Reasons to Kick Your Sugar Habit

Happy Day Blog Readers,

Many psychologists now confirm that sugar is as addictive as smoking and recreational drugs. The scary thing is, sugar is no better than smoking or recreational drugs. The average person consumes 180lbs of sugar per year (more than most people weigh) and nearly half of that is in HIDDEN sugars or not so obvious sugar sources – such as salad dressing, alcohol, granola bars, ketchup, peanut butter, canned fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice etc. Surprised? We are a society completely addicted to stimulants – we want that instantaneous energy, that high and feel-good “sugar buzz”.  This may seem like short-term fun, but this is at a serious cost to your body and your health.  I urge you to kick your sugar habit sooner rather than later.

Here are some facts to consider:

• Dr. Weston Price conducted a research study and traveled the globe observing Native people’s teeth. The people with cavities, disfigured teeth (those in need of braces) and health issues all consumed what he called a “white-man’s diet”, meaning, white flour, sugar and processed foods. The native tribes that had not been introduced to the “white-man’s diet” of processed foods had PERFECT teeth, no cavities, no crooked teeth despite never brushing their teeth! He concluded that processed foods and sugar significantly impact your teeth and your health. Your teeth are a shining example of your health. Have you looked in your mouth lately? www.westonaprice.org

• Sugar is a bank robber, as mentioned in a previous post. Sugar causes mineral losses like chromium, magnesium and calcium and does not replace what it steals. This is not good news for your bones and impacts your health long term.

• Sugar suppresses your immune system. Have you ever noticed that when you go on a sugar binge, you often get a cold or a flu? Fact: A candy bar can suppress your immune system for up to 4 hours. www.mercola.com

• Sugar causes premature aging. Why? Sugar causes a surge of stress hormones and taxes your hard working adrenal glands. Stress ages your skin (just like smoking )and so does sugar.

• Sugar makes you gain weight. Fact: Sugar is the leading cause of obesity, NOT saturated fat. There are 10 cubes of sugar in a can of coke.

• Read your labels: Health Canada allows food manufacturers to break down the sugar molecule. This is because ingredients are listed from largest to smallest. If they didn’t break down the sugar and list it as glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose etc, then sugar would the be the first ingredient in most packaged foods because it would be the largest ingredient used.  Crazy isn’t it?

• Sugar leads to an acidic body (acidic bodies are a magnet for disease such as cancer), sugar zaps us of antioxidants, completely wreaks havoc on our blood sugar metabolism. This leads to cravings of more sugar which in turn causes weight gain, a vicious circle.

• Consumption of sugar leads to Diabetes from the constant stress on your pancreas. It is estimated that 6 million Canadians have Diabetes, but only 2.5 million have been diagnosed. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death but arguably, 4th, because it leads to heart disease and stroke.

• Sugar causes ADD (Attention Deficit Dysfunction)-like symptoms, depression (quick high followed by a low) and mood swings.

If you need more reasons, then please visit Dr. Mercola’s website, he does a fantastic job of listing out 76 reasons why sugar is bad for you. http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm

Where does this leave you if you are a sugar addict?  First of all, if you were my client, I would put you on a detox program right away to bring your body back into balance. Often times, people are craving sugar because they are out of balance due to blood sugar imbalance from diet or weak adrenals or chronic fatigue or imbalanced hormones.

The best substitute to sugar is NOT artificial sweeteners, but Stevia, which is a herb that is sweet and does not cause a spike in blood sugar. You can buy this at your local grocery store. Try both the powder and the liquid because it has a distinct flavour and I recommend you try both to figure out which taste you prefer.

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging! Stay tuned, I will be giving 5 tips over the next several days on a “how-to” kick the sugar habit!

Joyous Nutritionist