Toxic Sugar is Killing Us.

 

Here is a scary statistic: 1 in every 3 Americans today are obese. Not just overweight, obese. We live in a society where super-sized portions and soft drinks are the norm, and we feel “cheated” if portions are small, or there are no free refills.
So what has happened? Well, for starters sugar is now found in everything from soup to nuts. Pick up any label and you will find it hiding in the small print as sucrose, corn syrup, cane syrup, fruit juice and more …I could go on. Sometimes toxic sugar is listed multiple times in the ingredients list! Totally nutso.

I need to stress that sugar itself is not toxic. In fact, the brain and body need sugar for survival.  It is the copious consumption and hidden sugar that is creating a toxic affect on our national health.  Our great, great grandparents ate sugar. So did their parents and the parents before them. They made cakes and sweets, canned and jarred fruits and preserves.  They also ate fresh food grown in gardens, not packaged with hidden sugar. Because of this, they also ate in rhythm with the seasons. Instead of soda, energy drinks and Slurpees- they drank tea, water and every so often special treats like homemade lemonade. Ah the good life.
In just 50 years (or so), our food markets went from a true market place of seasonal and local finds, to a place where we can eat virtually any fruit or vegetable in any season, sourced from around the globe. Our produce is sprayed with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides to (ironically) keep it “fresh”, then flown in on a jet plane. Packaged products take up more than 70% of the store, and most all of them contain fillers, flavors, crappy oils like soybean oil and canola oil….and copious amounts of SUGAR.
Today more than ever we need to be vigilant about what we put into our bodies. If you are not eating fresh food that can actually rot in your fridge after a few days, than every single food label needs to be read and evaluated. Don’t forget to check your water bottle labels and toothpaste too- basically anything packaged by man runs a high risk of containing sugar. This hidden sugar is in part why we are reaching epidemic levels of obesity, endocrine (hormone) related imbalances, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, chronic inflammation, heart disease and countless other preventable illnesses.  Ditching crap sugar is not about vanity, or dieting. Ditching refined sugar is essential to good health.
I consider sugar an addictive substance for two big reasons: Having even a small amount of it creates a desire for more, and when we quit sugar we can experience withdraw (headaches, cravings etc..) Scary stuff.

While kicking sugar can be extremely difficult for some, below are three key tips to kicking sugar:

1. Start by adding in naturally sweet foods, in abundance.
   After you adjust your taste buds we can start to worry about quantity, but for now just start to incorporate as much healthy sweet foods (yams, mangos, berries…). Replace refined sugar in beverages for naturally sweet and nutritious options like coconut sap, lucuma powder or manuka honey. For some deliciously decadent meal ideas, download my  incredibly awesome companion eGuide to kicking sugar. (Pssst: to help you kick sugar I’m currently offering this 50+ page eBook at 50% off listed price)
2. Add cinnamon to everything.
   Cinnamon actually satisfy’s our sweet taste buds while helping to lower the rate at which carbohydrates are digested. A slower burn of our food =  more sustained energy. Cinnamon has been used medicinally for centuries, and also contains antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
3. Evaluate Your Cravings.
   Sometimes we crave sugar because our diet is lacking proper nutrients or we are eating too much of one food: perhaps too much salty foods, too many fake sweets, crappy cereal grains, artificially flavored snacks or dairy – to name just a few common culprits. Begin to crowd out your unhealthy choices by starting small. Even adding in ONE serving of dark, leafy greens daily will make a difference. Starting a food journal to track your cravings is the first step. Note not only what you ate for the day and what time the cravings creeped in, but also how you feel emotionally when your cravings take over. Often times we crave ice cream when what we really need is a hug. Or reach for sugary treats as a “reward” after a long day, or worse- self-sabotage.

Kicking sugar can be tough, but is completely possible. If you want to discuss your personal story 1:1 and discover how you can take charge of your health and hormones by kicking sugar.