Easter is a Time of Year, Not an excuse!
The cold breezes of autumn mean that Easter is around the corner! After the celebrations of Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day, there is no escaping the attack of sugar that threatens us at every turn. From cream eggs to chocolate bunnies, the extra calories are upon us!
As much as you may not want to hear this, you know it to be true; when you reach for the chocolate in front of you at the supermarket it is not doing you any good. Brace yourself….. this may hurt…Sugar is really bad for you.
When you devour Easter treats, you are getting a large dose of refined sugar. It slams into your system like a NRL footballer heading for the try line, and the effects are disastrous.
Within the first 20 minutes or so, your blood sugar level spikes as the sugar enters your bloodstream. It arrives in the form of glucose, which is your main energy source. The rise in blood glucose stimulates insulin production in the pancreas, which is the hormone that helps you absorb the available glucose. Some of this glucose is used instantaneously. But, the rest is stored as fat to be used at a later date.
The more sugar you eat, the more insulin your body produces as it works hard to remove the glucose from your blood. These high levels of insulin are not positive for your health. The extra insulin in your blood stream signals to your body that you need more glucose, which causes you to crave even more sugar. After repeated exposure to high insulin levels, your cells turn completely numb to the effects of insulin, a sign of early diabetes. When your cells no longer respond properly to the storage effects of insulin, the sugar in your blood has nowhere to go, and so it continues travelling in your bloodstream. This is what is known as a ‘high blood sugar level.’
The result is that you feel exhaustion, because you have no way of retrieving the energy that is in your blood stream. You feel weak, tired and have trouble focusing and concentrating, because your brain uses glucose to function.
If your blood sugar levels stay high, severe damage begins happening to parts of your body. For example, the capillaries become damaged, which leads to blindness, your kidneys become diseased, which can eventually involve dialysis, and nerve damage occurs throughout your body, which can lead to amputations. The heart muscle also suffers, which leads to heart disease, and your organs begin to mature at a faster rate. You also become more prone to infections.
EASTER ALTERNATIVES
Let’s look at some alternatives for your Easter celebration. You do not have to sit there eating carrots while those around you are scoffing down chocolate bunny after chocolate bunny. There are so many other ideas to consider. Have you thought about making up an Easter basket, full of treats and goodies? Sticking to this list will ensure that you are clear headed and full of energy while your friends and family are falling in and out of awareness after their sugar high!
Alternative food ideas:
- Dried fruit (eat with a protein such as nuts or milk)
- Lindt dark chocolate (choose some with little sugar)
- Nuts, not those sugary covered ones
- Fresh fruit – mango, berries and the yummy varieties
- Cheeses, in moderation… preferable swiss or cottage cheese as it’s high in protein
- Popcorn, not toffee covered though
- Boiled eggs, painted and dyed – served on Easter Sunday or Monday for breakfast
Non-food ideas for kids’ baskets:
- Play dough with egg moulds
- Playballs/footballs paper-mâchéd
- Skipping ropes, just because
- Craft supplies with an Easter twist
- Chickens for laying eggs (yep we said chickens)
- Football jerseys (Roosters )
- Tickets to a Ticketex event
- Card games/Board games
- Clothing
- Lego or Duplo
- Bubbles
- Books
- A trip to the Easter Show in Sydney
Karly Arranz / Nathan Hitchcock
Guest Blogger & Founder Define Fitness