Dear Friend,

I can’t believe how quickly these fall months are flying by. The kids are back in school, the days are shorter, and there’s a cool nip in the air at night. It also means the holidays are coming and along with the holidays comes tons of sugary treats.

I’ve often said sugar isn’t as sweet as it seems. The average American intake of added (non-naturally occurring) sugar is 20.5 teaspoons per day, which adds up to 68.5 pounds per year, per person. But while many doctors are still saying sugar is okay, I’m more concerned than ever—about sugar consumption, and blood sugar.

Blood sugar used to be something you didn’t need to pay attention to until late in life—now it’s something none of us can ignore. And in this Health Dispatch I’m going to give you some quick and easy things you can do right now.

The not-so-sweet scoop on artificial sweeteners

Sugar may not be as sweet as it seems, but neither are many of the artificial sweeteners you find in the “sugar bowl” in restaurants. That’s because the sweet taste in your mouth triggers the release of insulin even though there might not be any sugar present. (When there’s more insulin present than your body needs at the moment, your cells can become resistant to its effects. The result is often trouble maintaining your weight and your blood sugar.)

But if you have a sweet tooth, there are two good sugar alternatives you can use. The first is called stevia. Stevia doesn’t raise blood sugar as quickly as regular table sugar does. And unlike artificial sweeteners, stevia has no aftertaste or side effects. It’s available in both powder and liquid extract forms—check for it in your local health food store.

Xylitol is another great sugar alternative. It’s as sweet as sugar and it breaks down slowly, like stevia does, so it helps to keep your blood sugar even. It also has 40% fewer calories than sugar (sugar has 4 calories per gram, xylitol has 2.4). Xylitol can be substituted for sugar in cooking and for other sweetening. Though initially more expensive than sugar, it’s an absolute bargain in terms of your health. It comes in a powder form and can also be found in your local health food stores.

There’s a new spice for blood sugar support—cloves

Cloves are dried buds that come from a small evergreen tree that grows in the tropics. The flavor is slightly sweet and aromatic—and for most of us, the only place we’ve eaten it is in pumpkin pie.

But for blood sugar support, you’ll want to make it more than a pie spice. In fact, you’ll want to eat a few cloves a day or ½ to one teaspoon of ground spice. The flavor can be fairly intense, though, so using cloves in cooking is more palatable.

One delicious way to enjoy cloves is in spiced brewed tea, a delicious fall treat. Just place eight to 10 teabags in a pot, add a cinnamon stick or two, and a sprinkle of whole cloves. Then simmer for five to ten minutes, depending on how rich you want your tea. You can flavor the hot tea with xylitol to taste—and store the rest in a container in the refrigerator to reheat later, or to serve cold over ice.

Go ahead and sprinkle on the cinnamon

Another spice I’ve long recommended for blood sugar support is cinnamon. It’s one of the ingredients in my morning shake, and I’ll often mix it into yogurt or oatmeal. The most effective amount of cinnamon for blood sugar support is one gram (½ teaspoon) daily.

This time of year there are many delicious and easy ways to add cinnamon to your diet. Try slicing a crisp apple, and sprinkling the slices with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey, or a sprinkling of xylitol. You can also core an apple, and fill it with a mixture of chopped nuts, cinnamon, and honey, and heat it up to make a healthy baked apple.

One final note: While these diet recommendations will go a long way toward supporting your blood sugar, I also recommend a blood sugar support supplement. I’ve developed one that gives you your daily dose of cinnamon, plus other well-studied, targeted nutrients.

But no matter what you do, I hope you’ll take my advice to heart and pay attention to your blood sugar—it’s never too early or too late to start.

Until next time,


Dr. David Williams

P.S. Next month you’ll receive “part 2” of my blood sugar dispatch series. I’ll be giving you more information on blood sugar—and solutions that will help your health in more ways than one.

******ATTENTION: AOL USERS******

For important information concerning your AOL e-mail capabilities, please click here.

To view our Privacy Policy, please click here.