{Sugar, Sugar Everywhere}

Hi.  My name is Kelly, and I'm a sugar addict.  I have been clean for 38 days.  Has it been easy?  No. Has it been worth it?  Yes.  38 days ago it wouldn't have been unheard of for me to start my morning with a sugary cereal (hello Cocoa Puffs), have a soda from Sonic, and down more than my fair share of candy while at work.  I was hooked on sugar, and those were just the obvious sources.  When you quit sugar cold turkey you eliminate a lot of food.  There is sugar in a lot of food--from gum to condiments and everything in between.  The tricky part is that sugar goes by many names.  If you look at ingredients lists simply for the word sugar, you will miss all of the hidden ways that sugar makes it into your body on a daily basis.

I used sugar as a source of energy and crashed, had withdrawal headaches, and felt hangry when I didn't have it.

Cooking without any added sugar is tricky.  (The other day I realized season salt has sugar in it...total bummer).  Sugar and sugar substitutes (honey, agave, artificial sweeteners) make food delicious.  Turning away from sugar is hard.  It takes determination and creativity.  It is a series of choices.  I choose to drive by Sonic without stopping.  I choose to pass on the bag of candy or the piece of cake when offered.  I choose to feel healthy, alert, and active naturally.

The past 5+ weeks have been tricky, but not impossible.  Studies show that it takes at least 21 days of repetitive behavior to form a new habit.  At least 21 days of choosing water over soda.  21 days of reading labels and making healthy choices.  At least 21 days of researching what I put into my body.  The great news is I feel terrific.  The good news is it's getting easier.  The bad news is that I still miss sugar, and its coziness and comfort.

Throughout my journey to kick the sugar habit, I waded through years and years of research about the effects of sugar on my body.  The nerd in me loves to back my decisions with researched based facts.  There are no #alternativefacts here. If you have some downtime, I recommend starting by watching Sugar Coated.  It's on Netflix and it is worth your time.

So...Is sugar really that bad? It is when you think about how much the average American consumes each year—an astounding 130 pounds of added sugars. That's about 22 teaspoons a day... way, way, WAY over the recommended amount. This overload of sugar—often stemming from hard-to-detect hidden added sugars—is affecting your body in all sorts of strange ways.

Consider the following:

• Sugar makes your organs fat.  Sugar triggers your body to store fat in weird places.  There are places we see---thighs, stomach, butt.  But sugar intake also causes fat to be stored around vital organs---especially your liver.
• Sugar preps your body for diabetes.  For every 150 calories from sugar consumed per day increases the likelihood of diabetes by 1.1%  For people like me, who have Diabetes in their family, this is not a risk we can take.  
• Sugar hammers your heart.  Good golly...isn't your heart already working hard enough?  Why makes its job any harder?!  
• Sugar turns you into a junkie.  As they do with narcotics, people need more and more sugar to get their "fix".  Sugar releases chemicals that trigger the brain's pleasure center.  So it's no joke that sugar makes you feel happy---but it's artificial happiness.
• Sugar makes you a zombie.  Science shows that it takes just 30 minutes to go from sugar high to sugar crash.  
•  Sugar wrecks your face.  Sugar attacks the skin cells components that make your face look firm and smooth.  Ultimately, sugar can lead to wrinkled, saggy skin.
• Sugar interferes with immune function. Bacteria and yeast feed on sugar and when these organisms get out of balance in the body, infections and illness are more likely.
• Sugar in the raw is no better than regular sugar. Agave nectar is also not great: Its main ingredient, fructose, tends to get held up in the liver more than other types of sugar. Some sweeteners, like raw honey, have a few nutrients, but they're all the same as white sugar in terms of calories—and some contain even more calories.
• One study from UC-San Francisco found that drinking sugary drinks like soda can age your body on a cellular level as quickly as cigarettes....what the heck?!  Totally scary!

If you're ready to eat less sugar, simply reading nutrition labels is a good way to start. But the basic fact is there's no exact amount of sugar you should be consuming. Added sugar is packed into so many foods that you'd never really think about (case and point: ketchup).  

Think about your own sugar pitfalls.  Are there certain people or situations that you need to mentally prepare for?  Are there secret stashes in your house, office, and car that you need to trash or donate to eliminate temptation?  

Could you choose water over soda?  

Could you pack your lunch instead of hitting up the drive-thru...or pack a few healthy snacks to help you avoid snacking on candy and treats?  

Try making one change at a time until you have slayed the sugar dragon all together.