Three months ago I cut out a bunch of sugar. I replace the two teaspoons of the white stuff in my tea with honey. I stopped adding it to my cereal. I stayed away from candy and chocolate and cake. Within the last month, slowly sugar had been making it's way back into my life. It started with an intense chocolate bar craving - I completely binged on the chocolate bar and felt mentally and physically sick from consuming so much sugar in one sitting. It had slowly progressed to having a coffee from time to time with sugar. Easter and blissfully smooth Lindt bunnies passed through my house this last week. This morning, without thinking about it, I sprinkled it onto my cereal. Sugar is back and with a vengeance! I get a gross taste in my mouth when I consume too much refined sugar. I feel sluggish and easily get headachey. I get hungry and am not as satisfied when I've been eating a lot of sugary junk. Naturally sweet things, like fruit, don't cut it when sugar is in my diet. Sugar sucks!
I've also learned some interesting facts about sugar:
- a diet that is high in sugar had been linked to obesity (duh!), heart disease, IBS, attention and memory problems, hyperactivity, anxiety and depression.
- sugar totally meets the standards to be an addictive substance: it stimulates chemicals in the brain similarly to cocaine, alcohol and other addictive drugs. You can develop a tolerance to it from overuse. People use sugar compulsively even with full knowledge of negative consequences and with the intent to stop. People who use sugar heavily, have a difficult time functioning without it. And there are withdrawal symptoms from suddenly stopping sugar consumption.
- People consume, on average, almost 1/2 a cup of sugar a day. Most of that sugar is hidden away in things like drinks, cereals, salad dressing, ketchup, granola/energy bars and pasta sauces.
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