Sugar in Shakeology?!

i had my first vanilla shakeology today and it was a-ma-zing. I made it with 1C unsweetened soy milk, 1/2 frozen banana + 1 tsp peanut butter. it was everything i dreamed it would be: creamy, delicious, not too sweet, no weird aftertaste. i was SO pumped! vegan vanilla shakeology. i have wanted it for EVER. and now it’s mine all mine! and now it has chaga & matcha! i love how they keep adding more and more amazing super foods to these shakes to make them even more amazing than they already are. like… for real. where can you get all this insanely awesome stuff in one little packet?! nowhere.

however.

i flipped over the packet in my excitement to rattle off to my sister all the awesome things i just drank that were now fueling my body! rawr! i was PUMPED! and then i saw the first ingredient on the “additional ingredients” section: organic cane sugar. WTF? was this always there? my sister said it was but i could’ve sworn it wasn’t! surely i couldn’t have overlooked this for years. i don’t eat cane sugar. stevia, sure. cane sugar? not me. not any more. especially not daily.

i did a quick google search and found that sure enough, along with the chaga and matcha, cane sugar was added to the new recipe. all flavors. can’t even go back to my trusty chocolate without getting some cane sugar.

well shit. i gave up sugar. i think sugar is EVIL. there’s NO nutritional benefit & it’s inflammatory & tied to a zillion diseases. yes yes… i still eat things like agave, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc etc. All not great. but i mean even those you can say maaaaybe less bad than cane sugar. but dude. i have NEVER found any scientific evidence in any article ever that says cane sugar is good for human consumption.

now… that said… i know most people do consume sugar, maybe just in small amounts. and if you don’t have a problem w/sugar and having a delicious tasting shake is going to help you get all the nutrition found in Shakeology, believe me. it’s amazing. SO much awesomeness in there. from an adaptogen blend that will help your body, well, adapt (just like the plants it comes from!) to a greens blend that includes things like moringa, sourced in a way that actually benefits you (vs some kinds you can buy at stores that don’t properly harvest their foods). i’ve done many side by side comparisons with other shakes (in my personal search to find the one i liked best) and nothing stands up to shakeology in terms of biggest bang for your buck.

so is sugar really that bad? have i been led astray? all i know is how awesome i’ve felt since giving up sugar. and when i eat out and undoubtedly eat things with sugar, i definitely notice a difference in how i feel (slight headache + phlegm). not cool. and my skin has cleared up like WHOA since giving up sugar. and when i almost got a cold it went away without ever actually showing up. no idea if that’s from the sugar or essential oils i’ve been using or from the workouts i’ve been doing but i’ll take it!

so anyways… is sugar really bad for you? are there some redeeming qualities of sugar like Darin Olien says? since he’s one of the creators of shakeology and profits from it, i have to take what he says with a grain of salt. for some reason i trust him (good marketing, dude!) so i want to believe that when he says organic cane sugar isn’t bad, he’s telling me the truth and not trying to sell me something.

the jury is still out but here’s what i’ve found so far:

1. Organic cane sugar DOES have amino acids, minerals, vitamins https://smartypantsvitamins.com/organic-cane-sugar-vs-other-sweeteners-how-they-measure-up-part-1/ and http://www.processedfreeamerica.org/resources/health-news/535-raw-sugarcane-juicenatures-perfect-wonder-food
2. Raw cane sugar has antioxidants: http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S0002-8223(08)01891-9/abstract
3. Organic cane sugar is most def better than white table sugar http://www.livestrong.com/article/231452-differences-between-organic-sugar-white-sugar/
4. But just because it doesn’t have the gross stuff that regular sugar has, doesn’t mean it isn’t still processed the same by your body: https://authoritynutrition.com/6-healthy-sugars-that-can-kill-you/

soooooo… i’m on the fence. i will definitely still try the cafe latte and see how i feel after i drink it. honestly i’m really uncomfortable with this addition and wish they had an option for the stevia sweetened one still!

what do you think about cane sugar? OK in moderation? what does “moderation” mean to you when it comes to sugar?