Toxic Sugar

I. Love. Sugar… There are actually days where I come to the end and reflect on my nourishment for the day only to be deeply saddened by the list before me. Latte and pancakes for breakfast. Applebee’s blondie for dessert at a lunch date with my dear fellow carb-loving husband. A few cookies (i.e. most of the box) at 4 pm for a quick pick me up to have the energy for afternoon mommy duties…

The problem with this scenario, one of the many, is the horrible crash that always follows the joy of the sugar rush. This has inspired me to research the dangers of that horrible little white-powdered “acceptable” drug we call sugar. I am hoping this will help me in my journey to abstinence.

Here are 3 important reasons for us all to let go of sugar today:

1. Addiction.

   I have quickly learned as I’ve cut sugar from my life over the past few days how incredibly addictive that nutritionally void substance can be. I’m experiencing this not only emotionally, but physically as well! It truly reminds me of those days so many years ago when I detoxed from alcohol after entering recovery. This makes me see from personal experience sugar is an addictive substance.

   If you aren’t convinced by my personal testimony, PubMed shared recent evidence “that sugar and sweetness can induce reward and craving that are comparable in magnitude to those induced by addictive drugs.” They went on to boldly state, “At the neurobiological level, the neural substrates of sugar and sweet reward appear to be more robust than those of cocaine.” More robust than cocaine… I rest my case on this point.

2. Disease Prevention.

   In the course of my research, one of my favorite articles was in the New York Times discussing an anti-sugar warrior named Robert Lustig. His lecture “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” has become a wildly popular video on YouTube.

   Lustig discusses not only the evils of sugar, but also “the most demonized additive known to man,” his description of high-fructose corn syrup. He blames the excesses of these substances, all labeled as sugar, for not only rapidly growing statistics in America for obesity and diabetes, but also for diseases such as “heart disease, hypertension, and many common cancers.”

3. Lifespan.

   Last, but certainly not least, I want to share some unnerving details from research done at the University of Utah. They performed a toxicity test of government-approved amounts of sugar in a daily diet. The researchers fed mice their equivalent of an acceptable, recommended diet, containing no more than 25 percent of calories from added sugar. They found the sugar in their diets to impair lifespan and reproduction.

   “Our results provide evidence that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic adverse impacts on mammalian health.” You can find more on this interesting study at Science Daily.

It is frightening to think, even knowing the above horrors, sugar addiction still calls out to us and keeps us hooked. We are all intelligent enough to know the dangers without reading studies, but we keep polluting our bodies with it anyway.

(For more of my continued story stumbling towards freedom from this overwhelming habit, check out these articles on sugar-free living.)

This is day 3 of my sugar, flour, and wheat fast. If you are new, please check out the index and details of this journey in 31 Days to Food Addiction Recovery. I am hanging in there, trying to get used to cooking all of my meals instead of my usual restaurant fare. Thank you for following along through this difficult transition. If there is anything I can do to support you, please let me know!