Confused about Sugar?

Well we all know that sugar is bad. But labels can be confusing. When deciding what is healthy or if it is okay for your specific goals, make sure and look at all nutrition facts, not just sugar, and use your best judgement. Also, try switching to organic too.

Are sugar free foods healthy?

• Let's think about this. You see sugar free ice cream in the store and wonder if it is okay to eat. This is an opportunity to use your best judgement. Naturally, think of the first answer that comes to your head. Is ice cream healthy? I bet you automatically said No! I mean honestly, what can ice cream to do benefit your body? Nothing. But keep in mind, the reason I am not eating ice cream is because i have goals to be lean. If you are just trying to cut calories and are 80 pounds overweight and this is the substitute for your high in fat snicker's ice cream, this might be your choice. I can't say what is healthy or unhealthy or what to buy and not to buy because I don't know your goals. However I can tell you that ice cream isn't ever going to be a good choice for getting a lean body and there are no benefits.
• Crystal Light packages. These are sugar free. Does this mean it is healthy? I would say no. I drink crystal light because it helps me gulp my water down and it tastes good. Does it benefit my body? Nope! I wouldn't consider this healthy and I wouldn't bank on Splenda being healthy although I use it. It is hard to avoid every single little thing in life that is considered unhealthy. Do the best you can. I would consider this a free food, like pepper or mustard for example.
• Protein bars: the atkins protein bars do not have sugar and I also eat other protein bars that have about 5-8 grams of sugar in them. I don't eat these to be healthy. I eat these to get the protein that I need and the chocolate fix that I have to have. I typically do not buy or eat anything with more than 7 grams of sugar. Now with that being said. I check the other parts of the labels too. Okay, this product has 5 grams of sugar, but how many carbs does it have? Have I already reached the number of carbs I can have today? Does this meal already contain carbs? Look at your overall meal consumption for the day to make these decisions. Remember to ask yourself, what is this doing to my body? If it isn't benefiting you somehow, you probably should avoid it.
• 100 calorie packs: Remember for this lean journey we aren't counting calories. We are checking out the carbs and sugars. Stay away!
• Take each food case by case and read the ingredients. Check all labels even if you "know" they are healthy. For example, did you know skim milk has 12 grams of sugar per serving? Eliminate it!

Healthy is going to mean a lot of things to different people. It is best to talk to a nutritionist or trainer for your specific goals. I hope this helps. For anyone that knows way more on the subject (I am still learning) please feel free to comment and help educate us all.