Sweet Lies: Why It’s Time to Break Up with Sugar (And How to Do It Without Losing Your Mind)
“Sugar is not your friend—it’s the sneaky saboteur of your health, energy, and mind.” ~Carlos Patterson
Introduction:
Sugar: Friend or Foe?
We associate sugar with sweetness and all sweet things. We call our loved ones "sugar" sometimes. We love candy, ice cream, and all delicious desserts.
But sugar isn’t the dear friend we tend to think it is. It is not innocuous, but the root cause of numerous health conditions that go well beyond tooth decay.
And sugar in our age has taken on a whole new identity in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). So, while you may believe that you’re eating less sugar, you’re probably eating more than you ever have.
The worst part is, you’re eating sugar in foods not traditionally associated with sugar content.
Bread, for example.
So, as you can see, the title is a bit of a red herring, and yeah, sugar is a foe.
But you can maintain a casual relationship with sugar.
You and sugar can still hang out occasionally and pass a few pleasantries.
But sugar can't come to stay for the weekend.
It can't borrow your books or hold a set of keys to your front door while you’re on vacation.
That’s what friends do.
Sugar is not your friend, and the sooner you know that the healthier and happier you're going to be.
High Fructose Corn Syrup – Sugar on Steroids
While you may have heard of HFCS and you may know what it is, its story and extensive use may surprise you. In the 1950s, it began to be developed as a substitute for sucrose (liquified sugar used in processed foods).
Introduced into the food chain in the 1970s, its prevalence has grown in intervening decades, and this substance is now endemic, appearing in many food products.
Do you eat yogurt and think it's super healthy? It contains HFCS. So do juice boxes and other commercial juice brands, breakfast cereals, jams, jellies, and ketchup. Highly processed, HFCS is sugar by another name.
Some get confused as it derives from corn, a natural and healthy food. But once processed, HFCS reduces the starches and sugars naturally occurring in corn into nothing nobler than sugar.
Let’s review some of the ways sugar is used in the production of processed foods to accomplish certain effects.
To balance acidity in foods containing tomatoes and vinegar
The energy in fermentation, sugar is what makes bread rise
As a preservative in jellies and jams
Adds bulk to ice cream and baked goods
“You’re not eating less sugar. You’re just eating smarter-sounding sugar.”
As you can see, sugar has a place, but many of us aren't sure what that place is, so we end up consuming much more sugar than we should.
Sugar adds nothing to our nutritional profile – just calories.
These calories tend to stick, also, which is a problem for millions of Americans battling weight problems.
Mexico: A Case Study in Coca-Cola Addiction
But nowhere has sugar played a greater role in generating an obesity epidemic than in Mexico.
After former Coca-Cola CEO, Vicente Fox became President of that nation, the Coca-Cola company seized 80% of the soft drink market, with the result being an explosion in obesity and diabetes rates.
7 out of 10 Mexicans are either overweight or obese. Worse, 1 of every 3 children shares that problem.
Mexico comes in second - after the USA - in obesity rates.
Coca-Cola became Mexico’s national sacrament—served at every table, replacing water itself.
Coca-Cola in Mexico has reached the level of a sacrament. Every family dinner table hosts a bottle. It is the national drink, even before water.
On average, Mexicans consume almost 36 gallons a year of soft drinks – predominantly Coca-Cola.
And sadly, Mexico also loses more citizens per year to diabetes than any other Latin American nation.
Traditionally, diabetes in Mexico has been limited to the elderly.
But in the six years following the millennia alone, half a million Mexicans have perished from diabetes, according to the Salvador Zubiran Institute for Medical Sciences and Nutrition.
The Association, “El Poder del Consumidor (Power of the Consumer), reports that in 2015, 75,000 amputations were carried on Mexicans with the diabetes-provoked condition known as elephant foot, which causes victims to lose sensation in the joints.
So, why am I telling you all this? Easy – because the Mexican diet was once a healthy, nutritionally sound way of life. Corn tortillas, beans, pulses, vegetables, and fruits and little meat were once the foundation of the Mexican table.
But Coca-Cola's commercial takeover and the rise of conveniences stores like OXXO and Kiosko have challenged that foundation in recent decades.
The numbers above make it clear why that’s a problem. Increasingly, Mexicans are turning to sugar-laden fast foods like noodle cups, washing them down with the national sacrament – Coca-Cola. And this trend is especially prevalent among young people.
