Beat the Sugar Blues and Thrive Through the Holidays
I have to share something I feel passionate about, and that I am helping more people with. There’s a conversation at the dinner table we all need to be having. We are faced with an epidemic in our country. 50% of people in America are either diabetic or have prediabetes. And, we live in a society that doesn’t acknowledge the fact that sugar is a drug.There’s no other way to put it. We can’t candy coat this one. (Pun intended).
As many of you know too well, sugar is addictive. I want to start the conversation by saying that it’s not your fault if you’re addicted. Sugar acts on the bodies rewards system. When we ingest it, we feel pleasure from the dopamine that the brain produces. And, in studies with rats, when given a choice of cocaine or sugar, they will choose sugar every time! So all of us are up against an enormously addictive substance. Just like anything, the more we use it, the more our body adjusts to it, and the more we crave it. The bad bacteria in our gut are able to thrive because of it. They literally tell our brains to eat more foods laden with sugar or foods that turn into sugar. These cravings are strong and they are real. But, you can change this dynamic.
Many of you know that I don’t use sugar much. And this isn’t about bragging. It’s about my body and how sugar reacts in it. From the time my hormones kicked in, I’ve struggled with blood sugar balancing. I had to come a long way to learn how to feel good, and not be impacted in mood and in general day to day life. My entire teenhood was impacted by my inability to socialize when I was having low blood sugar episodes. I couldn’t hang out with friends after school, because I would be starving, brain dead, or afraid I would get hangry. I didn’t know what foods to eat to feel well, but slowly learned which ones I had to stay away from. My life was controlled by blood sugar issues until I found what foods helped me and got this under control more around age 19.
Because of this early impact, and now as an older adult having so little sugar in my life, I can clearly see and feel in my body how strong sugar really is. Sugar in excess impacts our sleep, impacts our ability to make good decisions, it causes emotional imbalances, and of course it causes inflammation in the body. This inflammation causes dis-ease, which causes physical pain, and the results can be very debilitating if left unaddressed. Let’s unpack this a little more.
Sugar affects us emotionally. Anxiety, depression and anger happen more easily when we use it. Even after one day of excess we can become impacted. Look at how we joke around about sending the kids home after eating candy to let the parents deal with them. The tantrums they have may be larger scale then the ones we have, but sugar nevertheless can be causing us to have emotional outbursts when we overindulge. We can look to all kinds of other triggers in our environment, and these things are a part of the puzzle. But at the root, when our body is chemically imbalanced we WILL have mood issues. Blood sugar spikes will lead to anxiety and anger, and then later to depressive states when the blood sugar drops. It’s a vicious cycle. Again, there is hope to get better by eating whole foods, getting regular movement, and getting in quality supplements to support the body.
When we eat a lot of sugar, of course we gain energy. Many of us recognize this through chocolate to get a “boost”. While there are some good properties to cocoa, the sugar in the chocolate gives us an elevated feeling. Whatever way you enjoy sugar in its various forms, we are more likely to do things like shop, spend money, or indulge in things we wouldn’t otherwise while under the influence of sugar. On top of this, when we eat sugar too late, we can’t sleep. The lack of sleep can further our decision-making ability and we can find ourselves making poor choices.
Most of you know that inflammation leads to pain eventually. At first, it can come about as annoying body issues. But, as it continue down this path, it can become more debilitating and downright scary. Sure, we can say we feel fine after eating a brownie, piece of cake, or whatever comfort food you go to. But really, our body always pays a price. We may not notice until the next day, or the next week. Maybe we get a cold. Maybe our weak link starts to act up after a month of more sugar. Still, we can say we can’t pinpoint it. This is why I work with so many people to log what they are eating and look at how it is impacting them. From an outsider and objective view, I can help you to get to the root of what is hurting you in your body. And I can help you make steps in getting away from the foods that are addictive. For those of you who weren’t able to attend my Thrive Through the Holidays, I have this video available for you for free here. Enjoy and remember that while this is the time of year to enjoy and indulge some, we want to stay well!
Be well and thrive!
Tanya