Hey there, so from that title I guess it looks like I am ditching cocaine huh? Nup – never tried it, but I am ditching sugar. Which some major studies have shown recently is as addictive as cocaine!

There are always trends in the blogosphere, and lately the evils of sugar have been trending pretty high. I have been avoiding thinking about it really because I am pretty healthy right? I don’t eat meat, dairy or eggs,  so there is not much else to worry about surely?

But lately articles and discussions about sugar have popped up everywhere, and I kind of figure that after a while you need to take notice and realise the universe is trying to tell you something. So I started doing some research, and yep its time to reduce it. Here are just a few reasons why I am doing it: (note – for now I am talking about refined white sugar and fructose).

Sugar is a highly refined substance that does not appear alone in nature. It looks very similar to cocaine, and it acts like heroin when it hits the brain.

Our genetic makeup has not changed in 130,000 years when sugar was a complete rarity and we are still not designed to eat much of it. Because sugar lacks minerals, vitamins and fibre, it takes extra effort for our body to digest it. It therefore needs to deplete its own store of minerals and enzymes to absorb and process the sugar.

Sugar addiction has been linked to many health problems including

• depression
• mood swings
• irritability
• depletion of mineral levels
• hyperactivity
• anxiety or panic attacks
• chromium deficiency
• depletion of the adrenal glands
• type 2 diabetes
• hypoglycemia
• obesity
• candida overgrowth
• high cholesterol
• anti-social behavior such as that found in crime and delinquency
• anger control issues
• insomnia
• decreased immune function
• aggression
• neurotransmitter deficiencies
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• asthma
• alcoholism
• acne
• PMS
• OCD
• fibromyalgia
• attention deficit
• cancer
• binging
• obesity
• chronic fatigue
• addiction
• hormone imbalance

Long list huh! And look closer at that list – there are a whole pile related to mood and anxiety. Regular readers will know that before I started What Ali Did Next I had a pretty nasty battle with anxiety and depression which I have largely overcome with hard work . Looking at this list, I can see that my sugar consumption sure as hell isn’t helping me.

Ditching sugar is definitely not about ditching treats! I love treats, and will be finding ways to replace my sugar with other yummy things. Now you can look forward to a whole new wave of recipes.

I have a lot more research to do on the topic, and have a couple of books lined up to read. They are

Junk Foods and Junk Moods  by Lindsey Smith

Sweet Poison by David Gillespie

If you know of any more that I should be reading let me know!

So there you go, I am a little excited, a little bit nervous, but looking forward to feeling even healthier.

Cheers

Ali