forms, some more expensive than others. What I like about sea salt is that is has a more complex, cleaner flavor than basic table salt. It tends to be less salty than generic table salt so as you cook, taste and add salt as you go.
Kosher salt is made up of large crystals and has been used in the Jewish community to remove the blood from meat before butchering, thus its name. Kosher salt contains no additives and because of the large crystal can take longer to dissolve. Many cooks prefer using kosher salt in soups and stew and for the top of baked goods.
If you’ve never tried anything other than Morton’s table salt, consider buying a few different types and have yourself a taste test, you might be surprised with the differences.
If you don’t want to invest in a variety of salts, some high-end grocery stores and cookware stores will allow you to sample the different types. If you purchase pure salt that doesn’t contain an anti-clumping agent, you can add a few grains of rice to the container to keep it from sticking together.
As I mentioned earlier, the most interesting use of salt that I came across is adding salt to your coffee grounds to reduce bitterness and boost flavor. Apparently adding approximately a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt to six tablespoons of grounds makes for an extraordinarily tasty up of coffee. I don’t’ have a coffee maker so I haven’t tried but if you are so inclined, give it a whirl and let me know how it turned out!
Stay Cool, Drink More
Golfing, hiking, gardening, whatever - you should have a water bottle close at hand.
by Virginia Eaton
Playing golf in the summer has some special perks. When you hit the ball on a fairway hardened from the heat it rolls a long, long way. Sometimes it evens rolls in the right direction, which makes me want to do the happy dance. Long roll aside, temperatures in the mid-90s also make the muscles and joints happy so getting that full Michelle Wei-style swing is slightly more likely. However, the heat and sun that make fairways roll and joints loose also dehydrate the body faster that most people realize.
Whether you’re golfing, hiking or gardening you should have a water bottle close at hand. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you consume at least half a glass of water every 15-20 minutes while exercising. The Mayo Clinic advises 6-8 glasses of water every day whether you exercise or not.
Staying hydrated should be at the top of your list of healthy resolves, and here’s why:
1. 92% of your blood is composed of water. The plasma, or liquid portion of your blood, transports the red and white blood cells through your body, your heart and your lungs. Dehydration means thicker blood, thicker blood means you are more likely to form blood clots.
2. Your kidneys and guts need lots of water to process everything you eat and drink. And while it is extremely important to eat a lot of fiber, doing so without a lot of water puts you in a very uncomfortable position!
3. Muscle tissue is made up of a high percentage of water and when dehydrated, muscles do not work well and are prone to cramping.
4. One of the first signs that you may be dehydrated is feeling tired. There is a complex dance with the brain and the kidneys to control the electrolytes in the body and, when those are out of whack, energy levels suffer.
5. Hydration is the key to staying cool. Both your skin and internal thermostat need to be well hydrated to battle external heat—drink more and you may feel cooler!
So now you know why you need to carry that water bottle with you everywhere, but if eight glasses of water a day seems like an unattainable ideal, here are some suggestions that might help you reach that goal:
1. Start your day with a glass of water before your morning coffee or tea.
2. Limit coffee and soda intake: while coffee and soda are fluids, they have lots of other substances that the body has to process like caffeine, sugar or sweetener, and sodium. These may have a diuretic effect.
3. Drink a glass of water before every meal—your digestion will appreciate it.
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Foods with high water content make you feel full and hydrate your inner workings.
5. If plain water isn’t palatable, homemade iced tea (without caffeine) is an excellent substitute.
While it is possible to over-consume water, spending five minutes outside in 9-degree temps makes that hard to imagine!
Listen to your body; fuel it well because your health depends upon it!
Conscious Community
Conscious community … this bond between friends feeds our need for connection and belonging, offers comfort and creates a feeling of invincibility – there is comfort in knowing that no matter what comes your way, your people have your back.
The beauty of being part of a true Conscious Community is that it raises the bar for how you move through the world.
by Virginia Eaton
You know that feeling when you’re with those friends who are your tribe? The laughter flows and conversation is in shorthand because of the breadth of your shared experiences. Most people have had this experience at some point: sometimes it’s family, sometimes it’s co-workers, but often it is a random collection of people with whom your soul jives. This bond between friends feeds our need for connection and belonging, offers comfort and creates a feeling of invincibility – there is comfort in knowing that no matter what comes your way, your people have your back. Chick flicks like Book Club, Me Before You, and 50-First Dates all have this tribal quality, and sense of connection that is one reason this story genre tends to draw viewers.
