Love the Ocean

Friday, March 9, 2012

Is Sugar The New Cocaine?

Americans consume on the average 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. They are addicted to it like it was a drug. I know that I have seen some reports that they are thinking about classifying it as a drug. Can you imagine going to the local grocery store and you need to get your fix of Hershey bars? You won't be able to without a prescription.

Maybe I'm taking it a bit too far, but am I? Since I have been on the Isagenix protocol of 1,550 calories a day I have lost my cravings for sweets. I could walk by a bowl of M&M's and not even give it a second look. For me that is pretty amazing because when I was growing up I never met a sweet I didn't like. I would rather eat something sweet more than any other type of food. I have come a long way since then and am so much better without it.

Americans can't get enough sugar and it is apparent when you observe people in the grocery store or restaurants. Have you ever stopped to wonder why you need something sweet after a meal? The simple answer is that you are not providing your body with enough nutrition. The real answer is that you are filling your body with empty calories and that causes you to want something sweet.

One thing I noticed is that not many people are disciplined enough to say no to something sweet. The reason for this is because we are conditioned to eating this type of food. Couple that with the addictive traits of sugar and you have a very dangerous combination. In today's society we treat ourselves to something sweet for just about every occasion. Whether it is a birthday, anniversary, graduation, etc. It is almost like a reward for getting through the main meal. I can't tell you how many times in the last several months that I have been subjected to one of these "special occasions" and everyone is looking at me because I refused to have it. I might as well have been from Mars because of the looks I got for not eating it.

Here in lies the rub. Why is it a bad thing to want to take responsibility for your health? Why do I feel like such an outsider because I don't conform to the norm? Shouldn't I be respected for my choice? I do have some people come up to me and say, "I don't know how you do it. I could never do that because I love sweets too much". At that point I don't think it is a good idea to go into my educational mode and tell them the dangers of sugar. I feel like saying to them, "Do you understand what you are doing to your body by eating that? Our bodies were not designed to process these synthetic chemicals", but I hold my tongue.

The more I think about sugar the more I realize that it is a powerful drug like cocaine. I'm reminded of the story about Gandhi when a women begged him to help her son get off of sweets. He told her to come back in a month and he will tell her how to do it. A month passed and Ghandhi asked her to come back in another two weeks. After two weeks he asked her to come back in a week. Finally she came back and he instructed her how to do it. She asked him why it took so long for him to help her and he said, "Because I first had to figure out how to get off it myself".

Do yourself a favor and get off of sugar ASAP. Get control over you mind because that is what is needed. Get nutrition in your body and make that a habit! Once you make that a habit then you can move on in your life without the cravings of cocaine....I mean sugar!

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