i'm kicking my addiction

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar. It is everywhere, and it tastes so good.

This is a really hard thing to post about.  Because once I write about it, it is out there, and people will be watching me. like a hawk.

I am cutting out sugar from my diet.

My mom started this a few weeks ago (how are you doing mom?). I told my cousin AJ about how I wanted to cut out sugar from my diet for 1 week. I said this to her as we were on our way to starbucks.  So I jokingly and sarcastically said, "Oh, I'll start tomorrow!" The next day, AJ said, OK, lets cut out sugar for one week. I will do it with you. Thanks to AJ,  I am now excited about this. (kind of)

I have cut out sugar ONE time in my life. I made it for about 5 months. One day decided to reacquaint myself with my old friend named chocolate, and BOOM. Sugar addict again.

I truly believe that sugar is an addiction.

And unfortunately, sugar is in SO many things that we eat.

Sugar found in its naturally occurring form in foods like fruit and grains, is good for us to eat. Unfortunately, the standard American diet consists of processed, nutritent deficient foods which contain a daily average of 20 teaspoons of additional refined sugar. TWENTY.

This is from an article I read from Dr. Mercola. It gives an overview of some different forms of sugar.

• Dextrose, fructose and glucose are all monosaccharides, known as simple sugars. The primary difference between them is how your body metabolizes them. Glucose and dextrose are essentially the same sugar. However, food manufacturers usually use the term “dextrose” in their ingredient list.
• The simple sugars can combine to form more complex sugars, like the disaccharide sucrose (table sugar), which is half glucose and half fructose.
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose.
• Ethanol (drinking alcohol) is not a sugar, although beer and wine contain residual sugars and starches, in addition to alcohol.
• Sugar Alcohols like xylitol, glycerol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, and erythritol are neither sugars nor alcohols but are becoming increasingly popular as sweeteners. They are incompletely absorbed from your small intestine, for the most part, so they provide fewer calories than sugar but often cause problems with bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.
• Sucralose (Splenda) is NOT a sugar, despite its sugar-like name and deceptive marketing slogan, “made from sugar.” It’s a chlorinated artificial sweetener in line with aspartame and saccharin, with detrimental health effects to match.
• Agave Nectar falsely advertised as “natural,” is typically HIGHLY processed and is usually 80 percent fructose. The end product does not even remotely resemble the original agave plant.
• Honey is about 53 percent fructose, but is completely natural in its raw form and has many health benefits when used in moderation, including as many antioxidants as spinach.
• Stevia is a highly sweet herb derived from the leaf of the South American stevia plant, which is completely safe (in its natural form). Lo han (or luohanguo) is another natural sweetener, but derived from a fruit.

Do you want to know what our sugary sweet friend does to our bodies?

For one thing, it prematurely ages you.

Refined sugar is used in most processed foods and is very damaging to the immune system. Only two cans of soft drink containing 24 teaspoons of sugar can lower the efficiency of your white blood cells by 92%. This can last for up to 5 hours.  White blood cells are an imrtant component of your immune system. If you are exposed to a virus or bacteria after you have a couple of cokes, your immune system has already been hit by sugar, and may not be able to defend you against the intuder.

High sugar intake also causes blood sugar spikes which can lead to an overworked pancreas and adrenal glands. These vital organs become exhausted trying to balance our blood sugar levels.  Eventually, a high sugar diet can lead to type 2 diabetes, chronic fatigue, hypoglycemia and early menopause. Who whats that?

Here are other "to the point" facts about sugar.

1. sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body causing chromium(needed for sugar metabolism) and copper deficiencies and interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium
2. sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function
3. sugar FEEDS cancer cells 
4. sugar can weaken eyesight
5. sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay and paridontal diseases
6. sugar can sause autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis
7. sugar assists the growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
8. sugar can lower your vitamin E levels
9. sugar can increase your blood pressure
10. sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
11. sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein
12. sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
13. sugar can cause eczema in children
14. sugar can cause headaches
15. sugar can cause depression
16. sugar is addictive

And there is so much more.

This next thing I am about to say deserves its very. own. special. line.

According to Dr. Mercola:

"And now most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day one if taking formula."

Did you read that? 


No wonder there is an obesity epidemic in this country.


There are various names for hidden sugars on nutrition labels. Some include: glucoamine, dextrin, dextrose, cane sugar, cane juice, brown rice syrup, xylitol, monosaccharides... and the list goes on.

Sugar isn't so sweet after all.

So, I am on a mission to cut out these refined sugars. Refined sugar is without nutrients, meaning that your body has to take nutrients from its reserves in order to metabolise the sugar. So not only does it lack life sustaining nutrition, it robs you of it.

My advice?

AVOID ALL PROCESSED FOODS. Sugar is added to soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices almost all processed foods, even if they aren't sweet. Bologna, pretzels, worchestershire sauce, ketchup and cheese spread.

Since I LOVE sweet things, the alternatives I am going to use are honey, stevia and fruit for when I get a sweet craving.  The best way to eat fruit is with a protein because is still is sugar, just "good"sugar with nutrients.  Also, avoid artificial sweeteners. They are not safe. I will repeat this many times.

I hate artificial sweeteners

If the food you are about to eat wasn't around a thousand years ago, you probably don't need it.

7 Day Challenge: No Sugar

Who's in?