Dear Hearts,
Does the idea of giving up sugar makes you feel like life is not with living? I used to feel this way. I used to be someone who would rather eat the cake than the meal. You can read more about my sugar story here.
We all know that eating sugar is not good for us but why is sugar so bad?
Since sugar is a purified, simple and refined carbohydrate, our body does not have to work much to break it down and process it. It is therefore absorbed quickly and released into our blood, elevating our blood sugar to dangerous high levels. Our body goes into alert and releases insulin as a response to lower the blood sugar level. As our blood sugar level drops we experience a “sugar crash”:
Feeling tired
Feeling lethargic
Feeling cranky
Feeling spacey
Unable to focus
Feeling irritated
Getting headaches
Experiencing light-headedness
When we experience low blood sugar, we naturally want to elevate it so we will feel better, leading us to eat more quickly absorbed sugar and refined foods. When our blood sugar is elevated we experience a “sugar high”:
Feeling energized
Feeling alert
Having a better mood
Feeling euphoric
But those feelings are short lived and we crash again shortly after.
If we ate sugar in small doses, only occasionally, while eating mostly complex, nutrient rich, natural foods, our body would be able to handle it without harmful effects. But eating large amounts of sugar combined with other processed foods throws our system into a roller coaster of sugar highs and crashes.
The sugar roller coaster is an extreme ride that many of us live daily! It has many harmful effects including the following:
~ Sugar is addictive. The “crash” symptoms are similar to withdrawal symptoms, leading many healthy experts to compare sugar to other drugs like heroin (white purified substance). With time we need more sugar more frequently to experience the “high”. Sugar becomes in control.
~ Sugar makes us tired and zaps away our energy. It makes it hard to accomplish everyday tasks. And it makes it hard to make the necessary changes to create a healthy lifestyle.
~ Sugar affects our thinking. It puts us in a “sugar haze” where we feel spacey and have a hard time focusing and concentrating on what we want and need to do.
~ Sugar harms our health in many serious ways. It is linked to so many health conditions including: Acne,candida, autoimmune disease, ADD, anemia, osteoporosis, women’s health issues, tooth decay, depression, cancer, infections, anxiety, irritability, food allergies, obesity, and the list goes on and on.
Here are two powerful steps to help you start balancing you blood sugar level and get off the sugar roller coaster.
INCREASE WHOLE FOODS
Whole, unrefined and unprocessed food will balance your blood sugar level and reduce your cravings. It has an accumulative effect, the more you eat it, the longer you eat it, the more you will notice the benefits.
Include things like:
Whole cooked grains
Beans, chickpeas, lentils
vegetables
Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Good quality, organic animal products
READ LABELS!!!
Trying to avoid sugar can be harder than it seems. It is everywhere and in everything!
Food companies have gotten smart and they trick us by listing sugar in various disguises: glucose, galactose, corn syrup, sucrose and cane juice are just some of the many names sugar is listed on labels.
It is best to have less packaged foods and learn to prepare your own meals and snacks whenever possible.
To learn 7 powerful steps to be free of sugar, sign up to my Freedom From Sugar Addiction workshop, desserts included.
Please share with someone you love.
xoxo
Rachel
