Day 1.9: Sugar's Addictive Nature

Oh my goodness!  How do you feel?  Do you feel your sugar cravings are less intense?  Are you surviving without it?  Do you feel on more of an even keel?  You should be feeling less of that late-afternoon let down and your blood sugar levels should be leveling off.  Hang on to that feeling of goodness and control!

Here are some interesting facts about sugar.

Fructose: sugar from plant based foods
Glucose: found in starch, burned to create energy
Galactose: milk sugar
Sucrose: table sugar, fructose and glucose bound together

The idea is to eat fructose, glucose & galactose in natural forms, and avoid added sugar, no more than 6 teaspoons per day for women.

Added sugar is hidden in many unsuspected foods, so check nutrition labels.

Raw, natural, and agave nectar/syrup all are sugars and have no more nutritional value than table sugar.  Calories are calories when it comes to concentrated sugar, or added sugar.  Honey (in moderation) is the exception as it has been described as the "perfect food".  Find an article on the web and research it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup:
Table sugar, or sucrose, is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. HFCS is derived from corn and also contains fructose and glucose; sometimes it has more fructose than sugar does and sometimes it has less.

Sugar is one of the few foods that humans crave; the pleasure responses in the brain cause us to want more, our response dulls and we have to increase the amount we eat to get the same feelings of pleasure, and then we can experience withdrawal if we cut back.  The pattern of addiction.

Some have described sugar as toxic.  While not poisonous, anything consumed in extremely high doses can be toxic.  Sugar can lead to weight gain, unhealthy addiction, compounding health problems, which all make life miserable.  

As we know MODERATION IN ALL THINGS.

This 10 days we have focused on removing our added sugar intake.  I hope you have felt better for it.  In my case, I feel more in control of my "addiction", not such a slave to habit, and cleaner inside.  I feel more satisfied as I fill my stomach with healthy, more natural foods, rather than empty sugar calories that have zero nutrients.  My mind is happier and I have less eating regret.

Read the articles linked below to get a better idea of what sugar is.

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS!  

FINISH STRONG!

Sugar Facts:
http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/everything-you-need-know-about-sugar

Sugar Addiction:
http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/getting-sugar-facts

Here is an article about sugar's toxic nature:
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/sugar-really-toxic-substance

Here are 9 facts that you may not have known or you thought you knew:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/nutrition/sweet-talk-get-the-facts-about-sugar/

And here's a National Geographic article that is interesting about sugar in schools:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/sugar/cohen-text