All or Nothing: Sugar Addiction

         I have come to the terms that I am an all or nothing kind of person. That is derived straight from my dad. He has an intense, amazing testimony of getting out of alcoholism. One taste as a teen led to a long stretch of addiction and it's such blessing that God has saved him from that vicious cycle. Click here if you want to read his whole testimony. Even though he has been alcohol-free for 30+ years, you can still see the addiction to other things still there. It is so crazy how an addictive personality is genetic. One of our twin favorites is of course sweets. I am often baffled by people who can eat sugar in moderation, the ones who can take that one square of chocolate and put the rest of the bar away for the rest of the week. Really? Is that even worth it?! To me, it's like, "Oh, well I already had a piece, might as well finish the bar so it won't be laying around just tempting me."

         It's funny since my husband Justin says I'm like this with everything. Say I haven't run in a few months, then suddenly, "Oh, I feel like running!" *run a few miles* "I feel great!" Next day, "I can't get up, probably should have eased into that one..." :( Or if I find something new I really like, I may just jump into it without really reading up about it all before starting it.

         So I've realized, people like me cannot just say we are going to have a moderate amount of anything. And since I am an addictive person, I want to surround myself with healthy, good things that I can get addicted to! Like kombucha brewing, nightly walks with Cedric, home cooked meals, and drinking lots of water. 

        In today's culture, it doesn't help that we are bombarded with those great advertising mottos like "Bigger is always better," and "Let's super-size that order please!"

So I will say my confession: 
 I am a health freak with an unhealthy addiction. 
I don't want to be a hypocrite to myself!

  
      A drug is defined as any absorbed substance that changes or enhances any physical or psychological function in the body. Sugar is a drug, and I am addicted to it. I have cut so many things out of my diet that I can live without, gluten, most grains, soda, processed foods, fast food, but sugar is just one that keeps sneaking its way back into my diet. It really frustrates me. I always think, I would be so in shape if I didn't have a sweet tooth. Well, I have come to the cold hard fact that I have to cold turkey this one. I am over being addicted to anything harmful for my body. I did some research on the white drug; it pretty much solidifies what I thought about it.

Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in The Atlantic that:

"The brain's pleasure center, called the nucleus accumbens, is essential for our survival as a species… When you consume any substance of abuse, including sugar, the nucleus accumbens receives a dopamine signal, from which you experience pleasure. And so you consume more. The problem is that with prolonged exposure, the signal attenuates, gets weaker. So you have to consume more to get the same effect -- tolerance. And if you pull back on the substance, you go into withdrawal. Tolerance and withdrawal constitute addiction."

        Have you ever tried to take sugar completely out of your system? You will feel the withdrawal just like caffeine! Dr. Mercola says: "Sugar addiction obviously begins when you crave anything that contains this sweet ingredient. Eating sugar triggers production of natural opioids in your brain. These hormones aid in relieving the pain and are triggered in the same way one would consume illegal drugs." A personal example of sugar being a pain reliever drug is when we used sugar to numb Cedric for his circumcision. Our mohel, a Jewish circumcision specialist, who did the circumcision in our home had me make up a brown sugar water concoction for Cedric to drink before the process began. And oh how it had put Cedric in a sugar-high, stupor state! He barely fussed for the whole procedure, and it really isn't a FUN procedure.  
         It's crazy how we usually just go through the day consuming so much sugar and without even thinking about how addicted our culture has become to it. The scary part is that sugar consumption is now starting at such a young age. Just look at the ingredients of doctor-recommended PediaSure. The second ingredient is sugar and the third corn maltodextrin. How creepy is that?!? There are also a lot of added sugars in fruit juices and in savory foods as a preservative. There is a reason why obesity and diabetes has been rising steadily every year. The Centers for Disease Control project a double- or triple-fold increase in the proportions of Americans with diabetes by 2050. All that has led me to declare:

I Bree Lynn Meissner, am giving up all sugar products for a year starting today, 

November 19, 2015. 

And very happy to say Justin agreed to give it up with me!!!

  

       Yes, I am writing this to the world so that everyone can keep me accountable and not gift me with anything sugary. (But if you do, I will obligingly deny it after giving you a loathing glare for even offering it to me!) I am cutting processed sugar and cane sugar, and will extremely limit natural sugars such as honey and maple syrup. The first few months I will not have any, if I say yes to one of those, I feel like it will keep my sugar addiction going, and I need to cut it all out completely. Justin on the other hand doesn't have my crazy addictive personality and is only cutting out processed sugars and cane sugar.
       I am hopeful that many of you will read this and feel motivated to take a moment and assess your sugar intake as well. NO, I am not saying go extremist like I need to do for myself, but maybe count how much sugar you are consuming in a week. I did some research on the statistics of an average family's sugar intake... it's a bit scary.

      The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the average American consumes anywhere between 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugars in one year! Just a few decades ago it was only 7 pounds a year!!! And as Dr. Mercola mentions on his site: "The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact that your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Lustig, you can safely metabolize about six teaspoons of added sugar per day. But the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day." That leads to cavities, weight gain, and worse things like diabetes. 

     So all in all, it's a bitter-sweet (yes I went there) goodbye to sugar. I may have in the last few days gotten my sugar binge on a little a lot, so I am over it (or until my withdrawal kicks in) and ready to get my body on its complete clean eating track! I am so grateful for the stevia leaf, it has had my back on many a sweet craving when I knew I shouldn't have sugar, and it will now be my helper as I cut all sugary sweeteners.

     Ever try and take sugar out of your diet? Let me know if you ever need a supporter to

 help you kick the addiction! I'll keep you up to date on how my year goes, and hopefully 

last longer then that!