When you take that strong connection among a group of people then elevate it, you give it a focus that embodies the sentiment “Be the Change You Want to See in the World.” You’ve then created a potentially magical experience - a Conscious Community. A conscious community has a little more structure than a tight group of friends and has an explicit raison d’etre. There are often spoken and unspoken expectations that maintain the community’s integrity. Regardless of the purpose, the community as a whole will always be operating from a heart-centered place. Sometimes the rules are around the food that is eaten, or the type of clothes worn. Sometimes it’s just an agreement that when we are together the cell phones go away, we don’t waste time on gossip, and every member actively supports what is best for the other.
The beauty of being part of a true Conscious Community is that it raises the bar for how you move through the world. It embodies the Eleanor Roosevelt quote, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” When traveling, dining or socializing members operating on this principle pull random people into their orbit in a “I’ll have what she’s having” sort of way. I’ve been to countless restaurants, high end as well as casual, and as the conversation develops with excitement and enthusiasm, I’ve seen people leaning in as they tried to figure out what the hullabaloo was about. On more than one occasion, people stopped by the table not really sure why, they only knew they felt a pull, a desire for connection. That’s when you know the group is on the right track- that elevated vibe attracts those looking for something more.
Relating from the heart center does not preclude disagreements, however. A mature conscious community understands that disagreements between members or from external sources are natural and necessary to refine the community’s identity and, when guided correctly, allow each member to contribute to clarifying the group’s uniqueness, increase ownership, and solidify purpose. When a community is operating well, the group reminds individuals that having our buttons pushed offers a growth opportunity. It is a chance to understand lifetime patterns that keep us operating in reaction mode rather than proactive mode and support moving through to a higher plane.
You know you are part of a conscious community when:
Cell phones and other technology play a very small part in how you relate to each other.
There is a need among the members to make the world a better place.
When you gather, the talk is about ideas of creation not destruction.
In every experience there is the attempt to find the joy that exists next to the sadness, and to see lessons or opportunities for growth even when it feels like the world is tumbling to ruins.
Gatherings often include creative expressions—cooking, art, music, etc.
The experiences the group chooses require mindfulness and a fully present state of mind rather than being distracted by what to make for dinner or, “Did the DVR record my show?”
The group has a holistic approach to health: the food that is eaten, the water that is consumed and the role electronic media plays in our life.
Their approach to wellness vs illness is expanded to understand that there are many ways to address the state of body, mind and spirit, and standard medical care, while appropriate in some situations, is not a panacea.
If you are looking for a conscious community look around, one exists. We often are not aware of these things until we become ready to be involved. One Tribe Global is a conscious community that is connecting conscious people and ideas and opportunities to enhance the mountain community and far beyond. Come join us!
Mosquito Season Is Here: Guard Against Zika And West Nile
Preparation can allow you to still enjoy your outdoor time.
by Virginia Eaton
Everyone I know has been breathing a sigh of relief for the rain that has once again filled our wells and reservoirs, while bracing for the impact of summer sunshine on the landscape. If you haven’t already lined someone up to take care of the weed whacking, you may want to get that on your “to do” list.
And while you’re working on that list, think about ways to cut down on your exposure to mosquitoes, or theirs to you. While I don’t want to sound like a doomsayer, mosquitoes are already making an appearance and they’re not just annoying. Sometimes, they can be deadly.
If you’ve taken a walk near wetlands or streams in the last few days, you may have experienced the mosquitoes’ already-prodigious presence. It’s hard to hike anywhere near water without being swarmed and standing water is still abundant.
Mosquitoes require standing water in which to hatch the eggs that develop into blood-sucking creatures that make hiking around water so annoying. However, the annoying part of swarming mosquitoes is benign compared to the diseases they can pass along to humans, such as the Zika virus and West Nile virus.
The Zika virus showed up in California in 2011 and can cause flu-like symptoms in some people, while many who are exposed to the virus never experience symptoms. Pregnant women need to be particularly careful to avoid exposure because the virus may cause birth defects. More information about the Zika virus.
The other mosquito borne virus to be concerned about this season is the West Nile virus. When you’ve been exposed West Nile, you are much more likely to experience flu-like symptoms than with the Zika virus. Sometimes, those symptoms can drag on for weeks. More information on the West Nile virus.
At this time, there is no vaccine for either virus. Treatment is focused on controlling the symptoms you experience. For most people, exposure to Zika or West Nile will cause minimal symptoms, except in those who are pregnant or have chronic health concerns such as diabetes or heart disease or other serious issues.
If you believe you’ve been exposed and have contracted one of these viruses, you need to see a doctor immediately.
