Transforming my relationship with sugar has been a long journey. We all know how intimate our relationship with food is, and sugar represents the sweet stuff especially when life is sour. We crave sweets when we need a hug, and when we are feeling down. After working with thousands of people (mostly women), I can say that it is rare to find someone who is trying to get healthy and who is not on the sugar addiction train.
Sugar is an addictive substance, and that is why Overeater’s Anonymous’ abstinence is from sugar and flour. We are either on sugar or off sugar. There is rarely a middle ground when it comes to sugar. The truth is that our love of sugar and our craving for sugar has wisdom embedded in it. If we can pause when we reach for the sugar, we will be able to unveil this wisdom. Most of us are too busy to pause though!
I get it. As a mom, entrepreneur, and high preforming woman, I have to avoid sugar like the plague, and I do. I have diabetes on all sides of my family as does my daughter. It is a slippery slope, and although all sugar isn’t created equal, sugar is still sugar whether it is in the form of dates, maple syrup, honey, palm sugar, etc. There are steps to take as you wean off of your sugar habit if you are not the “cold turkey” kind of person. You can take one step from white sugar to brown sugar; then to palm sugar or maple sugar. The palm and maple will have more nutrients in them, making them of more value for you. Then you can attune yourself to the monk fruit and xylitol. Best yet is stevia. It comes from a plant that you can grow in your kitchen or yard. It is a green plant (yay chlorophyll) and super sweet. Once you learn how to use it, you will love it! Well, some really don’t like it at all. There are tricks to making it tasty.
This article will give you specifics on sugars: https://pyureorganic.com/sweet-talk/health/understanding-the-new-nutrition-facts-panel/
Ideally, you can stop eating sugar from one bite to the next because here is the truth. Sugar steals from you and it betrays you. Who wants that kind of relationship in their life? Not me. If you are in this vicious cycle, I am sorry. It is tough and I sincerely understand. But that doesn’t mean that I am going to give you a pass. Nope, not today, not ever. I am devastatingly aware of the insidious impact of sugar on your immune system, your skin, your cells, your aging process, your energy levels, your hormonal health, your sleep cycles, inflammation, weight gain, autoimmune disorders, bacterial infections, healing, and heart disease, etc. It is NO joke.
https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/article/47/6/760/1787306?login=true
https://www.pnas.org/content/105/39/15005.short
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/484566
The addiction cycle is predictable, and it grips you without letting go. It makes you want more, and it is never enough. I know you know. It takes three days, that is it and you can have your power back. You can start to repair your cells. Your collagen can start to regain its integrity. Your immune system can recover itself. The human body is profoundly resilient, it only takes three days and you are free.