Why quit sugar?

One of the very first things I learned whilst I was studying nutrition 18 years ago, was that refined sugar literally destroys essential vitamins and minerals in your body.

As we need vitamins and minerals for our bodies to work, it makes perfect sense that refined sugar is not good for our health.  Recently the World Health Organisation recommended that for optimal health we should restrict our added sugar to just 25 grams or 6 teaspoons a day.

Any excess sugar above 6 teaspoons a day is metabolised into body fat and can lead to health issues such as cancer, fatty liver disease, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, Alzeimer’s, mood swings, learning difficulties, dry skin and most recently there’s scientific proof that it’s a cause factor in bi-polar.

Even a medical health magazine, Harvard Health, states that “a sugar laden diet may raise your risk of dying of heart disease, even if you aren’t overweight”.

There’s now so much information on the detrimental effects of this sweet stuff.  If you want to find out more I recommend you read “That Sugar Book” by Damon Gameau which I hope will change the way you think about “healthy” food.

With all this up-to-date information and scientific knowledge, why is the sugar habit so hard to break?  It’s because sugar releases the same opiods and endorphins that love does!  Once you’re hooked on sugar you are likely to crave foods that will produce these positive feelings again.  Therefore, we get addicted to the feeling that sugar gives us and we end up wanting more, and more and more!

If you do want to break the sugar habit, a good place to start is by doing Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar on-line programme.  To find out more about how quitting sugar helped heal Sarah’s anxiety issues and her Hashimoto’s Disease visit www.iquitsugar.com

Please remember, most of the health issues I’ve mentioned can occur over time and are the result of excessive sugar consumption.  If you do have the occasional bowl of ice-cream or your favourite cake, or a couple of pieces of chocolate it’s not going to do your body any harm.  Enjoy it, but please don’t make a regular habit of it 🙂

If you’d like to find out how herbal medicine can help you heal the damage caused by sugar or help you break the sugar habit,  email me at tracie@thewellnesscompany.com.au or visit my website at www.thewellnesscompany.com.au for information on your specific health issue.