Sugar

Sugar Addiction

Whew! I made it through last Halloween without gorging on sugar, a rare feat. Of course a heady dose of Swine Flu (no appetite whatsoever) helped accomplish this, but the results are acceptable.

Then along came Thanksgiving and Christmas. All the weight lost with H1N1 returned in a horrible onslaught.

Coming up? Easter. What do those cute little chocolate Easter bunnies have in store

for us?

It’s time for millions of us to stand up and say “I am a sugar addict. I LOVE the stuff. I can't live without it.” It’s a drug!

Sugar. Many consider it more dangerous than marijuana, as addictive as cocaine and heroin and almost 100% of the population of North America is addicted to it to some extent. And it's legal. It's at your corner store, health food store and supermarket. Really, what we seem to have here is a recreational drug that's not only legal, it is preferred by society. Like many other drugs such as crack, heroin and meth....it wrecks the human body. Teeth rot, hearts seize, disease erupt and even the brain comes under attack. And everyone knows the leading cause of obesity is sugar.

The leading cause of diabetes?....sugar.

After eating a sugary treat, the brain releases natural chemicals called opioids, which give the body a feeling of intense pleasure. The brain then recognizes this feeling and begins to crave more.

While best known as a major contributor to acne and hyperactivity in children, it has been blamed for suppressing your immune system, feeding cancer cells, causing premature aging, cataracts, and causing autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, gallstones, hemorrhoids. It has even been blamed for impairing the structure of your DNA.

Sugar can lead to dizziness, depression and in an article on line entitled "Sugar: Addiction and Danger ", Nancy Appleton, PhD Author of the book "Lick the Sugar Habit" stated, "In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior."

The average American consumes around 160 pounds of sugar each year. This is no surprise when you consider that sugar is in everything from ketchup to salad dressing and canned soup to deli meat.

Food marketers are great at incorporating sugar into many products under a variety of aliases. Common names for sugar can include sucrose, fructose, dextrose, and high-fructose corn syrup -- none of which actually sound like the word “sugar,” but essentially mean the same thing

Adrienne Turner, nutrition correspondent for the on line site, AskMen.com said, "it is probably impossible to eliminate sugar from your diet entirely” but she offers some tips including: Banish packaged products -- including those made with white flour -- and stick to food in its original form. Instead of canned fruit or juice, eat a piece of whole fruit.

Some more of her tips are:

• Drink plenty of water throughout the day; you may be mistaking dehydration for hunger.

• Eat protein at every meal; it is digested more slowly than simple carbohydrates and will leave you feeling fuller for a longer period of time. You will therefore be more likely to resist the urge to eat dessert every night after dinner.

• Give up your favorite sweet food for three weeks. It is likely that after three weeks, your tastes will have changed and your craving for sweets will not be as strong.

• Resist impulse snacking. If you crave a donut, take 15 minutes to think about it or go for a walk instead. Chances are that after this delay period, your craving will have subsided".

Be careful this Easter. That bunny is dangerous.