Post-Bulletin.com - 3/23/2008

By: Jan Jarvis

After way too many gingerbread men, peppermint mochas and Thin Mints, it's easy for even the most tempting sweet treats to turn sour.

"Get the Sugar Out" By Ann Louise Gittleman, Three Rivers Press; $13.95

"Get the Sugar Out" offers tips on how to replace all those overly-processed, mega-calorie sweets with whole healthy foods. This book, a newly revised edition of a bestseller, is not so much about giving up sugar today only to gorge on brownies next month as it is about making changes and trade-offs that anyone can live with. For example, try making brown rice pudding instead of the kind Mom made with a ton of sugar.

The pitch: Americans eat about 180 pounds of sugar a year, which contributes to diabetes, obesity, coronary disease and other health problems. Sugar substitutes are no better.

The plan: Start by giving up sugar in coffee, cereal and other foods. Then eliminate white bread, rice and other processed carbohydrates that turn into sugar in the body. Get rid of artificial sweeteners. Eat whole foods: for example, an orange instead of drinking juice.

The author: Diet guru Gittleman also wrote "The Fat Flush Plan" and "The Fast Track Detox Diet."

The payoff: Besides the satisfaction of gaining control over a sugar addiction, weight loss and improved health are part of the deal. Convincing yourself that a life without Oreos is worth living may still be a little tricky.