Let’s Talk Sugar

Happy New Year! It’s that time of year when so many people are ready to tackle their New Year’s Resolutions. For example: cutting sugar from your diet. According to Dr. Mark Hyman, “only about 12 percent of Americans are metabolically healthy, without a large waist, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high cholesterol. The major driver of poor metabolic health, which increases the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, is the nation’s diet — rich in starch, sugar, and processed foods and low in unprocessed food, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, good fats, seafood, nuts, and seeds”.When was the last time you spent 48 hours completely alone? I asked myself that very question, and when I couldn’t remember when it was, I booked myself the most rejuvenating mini-retreat, a Mother’s Day present to myself!

In the absence of a stronger public health policy to help change this trajectory, it takes individuals like you and me to spread the message that healthy eating can change our communities and our country, but we first need to start with ourselves. We need to take a stand for the choices we make for ourselves and our families. And that can simply start by keeping sugar consumption at <6% of total calories consumed.

As I write this I am preparing a webinar about sugar, and why it is the absolute first thing we need to address when pursuing a healthier way of eating. While it is the single biggest ingredient that is destroying our health, it can be hard to reduce. Why? Because it lurks everywhere! It isn’t just found in the usual suspects of candy, soda, ice cream and baked goods. In fact, various forms of added sugar is in about 70% of all grocery store items including salad dressings, marinades, yogurt, most snacks and beverages, cereals, pasta sauces, frozen meals, sausages, crackers and even bread.

Once we navigate around the sugar landmines at the store, we have another hurdle to overcome which is to tame that sweet tooth so many of us have. Many of my clients report being controlled by their sugar cravings which is not surprising since sugar is in fact an addictive substance (8x that of cocaine). And the reality is, it takes much more than pure willpower to stay away. In order to reduce our sugar cravings, we must address what brought them there in the first place.

Here are a few examples of underlying causes of sugar cravings:

• Previous sugar consumption – sugar begets more sugar
• Lack of proper macronutrient balance
• Lack of adequate hydration
• Imbalance of the gut flora and systemic yeast overgrowth
• Lack of sleep
• Chronic stress
• Hormone imbalances
• Lack of connection, love, intimacy and support

Through past experience, we have learned that sugar is a great fix for these real problems because it works — in the short term, until the sugar high comes crashing down and we find ourselves craving more to get out of that mood or energy slump.

There are so many solutions to this. The question is, are you ready to know better and do better, so that your choices translate to better health for yourself, your family and hopefully for all the loved ones you touch? If so, I invite you to join my upcoming 21-Day Reset where we’ll be building healthy habits to not only kick out the sugar, but to learn about and indulge in anti-inflammatory foods and daily self-care that will allow you to start 2021 strong and healthy. It’s time to take a stance for personal responsibility!