Sugar is nothing more than an Addictive White Poison

Sugar The White Poison.

The origin of sugar goes back to the times of our Gods. Lord Ganesha loved gorging on Modaks, Lord Shiva enjoyed sweet Thandai whilst Lord Hanuman enjoyed the laddus. These special Indian sweets are  prepared during festivals, special occasions and offered to the Gods as prasad, which is later distributed to be consumed by the devotees. These sweetmeats were eaten in limited portions because of religious relevance during celebrations. But in slowly evolving times, sugar is added to our daily diet in the form of desserts as part of the meals, today.

Is Sugar more addictive than Cocaine?
What If I told you YES? Read on… Find out more….

Sugar is the first taste, a baby experiences and relishes since birth. Consumption of sweet sugary foods releases opioids and dopamine in our bodies. Now this is the catch, it is the link between added sugar and addictive behavior. So, if Dopamine is released in excess in our bodies, you feel ‘High with Pleasure and Happiness’. You will definitely want to repeat that feeling, isnt it? Hence the vicious circle starts… Eat Sugar, Feel the Pleasure. 

Let’s understand Sugar !!

Sugar is made from sugarcane, that we all know. When sugarcame is converted into white sugar, it is refined beyond its natural form. All the vitamins and minerals are depleted and whats left behind is only the sweetness. A white Poison that is slowly but surely killing us all. 

But are we addicted to this White Poison? 

1.We add sugar to our tea, coffee, desserts, into our favorite treats, and we all just love the sweet stuff.

2. Sugar has slowly entered our lives as a way to celebrate a happy occasion, a reward to hard work, beyond offerings to God.  

3.We reward kids with an ice-cream or for a chore they performed. And that’s not enough we even reward ourselves after a stressful day. We give in to our cravings telling our mind its a way of celebrating an achievement. Now, we don’t only celebrate a birthday or a special success, but various days are engineered to get people to enjoy cakes. Thanks to social media, we all just love that sweet stuff furthermore

4. We crave it even more after trying to control consuming sugar for a few days. That proves we are addicted to it. It is stuck into our minds and tastebuds. 

“We have evolved and are conditioned to eat something sweet, to feel complete or satisfied, and to continue consuming sugar as adults, using it to temporarily elevate our energy, mood and general wellbeing.”

 What Next…

So we understand that Sugar is the White Poison that not only gets us obese but addicted to it like a Street Drug and has the exact similar effects on our brain. 

The bottom line is that all kinds of aches, pains in the body, ailments including diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, obesity, wrinkles and premature aging are open invitations to our bodies, all thanks to Sugar. Sugar is that bad influencer which slowly impacts our bodies badly.

What does Research say?

1. Researchers have proved and claimed that sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine. 

2. Sugar extracts out Calcium from our body leading to Calcium depletion. It sucks into the magnesium and mineral deposits in our body. This seriously affects our body’s bone health and calcium levels.

3. Other harmful addictive foods are ice-cream, cupcakes,  chips, cookies and pizza. When we eat refined flour and sugar together in junk foods it spikes our sugar, then insulin. This creates hormonal disturbances that make you store belly fat, and then makes you more hungry and further craving for  sweets and starchy junk foods increases.

And now a pattern between you and addictive foods is registered that is extremely difficult to stop. 

How can we “Kick The Sugar Addiction”? Here are 9 tips you can use right away. 

Its tough but not impossible to do it.

1.Keep sugary foods away.

Away… Far far away… stocked in a cabinet, or simply don’t bring them home. Once you get aware of the sugar laden products, try not to pick them off the retail shelves. 

2. Learn to read labels.

The labels on packaged foods are shocking. Food companies write Sugar-free but instead they add worser ingredients and disguised names of sugar. Companies are making products that are engineered to addiction with various types of sugar in it. These hidden brothers and sisters of sugar are industrial sugars which are worse and more addictive than the regular white sugar. 

Some common names you will find on labels.

Ending with sugar:

Beet sugar
Buttered sugar
Castor sugar
Golden sugar
Invert sugar
Organic raw sugar
Confectioner’s sugar

Ending with ‘ose’:

Fructose
Glucose
Dextrose
Maltose

Ending with syrup:

Golden syrup
High-fructose corn syrup
Malt syrup
Molasses
Oat syrup
Rice bran syrup
Rice syrup

Ending with ‘ol’:

Ethyl maltol
Erthritol
Maltitol
Mannitol
Sorbitol
Xylitol

 3. Take charge of what you put in your body.

Don’t tempt yourself by stocking chocolates, juices, canned foods, biscuits, and other high-sugar foods in your cabinets and fridge. In fact if you don’t have an option, label that cabinet as a ‘Dead Food Cupboard’. Sugar is added to so many processed foods, like ketchup, breads, yogurt, juices, and sauces. All this can be piled up in the Dead Food Cabinet. 

4. Quantity Control.

I know this can be hard, but lets start with baby steps. You can give in a little. Eat only a small piece of what you have been craving, maybe a small piece of your favorite chocolate at first. So you don’t feel deprived. 

5. Opt for a fruit when sugar cravings arise.

Keep plenty of sugar laden sweet fruit at home. When sugar cravings hit you can indulge in fruit instead. Besides the sweetness  you get vitamins and nutrients too. 

6. Don’t eliminate, just substitute. 

You don’t have to give up and stop eating desserts totally. There are so many natural sweeteners  available. You can swap these for sugar, eg. dates, raisins, organic jaggery, honey etc. You can make desserts that are truly nourishing for your body and at the same time delicious. 

7. Sleep like a baby.

What has sleep got to do with sweet cravings? Studies prove that poor sleep can lead to severe sweet cravings on awakening. Aim to get yourself an 8 hours rested sleep every night. 

8. Distract yourself.

When those sugar cravings arise, instead of heading to the fridge to get that piece of chocolate, pick up the phone and call a friend. Or solve a puzzle, write a poetry, take a stroll outside, or get your hands dirty in the garden! Cravings take 20 minutes to disappear. So this distraction will definitely help. 

9. Get up and Exercise

It is proven that even a ten minute of movement or exercise regime  releases healthy endorphins, which are the ‘feel good’ chemical in the brain. They are responsible to control and combat cravings. Its a good idea to take a walk, or run, ride a bike at such times. This way the distraction has double the benefits. 

Conclusion: 

Treating yourself to your favorite sweet that contains added sugar once in a way is fine.  However, keep in mind that sugar is that white slow poison depleting your body of its optimal health. 

Then following of 9 tips to curb sugar cravings and kick this bad habit of consuming Sugar The White Poison mentioned in the post, wont be difficult after all. 

On a lighter note, why doesn’t anyone talk about cucumber addiction . Lol!! That’s because this humble healthy water rich vegetable is considered to be the least addictive food, followed by carrot and beans.

Concluding my post with my favourite quote.

‘Pay the Farmer today’ 

Or 

‘Pay the Pharma later’

This post is inspired by The Satvic Movement after attending their 21 Days Ultimate Health Challenge