What Is Your Relationship With Sugar?

My relationship with sugar has greatly changed in the last year. There was a time when I thought there was no greater way to start the day than with a donut and a cup of coffee. Skittles were my favorite snack and a night out ended with dessert. I thought because I was thin I could eat as much as I wanted until I realized that sugar was wreaking havoc on my health.

In addition to the more commonly known consequences of sugar consumption, obesity and tooth decay, did you know that sugar can also… suppress your immune system, cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis, interfere with absorption of protein and other vitamins and minerals, cause premature aging, skin disorders, gastrointestinal problems, cause head aches including migraines, food allergies, depression, make your tendons brittle, weaken eyesight, adversely affect children’s grades and cause learning disorders? Sugar feeds cancer and believe it or not, the list goes on and on.

I knew it was time to “break-up” with sugar. I made the commitment to detox my body of sugar. I committed to go 14 days with zero sugar. This is no easy task as sugar is in EVERYTHING! Just check your labels — oh, and you need to look for more than just the word “sugar.” There are so many ways to say sugar: 

Brown-rice syrup,
 Corn sweetener,
 Corn syrup, Cane Juice,
 Dehydrated cane juice,
 Dextrin, Dextrose,
 Fructose,
 Fruit juice concentrate,
 Glucose,
 High-fructose corn syrup or HFCS, Honey, 
Invert sugar, 
Lactose,
 Maltodextrin,
 Malt syrup,
 Maltose,
 Mannitol,
 Maple syrup, Molasses,
 Raw sugar,
 Rice Syrup,
 Saccharose, 
Sorbitol,
 Sorghum, Sucrose
Syrup,
 Treacle, Turbinado sugar, Xylose, Agave Nectar and more. Things ending in "ose" or "ol" are probably sugars. Pay attention to your natural sugars from fruit, too. Some fruits are much higher in fructose than others (eg. limes 0 grams per serving, strawberries 3.8, bananas 7.1, mango 16.2, figs 23)

After 14 days of no sugar I was amazed that I no longer craved sugar. I could sit in a meeting with a tray of donuts and not take one and I haven’t had a skittle since the detox. I continue to make a great effort to limit my sugar intake. I still indulge from time to time but now it really has to be worth it. I have actually had a dessert that was good but not great so I left it after a couple bites. I don’t think I have ever not finished a dessert before even if it was mediocre.

I am enjoying my new relationship with sugar and my health is thanking me.  

"Make a difference, do something positive today"