Mosquitoes are active throughout daylight hours and into the evening. The Center for Disease Control recommends that mosquito repellent be used to prevent being bitten. Repellents that contain DEET are the most effective, they say, but DEET can cause problems when sprayed directly on the skin or inhaled.
You may want to weigh your risk of exposure to the virus with your risk of exposure to the chemicals found in traditional repellents. There are other ways to minimize your chance of mosquitoes that don’t involve harsh chemicals:
Remove standing water from around your yard, including birdbaths, flower pots, buckets and trash cans.
Wear clothing that covers your full body and limbs. Athletic wear with a tight weave in a light color may be more resistant to mosquitoes than cotton or linen and darker colors.
When you are enjoying the backyard, think about having a fan nearby. Mosquitoes cannot fly in wind, so an oscillating fan set on low will keep them away without being too intrusive.
Citronella candles don’t work well unless you’re sitting right next to them. Better to consider landscaping with mosquito-repelling plants in your outdoor entertaining area. This could include lemon balm, catnip, peppermint, lavender and basil, which all have strong scents that mosquitoes don’t like.
Electronic wristbands, DEET wristbands, ultrasonic devices and other high-tech gear designed to keep mosquitoes away seem to be ineffective, so don’t waste your money.
With a little preparation you can still enjoy your outdoor time with low risk of mosquito bites and the viruses they carry.
Here is a possible natural yard spray to use to keep mosquitoes and other bugs away. Mix this up and give it a try:
Big bottle of blue minty mouthwash (cheap stuff is just fine, must be mint)
3 cups of Epsom salts (plain, no other oils or smells)
3 stale / flat 12 oz. beers (no carbonation left when you mix it)
Mix all three until the salt dissolves
Spray anywhere you sit just before you spend time outside.
Mixture should last 30 days, depending on use.
On Sugar
Avoiding sugar isn’t as easy as one would think. Given all the guises of sugar, you won’t know how much or what type sugar you’re consuming unless you know the how sugar is being disguised.
by Virginia Eaton
Unless you’ve been living completely off the grid, you know that sugar is the new dietary villain, almost as vile as cigarettes — and for good reason. Sugar is addicting and adding on the pounds isn’t the only way that sugar harms the body. Insulin levels are disrupted by sugar, your mood is altered by sugar, and depending on the type of sugar, your liver can be damaged in the same way as over consuming alcohol.
Unfortunately, avoiding sugar isn’t as easy as one would think! Reading labels doesn’t always reveal ‘sugar’ because manufactures hide it with a host of names.
Given all the guises of sugar, even when the label declares, “No Added Sugar”, that doesn’t mean that sugar has not been added. There are lots of ways to sweeten up processed and manufactured food and just because it’s with fruit juice or evaporated cane syrup doesn’t mean your body hasn’t been given a big dose of the sweet-stuff!
Here is a list of sugar found in food in spite of, “No Added Sugar” being in bold lettering on the label:
Agave nectar
Barley malt
Beet sugar
Blackstrap molasses
Brown rice syrup
Buttered syrup
Cane juice crystals
Cane sugar
Caramel
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Corn syrup
Crystalline fructose
Date sugar
Dextran
Dextrose
Diastatic malt
Diatase
Ethyl maltol
Evaporated cane juice
Florida crystals
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Galactose
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Lactose
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Muscovado sugar
Organic raw sugar
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Rice syrup
Sorghum syrup
Sucrose
Treacle
All of the above items are sugar in disguise. Many of these forms of sugar contain fructose, which should be avoided when not consumed in its natural habitat—fruit. When removed from fruit, fructose is often unintentionally consumed in large quantities (think super-size sodas and slushy-type drinks) and can be detrimental to the body in the same way as alcohol.
Fructose is not processed in the blood using insulin like glucose; it has to travel to the liver to be broken down for use or storage. When you consume large amounts of fructose on a regular basis your liver can become stressed to the point of developing fatty liver disease, which is the non-alcoholic version of cirrhosis of the liver, from which alcoholics eventually suffer.
Manufactured foods that often contain fructose are:
Soda
Fruit juice
Energy drinks
Fancy coffee drinks
Sweetened teas
Breakfast cereals
Candy bars
Condiments such as catsup, salad dressing and BBQ sauce
Reading labels is a good habit but, unfortunately, food companies have been given such latitude on how they label their ingredients that you won’t know how much or what type sugar you’re consuming unless you know the how sugar is being disguised.
Be smart, don’t just look at the front of a food package where the marketing is taking place; turning your wrist and interpreting the ingredient label on the other side could save your waistline and maybe even your life.
