Sugar. Sugar. Oh Honey, honey. You are my Candy Girl…Or How Giving up Sugar Has Made Me Happy

I love sugar. The reward centers in my brain can not get enough sugar. Sucrose, Fructose, simple carbohydrates, starches…all of it, I love to put it in my mouth. But I am allergic to sugar.

A month ago I made a deeply spiritual decision to inhabit and enjoy the potential of my body, my structure, my temple. This mission or vision quickly led me to a fundamental action step: Break up with sugar.

I come from a long line of people that suffered and eventually died from addiction ~ tobacco, alcohol and sugar, yes sugar. My mother died of emphysema at age 60, “choosing” to smoke cigarettes to control her weight. My father died in a car accident while driving drunk. Both sets of grandparents died of alcohol related illnesses, in fact my paternal grandfather, due to addiction, died from complications of TB destitute and living on the streets.

So I come by my allergy (addiction) to sugar honestly. I can not have sugar casually. I can not have just one M&M just as my relatives couldn’t have just one drink.

So I stopped, but this time (because I have stopped sugar for periods in the past) I found that by knowing what was in my heart, my deepest longings; and by making conscious my unconscious internal conclusions about life, I was better able to listen for the life the Divine was calling me to live ~ one in which I inhabit and enjoy being in my body (pain free).

What is your vision and mission for this life? You can do it ~ you can heal, deeply heal. If sugar isn’t your potential blocker… what is?

HOW DOES SUGAR AFFECT THE BRAIN?

When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine — an overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more. Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-sugar-affects-the-brain-nicole-avena