The Sugar Addiction

It's an ongoing process to make my diet completely all natural in it's purest form. I'm always reading about things that weren't made for our primitive bodies, mainly because I want to have more energy and to feel better. I work whacked out hours. My first alarm clock is set for 4:30am, because I get my call to which hospital I'll be working between 4:30-5am. Then I get up at 5:30am and get home usually by 8:15pm. 5:30 is not a natural time for my body to awake. I depend on coffee to get me through the day. If I don't eat the right foods at lunch time my sugar will spike and drop giving me the worst after meal comas. It's the worst feeling when you can't take a nap, so I've learned to eat foods that have a no more than a moderate glycemic index. I'm not going to lie though.....I lovvvvveeeeee sugar. I have a sweet tooth. I went into the 2012 with my goal being to cut sugar and caffeine from my diet. No more Red Bull or flavored syrup in my Starbuck's coffee. No more grabbing of a candy bar at the checkout line. My addiction for sugar did go away; however, my need for caffeine did not. Without the coffee I was dragging everyday at work. Two months into the new year I was offered coffee one afternoon at work and I decided to indulge on that offer. I felt sooo awesome that I decided I wasn't turning back on coffee. I don't drink alcohol, do drugs, or smoke because I think caffeine is substance abuse at it's best:o) One day I will get allergy tested for foods to make sure I'm not allergic to any foods that may cause fatigue. In the meantime I'm working on developing my dream business helping people to live happy lives, until then my full time job will be working erratic hours as a nurse. This year I read a book called “Sugar Busters.” Very insightful and interesting on how sugar effects us all. Some of what I have learned follows.

Refined sugar didn't exist until sometime around 500AD, so from then until now we consume on average 149.2 pounds of sugar a year. Our pancreas originally was probably not called to secrete as much insulin in a lifetime as it does now in one day. We cannot survive without insulin; however, we could survive better without too much insulin. When we digest sugar it stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin to assist the transport of sugar into our cells for energy. Sugar is the basic building block to all carbohydrates. Refined sugars and processed grains are almost immediately absorbed very concentrated releasing large quantities of sugar. A diet of refined sugars (cookies, candies, cakes, pies, pastries) produce an elevation in insulin levels throughout a 24 hour period. The additional insulin is then available to promote fat deposition. When we eat foods on a lower average insulin levels fat synthesis, storage, and weight gain occurs at lower level. So the more refined sugars we eat the faster our bodies recognize it and automatically stores it as fat. Sugar has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, elevated triglycerides, increased bad cholesterol, depression, migraines, poor eyesight, and autoimmune disorders such as arthritis and muliple sclerosis, gout, and osteoperosis.

The best addiction breaker suggestion I've seen is to completely stop eating sugar for a week. Everytime you eat sugar it refuels cravings, then you can gradually introduce it back into your diet into small amounts. Foods to avoid with a high glycemic index are potatoes, white rice, corn (including popcorn, cornbread, and cornmeal), carrots, beets, and white bread. Another tip is to completely clean out your kitchen of sugar and identify foods that have hidden sugar. Here is a list of hiders I found:

Agave nectar Agave syrup Barley malt Beet sugar Brown rice syrup Brown sugar Buttered syrup Cane sugar Cane juice Cane juice crystals Carob syrup Confectioner’s sugar Corn syrup High fructose corn syrup Corn sugar Corn sweetener Corn syrup solids Crystalized fructose Date sugar Dextran Dextrose Diatase Diastatic malt Evaporated cane juice Fructose Fruit juice Fruit juice concentrate Glucose Glucose solids Golden sugar Golden syrup Grape sugar Grape juice concentrate Honey Invert sugar Lactose Malt Maltodextrain Maltose Maple syrup Molasses Raw sugar Refiner's syrup Sorghum syrup Sucanat Sucrose Sugar Turbinado sugar Yellow sugar

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1663

For me I know that I should never shop while I am hungry. Those cookies and coffee look sooo good when I'm hungry. In recent reports I have also read that coffee increases our resistance to insulin, which isn't bad unless you are eating a lot of calories with it. A cup or two a day is good, but over that it can cause an increase in weight. Best of luck to you in overcoming your sugar addictions. I eat a competely balanced diet, and consume all the calories I need, but if you have figured out how to go without caffeine please do inbox me and fill me in.