Sugar addiction is a physical addiction and as real and extreme as any other. Our natural tendency is to appreciate sweet tastes, as it was our survival back when our ancestors were foraging for herbs, ground roots and berries. Bitter tastes were often poisonous.
The majority of modern diets involve sugar in some form. Sugar is very difficult to avoid, as it is included in most prepared and prepackaged foods. From the obvious soft drinks and alcohol to salad dressings and condiments, sugar is involved in most foods, either for taste or as a preservative.
People use sugar as a comfort food and a form of self-medication. Sugar temporarily increases energy and elevates happiness and a feeling of well-being. After a period of blood sugar spikes, there is a drop in blood sugar, or “sugar crash,” that occurs, leaving the person lethargic.
All forms of sugar, such as cane sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, are actually toxic to the system. Any food that quickly converts to sugar causes sudden spikes in blood sugar levels. These spikes create the release of insulin into the blood stream. This in turn causes us to store fat, rather than burn it.
Yeast colonies (candida) need sugar to thrive and put a tremendous amount of pressure on you to feed them, resulting in cravings for sugar and fats. There is a cycle that the taste buds dictate which causes salt to crave sugar, sugar to crave oil, and oil to crave salt. This loop is self-perpetuating and influences the sugar addiction.
Though we often consider sugar harmless, it can be damaging over time. Glycation occurs when a sugar molecule attaches to a protein. This process creates free radicals and translates to an inflammation affecting our arteries, bones, brain, organs, joints, muscles, skin and the deterioration of many bodily processes.
Research has proven that sugar increases the dopamine and opioid levels in the brain that can create a sugar addiction. Binging, cravings and withdrawal symptoms will occur if the sugar is removed suddenly. Withdrawal from sugar involves severe headaches, irritability, light-headedness, nausea, sleeplessness and sweating.
In order to stop a sugar addiction, it is best to remove the sugar slowly. Some people with sensitive systems can become extremely uncomfortable by stopping suddenly. By methodically eliminating sugar, reducing a little at a time, you can avoid most side effects of sugar withdrawal.
In the process of recovering from a sugar addiction, it is important to eat frequent small meals to keep your blood sugar stabilized. Protein should be increased and eaten with every meal and snack. Mild, natural laxatives help speed up the removal of the toxins from the system. Drink extra water and use an alkaline or candida diet.
In exchange for sugar, many foods can be substituted to satisfy the desire for sweet tastes. Sweet potatoes are a perfect example. Most professionals agree that artificial sweeteners create a conflict in your body that actually makes you crave sugar more. The “trick” might work for your taste satisfaction, but it only confuses the physiology, resulting in craving sugar and perpetuating your sugar addiction.
You will find, as you are relieved from your sugar addiction that natural foods begin to reveal their true tastes and you come to enjoy a wider variety of tastes. You will also discover that you do not need as much salt as you previously required. As your system and taste buds purify, you will enjoy the natural tastes and flavors of foods more fully.