Kick Your Sugar Cravings…..For Good!   

I LOVE SWEETS! Much more than I care to acknowledge. I’ve had a long and torrid love affair with sweets for as long as I can recall. Cakes and pastries are my weakness. Admittedly, I can recall joyfully looking forward to attending special events, not just for the occasion or celebration, but often for the yummy goodies that I knew would accompany them. Guess what? I’m not alone. Can you believe more than half of the country has a sweet tooth? What makes sugar so insatiable? How does sugar effect the body?

I went in search of the answers to these pressing questions. Look what I found ….
The average American eats a  whopping156 lbs of added sugar a year. The American Heart Association recently began warning  against too much added sugar in the diet. Sugar, has been proven to provide calories with no nutritional benefit. Who really wants that? Excessive sugar isn’t just empty calories; it’s toxic and unfortunately, it often hides in the most unlikely places.  Take a look at 15 Sneaky Sources of Sugar.

Americans are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little. But they eat too much and exercise too little because they’re addicted to sugar, which not only makes them fatter but, after the initial sugar rush, also saps their energy, beaching them on the couch. “The reason you’re watching TV is not because TV is so good,” he said, “but because you have no energy to exercise, because you’re eating too much sugar.”
Richard Johnson/ Nephrologist at University of Colorado, Denver

WHY DO WE ENJOY EATING SWEETS?

Human beings are naturally subject to gravitate towards sweeter foods, culture and upbringing also play an important part of our eating preferences and taste buds. Studies of binge eaters have shown that a great deal of what we crave as adults is formed during our childhood. For example, kids who grow up eating candy and sugar are much more likely to turn into adults who eat candy and sugar. Adults who crave foods besides sweets often report preferring those types of foods as children as well. Amazingly, we seem to make emotional bonds with food, and often find ourselves subconsciously re-creating happy moments with the foods from our childhood.
“Sweet is the first taste humans prefer from birth,” says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a dietitian and American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin. Sugar is a carbohydrate, but carbohydrates come in other forms, too, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The taste of sugar also releases endorphins that calm and relax us, and offer a natural “high,”according to Susan Moores, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in St. Paul, Minn.

HOW DOES ARTIFICIAL SUGAR EFFECT OUR BODY?

Research studies have linked excess sugar consumption to: dangerous levels of LDL cholesterol, increased plaque deposits in the arteries, and breast and colon cancers. High fructose corn syrup which is an ingredient commonly found in many salad dressings, soda, canned fruits, ketchup etc., -has been linked to increased heart disease, stroke and increased risk of dementia and rheumatoid arthritis. Experts have shown evidence that fructose and glucose in excess can have a toxic effect on the liver as the metabolism of ethanol — the alcohol contained in alcoholic beverages had similarities to the metabolic pathways that fructose took. There is evidence that some tumors have insulin receptors that feed on glucose.
Do you find yourself craving sweets at certain times of the day? Do you anticipate dessert after certain meals? You’re not alone! Eating lots of simple carbohydrates minus the backup of proteins or fats – can quickly satisfy hunger and give the body a short-term energy boost. After the rush wears off, it can quickly leave you wanting and craving more. Foods rich in fiber, fat and protein all have been associated with increased fullness. On the contrary, sugar will give you the calories, but not the feeling that you’ve had enough.