Sugar
Sugar, like caffeine, cigarettes and certain drugs, is an addictive substance. Early studies by Judith and Richard Wurtman at MIT suggested that people who stop eating carbohydrates will experience strong cravings, something similar to cravings for cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. A person can be so addicted to sugar that they will deny their addictions and yet, when it comes down to it, if they don't have their sugar in the morning, sugar at lunch and sugar at dinner, then they suffer serious withdrawal symptoms and go crazy with moodiness and irritability. Some don't even know the amounts of sugar that they are consuming because it is hidden in so many foods with a variety of different names.
Sugar Cravings
Cravings are caused by the excess amounts of sugar we typically consume. Constant exposure to excess sugar causes the body to overproduce insulin. This excess insulin causes the blood sugar to drop to a low, which then triggers the body to crave sugar, which at this point it needs. So, you eat some sugar and the whole cycle starts again. This sugar cycle is the high burst of energy we get from eating sugar followed by the crash and burn later. Trying to stop eating sugar is as hard as quitting smoking or drinking coffee.
Sugar Aliases
Sometimes you may not even be aware of how much sugar you are consuming because there are many different names/aliases of sugar as they appear on food labels. Sugar is called fructose, maltose, dextrose, cane sugar, turbinado, organic sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup, just to name a few.
Refined White Sugar
Refined white sugar is a pleasure drug. Put a spoonful on your tongue and observe the warming, comfortable feeling that makes you feel safe and happy (They're not called "comfort foods" by accident.) Sugar destroys a person's health over time, suppressing the immune system and impairing its defenses against infectious disease. Sugar feeds cancer cells. It can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone. It can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis. It rots out our teeth, disrupts normal brain function, promotes heart disease, chronic disorders and directly causes diabetes and obesity. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affecting school children's grades and cause learning disorders.
Sugar and Weight Gain
The average American consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year. This excess sugar is stored in fat, which is why we gain weight from eating sugar. However, there is another reason that sugar causes weight gain; when the pancreas is producing insulin, it cannot produce another hormone called glucagon, which is responsible for telling the body to release and burn fat stores for energy. So, your body grows its fat stores and prevents them from being burned for energy when you eat sugar.
Sugar and the Immune System
Sugar consumption decreases your immune system by 50% for about 5 hours after consumption provided that you don’t consume more sugar during this time period. Think about it…when is flu season? October thru March – when we have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Valentine’s Day, etc. During this time period people are consuming more sugar than any other time of the year, compromising their immune system making them more vulnerable to illness.
Sugar & Malnutrition
Sugar has no nutritional value at all. It leaches vitamins and minerals from your body to help metabolize it. When human beings consume unhealthy foods their entire digestive tract is coated with a film of mucus. The more “poisonous” (processed) substances they consume, the thicker the mucous film becomes. This is how the human body adjusts itself to the consumption of poor nutrition foods. This film of mucus protects our blood from absorbing dangerous substances. But at the same time it doesn’t allow all the important nutrients to be utilized by the body. Hence people who eat mostly processed food develop nutritional deficiencies.
How to Kick the Addiction
Sugar is everywhere. It is advertised on television, at parties, in drinks, and hidden in many foods. Here are some tips to help get you started.
Know all the sneaky names for sugar. Read food labels and get rid of condiments, sauces, and dressings with sugar in them. Learn to make condiments and dressings without the sugar.
Eat fruit. Fruit is a great way to eat something sweet, and control calories. Just stay away from dried fruit or sweetened fruit.
Avoid artificial sweeteners. These are just a crutch. They keep you from learning to enjoy the natural sweetness of real food. Aside from being a chemical and not a food, artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than regular sugar. Studies have shown that zero calorie sweeteners cause weight gain by tricking the body into thinking that they are the real sweet. Because artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than sugar, people overeat when exposed to sugar, trying to reach the sweetness of the fake. There are also studies that show that they can make you crave sugar, not to mention the studies that show other dangerous health effects like cancer.
Eliminate the white stuff. Remember that processed foods act like sugar in the body, so stay away from white bread, white pasta and white rice when you are trying to reduce the amount of sugar you consume. These foods keep you on the insulin-low blood sugar cycle. Replace these with whole grain versions for a slower burning food.
Avoid juice. Even 100% juice is sugar water in disguise. Drink water, and if you must, only a splash of juice for flavor.
Try stevia. Stevia is an herb that is very sweet and has a slight licorice flavor. While it is a stretch to make a whole dessert with stevia, it is great in coffee and on cereal. It may take some getting used to, but it is way better than loading your food with sugar or known toxic chemicals.
Learn to use natural sweeteners. Like raw honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar in place of sugar. These sweeteners are less processed than sugar and still have their nutrients intact. Although they have calories like sugar, they do not cause weight gain as quickly because they burn more slowly in the body. If you want a zero calorie sweetener, try stevia leaf, an herbal supplement that is extremely sweet.
Limit alcohol. Alcohol is made from sugar. It acts like sugar in the body. Especially when you first are trying to kick sugar stay away from any alcoholic beverages.
Bring a low sugar dessert to share. Temptations are everywhere. Show others how delicious a low sugar life style can be.
Keep it out of the house. Do not temp yourself with your child's pop tarts or your husband's ice cream. Tell your family what you are doing and then put your foot down. It is hard enough without sweets calling your name all day long.
Eat sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and brown rice with meals. These are the foods to replace the white foods with. Sweet potatoes make a yummy dessert with a little yogurt. Steam small red potatoes or some brown rice to eat with dinner. If time is an issue, cook these items ahead of time.
If you must eat sweets, eat them after meals. After meals sugar has less of an effect on blood sugar. You will be less likely to crash and crave more later.
Reduce the amount of sugar you consume- the less you eat, the less you crave. Soda and juice are high in sugar so read your labels carefully.
Eat some sweet vegetables. Root vegetables like yams, sweet potato, carrots, beets and onions provide a sweet flavor that satisfies the palate, reducing your craving for a sweet dessert.
Eat some leafy green vegetables to replenish the vitamins and minerals you have been losing to sugar.
Drink more water! We often mistake thirst for hunger. The next time a craving strikes, drink some water and see how you feel.
Breaking sugar addiction can be very difficult. Be patient and forgiving of yourself. It will take time to be successful.
“The nutritional suggestions in this material are not offered to treat, mitigate or cure disease, and should not be used as a substitute for sound medical advice. This information is designed to be used in conjunction with the services of a trained, licensed healthcare practitioner.”
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