It pervades our lives, infiltrates our food supply, changes our behavior, interferes with our brain and body function, and can ultimately lead to aches, pains, and disease — with early death as a side effect.  Yet this subtle deceiver is featured at every party and every holiday, given as gifts to loved ones, and paraded before our eyes in an enticing panorama of tempting tastes.

You guessed it — I’m talking about sugar.

If you want to jumpstart your energy, enhance your overall health, and strengthen your immune system, you’ll want to pay careful attention to how you can get off of sugar simply and painlessly.

Researchers recently reported at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology,¹ that sugar induced a reaction in the brain of rats similar to the reaction of morphine and other drugs.  This may be the first scientific evidence of what we have suspected for years — sugar is addictive.  When I reported this finding on my website, I was flooded with hundreds of pleas for help to get off sugar addiction.

Even knowing the harmful effects that sugar has on our bodies does not stop the cravings and the addictive behavior.  One reader wrote, “Please hurry, I need to get off the sugar roller coaster… and get healthy again.”

Another writer said, “I have always wanted to be free of my sugar addiction… It just feels like I (and my family) would have to be in a bubble to avoid all that sugar.  I was in the store yesterday and passed by a big display of Easter candy.  I just got through Valentine’s.  Help!”

We find sugar or its manufactured counterpart, high fructose corn syrup, in almost all processed food.  That is, all food placed in a can or a box.  It’s even added to ketchup!  Soda pop is one of the most pervasive sources of sugar in America.

In order to understand the effects of sugar on our bodies, we need to first understand the normal metabolism of carbohydrates in our bodies.  There is no known “minimum daily requirement” for carbohydrate ingestion into our bodies like there is for proteins and fats.   All carbohydrates eventually break down into glucose.

Unlike complex carbs (from natural fruit and vegetable sources), which take more effort to digest, and release their sugar load more slowly, simple carbs (including foods containing refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup) break down quickly, with immediate absorption of glucose into the bloodstream.

This immediate release of blood glucose initiates the production of high levels of insulin to help the cells absorb the glucose.  And with this reaction, another set of problems arises.  High insulin levels increase fat formation and storage, while inhibiting fat breakdown to be used as energy.  This makes it easy to gain weight, and VERY difficult to lose weight.

High insulin also enhances sodium (salt) re-absorption from the kidneys, thus promoting water retention and hypertension.  High insulin levels can stimulate certain ovarian hormones that result in elevations in free testosterone, which can lead to male sex characteristics in women.

If you want to get off the sugar roller coaster and permanently improve your health, here are some tips to help you on your way.

• Use fruit as a substitute.  Fruit should be the sweetest thing you ingest. In the long term, fruit will fulfill your need for sweets.
• Don’t have sugar in the house.  Don’t buy more sweets.  Try the “don’t buy it diet.”
• Find a buddy to cheer you on, and one you can cheer on in your journey to health.
• Try two supplements that have helped some people with their cravings: the herb Gymnema and the amino acid L-glutamine.
• Be sure to take a potent multivitamin and omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids (finely ground flax seed oil may be your best choice, because it has both).
• Love your body as it is (inside AND outside).  Address emotional issues that may be affecting your image or attitudes toward eating and health.
• Focus on “real” food — natural organic meats and produce with no sugar or chemical additives.

Give it time and realize you are making important, lifelong changes.  Perhaps soon, you’ll be writing me a message similar to this one:

“I have known for some time that I am addicted to sugar.  In September I cut out (for the most part) white refined flour and white refined sugar.  I weigh myself every six weeks.  Last time I weighed, I was down 20 pounds in 18 weeks.  I look better, but more importantly, I feel better.  This whole experience has made me want to learn more about sugar and its addictive nature.”

To your dynamic health and energy!

Stan Gardner, MD

Reference

1. American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, source: http:www.acnp.org.

[Ed. Note: Stan Gardner, MD, has practiced energy and alternative medicine for over 10 years.  He believes that many diseases could be prevented entirely, healed more quickly, and cause less damaging results through the application of proper nutrition.  To visit his website and sign up for his free daily health secrets, click here.]

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