Lest you get too smug, know that in the USA, over 32 million people have diabetes. Almost 40% of us are obese, and 18.5% of American children are obese.
We are not exactly hitting it out of the park, but Mexico's example is alarming because of the speed with which sugar has devastated its people.
It’s time for us to understand what we’re doing to ourselves when we consume the vast amounts of sugar we do.
But to make that clear, I’m going to talk about the health consequences of having sugar as a bestie – in addition to obesity and diabetes.
Health Consequences of Sugar Addiction
Excess sugar does more than widen your waistline. It quietly:
Addiction: Sugar is a highly addictive substance that stimulates dopamine (the “feel good” chemical) production.
Sugar consumption prompts our bodies to produce more dopamine receptors. This is how some consume liters upon liters of Coca-Cola every day – it’s physically addictive. It messes with our body chemistry.
Immune System Damage: White blood cell efficiency is lowered for hours after you eat sugar saturated foods. That compromises our ability to battle infections and diseases.
Leeches Essential Minerals: Sugar causes minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium to be removed from the body, exposing bones and teeth to decay and disease.
It’s Cancer’s Best Friend: Excessive sugar consumption prompts our bodies to over-produce insulin. This, in turn, encourages cell growth – including cancer cells. All types of cancer love sugar, from the colon to colorectal to breast cancer.
It Messes with Your Mind: Because sugar causes an increase in blood sugar
and serotonin levels, it causes us to experience a drastic “high” followed by a “crash” when it leaves our bodies. This leads to a craving/binge cycle. The crash can be accompanied by mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue.
Shall I go on? Are these enough reasons for you to consider moderating your sugar intake? With both physical and mental health so readily impacted by excessive sugar consumption, it seems to me that it’s in your best interest, right?
How to Break the Cycle: Practical, Simple Solutions To Wean Yourself Off Sugar
Breaking up with sugar doesn’t mean you never enjoy sweet moments—it means you reclaim control.
If you're BFFs with sugar, it's time to downgrade the relationship. Sure, you can still have the odd hangout. You just can't allow sugar to take over your life.
The consequences for doing that are clear, so let's talk about weaning you off with some simple strategies.
Smoothies: Sure, fruit contains sugar, but these are the kinds of sugars that occur naturally. Choose citrus fruits, super fruits , and tropical fruits like mangos and vegetables like beets.
All these natural foods contain enough sugar to make your smoothie satisfying. But you'll be getting essential fiber with the sugar, too.
It's not just going to sit there, fermenting in your stomach. It's going to clean out everything that needs to leave the "building" and make you feel great while doing it. And it’s going to reduce sugar cravings.
Try Other Sweeteners: Honey and agave syrup are excellent substitutes for sugar when we're talking about your morning cup of coffee or your oatmeal or cold cereal.
Drink Fruit Water: Give up the soft drinks. Sorry. Soft drinks are not refreshing. They're not nutritious. They're just liquified sugar with some coloring that makes you unhealthy. Instead, try what Mexicans call "agua fresca” water made with fresh fruit. A big favorite is Jamaica, which is made with hibiscus flowers -tart and imminently refreshing.
Eat Closer to the Ground: Start by reducing your dependence on fast food for a quick feed. Instead, prepare food at home, or buy it from an outlet dedicated to creating healthy food choices. Remember that the less processed your food is, the less likely there is to be sugar in it.
You're looking for foods that are prepared with minimal interference, aside from the heat, cooking oil, and maybe a little salt.
Just Drink Water: A water habit is easy to build. Start with a glass in the morning. Then, keep a metal water bottle with you, filling it when it’s empty. Before too long, you’ll find you can’t live without it and that you have fewer sugar cravings.
You want to live your best life, and part of making that happen is eating well. You and sugar can still see each other occasionally, but you know it's for the best that the intensity of your relationship subsides, right?
Sugar is a great guest—just don’t give it a key to your life
I know you know that, or you wouldn't have read this far. You're conscientious in your quest for being the best you can be, and this article is about yet another way to accomplish that.
So, go for it! You can do it, and you'll be glad when sugar is no longer your BFF but a pleasant acquaintance you only see occasionally. With just a few small adjustments you’ll look better and feel better in no time!
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