Let there be cake!

     Today is my 41st birthday and the day started out great!  Coffee in bed, breakfast cooked by my sweet husband, and a terrific lunch with my friends!  I decided to have my favorite desert for my birthday - key lime pie - delivered by my good friend Mary!!!  What a perfect day!!!  Let me go on record that I believe in the 90/10 rule!!!  Eat clean and healthy 90% of the time - but we must indulge every now and then - like your birthday!!!  Now I am writing this while my husband cooks supper.  LUCKY ME!!!!
     My family went to Williamsburg, Virginia this spring break and had a wonderful time.  In one of the museums there was a skeleton of a woman.  They could tell by the skeleton that she was wealthy.  Can anyone guess how?  Anyone?  They could tell that she was wealthy because she only had a few teeth.  She was able to purchase sugar which was a luxury.  She ended up passing away in her 40's with only a few teeth.  Not a great future!
     I am not here today to tell you that sugar is bad for your teeth.  I am here to tell you that sugar is bad for our bodies.  It is a NONFOOD!  When Yancey was diagnosed with cancer we were sent to MD Anderson to meet with an oncologist.  The first thing he told Yancey was to GET OFF SUGAR.  Sugar FEEDS cancer.  Wow!!!  Don't we all have unhealthy cells in our body?  Could sugar feed all of those cells?  Aren't chemo patients supposed to have ice cream and milk shakes?  NO!!!
     I will spend more than one day on this topic but let's consider the words of William Duffy, author of Sugar Blues.  "Like heroin, cocaine, and caffiene, sugar is an addictive, destructive drug, yet we consume it daily in everything from cigarettes to bread."  And consume it we do.  The United States is the largest consumer of sweeteners and one of the largest global sugar importers.  The average American now consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar and sweeteners per year.  
     Addictive?  Aren't you overreacting?  Sugar is addictive because eating even a small amount creates a desire for more, and suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, cravings, and fatigue.  Don't believe me?  Try getting off sugar for one week and then let's talk.
     Today sugar is in all of the usual places - candy, cookies, key lime pie!  But you will also find it in canned vegetables, baby food, cereals, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, bread, etc.  Sometimes it is in fancy language - corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, glucose, or fructose.  Even "so-called" healthy foods have sugar.  Ever looked at the label of a Clif Bar?
     Refined table sugar (sucrose) lacks vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and thus requires extra effort from the body to digest.  The body must deplete its own store of minerals and enzymes to absorb sucrose properly.  Instead of providing the body with nutrition, it creates deficiency.  This toll on the body can cause havoc on our blood sugar level - causing excitability, nervous tension and hyperactivity - and then our sugar drops - causing fatigue, depression, weariness, and exhaustion.  This is what we feed our kids?  No?  How many of us send our kids to school with Lucky Charms?
     Remember the 90/10 rule.  A treat every now and then is great!  Eating sugar, cookies, cakes, crackers, processed foods, and dextrose, maltose, glucose, fructose, etc.  is not what our bodies need to be healthy.  Cancer patient?  Lay off the sugar.  Eat what God made.  Fruits, vegetables, whole wheat, lean meats, and foods in their most natural form.  Don't want to punish the kids?  Then lay off the junk!!
     Noone said this would be easy!  Come join me in The Yancey Plan!  Not only for our health but for our families!  And remember - on your birthday - let there be cake!