I’ve been asked a lot about how effective my 30 Sugar Free Days Program and my new Alien Diet Program is for weight loss and while I could give you a lot of diet success stories, why don’t I let the people who have been through the program let you know:

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I just began my third week on Sunday, and my wedding ring is loose! All my clothes are baggy and I don’t think I will ever eat sugar again! I love how you said you can feel like an “alien on planet carbohydrate” … that’s exactly how I feel! I have found some wonderful farms in my area and I’m shopping at the market less and less. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed!

Hilary Barry

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My great news is the my cholesterol went from 268 to 184 and my triglycerides from 271 to 75. I am simply amazed!  My cholesterol and triglycerides have never been that low as far back as my records show which is 1998.  This after being sugar free for just 4 months. It proves to me how dangerous sugar is to our health.  This is great motivation for me!

Thank you again.  I am floating above the clouds after being so down for so long with these high numbers.

Marion Pippin

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I’ve been sugar free for a little over 2 weeks now, and Dr. Scott was right, my cravings severely declined within the first week I would say. Now I don’t even think about sweets! That’s not to say that at this point I wouldn’t WANT something sweet , but I have the willpower to turn it down because my cravings are no…t out of control. I’ve never gone this long without sugar or bread, I can’t believe I’ve made it this far

Nerine E

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Thanks a million for your program and sage advice. I did not follow the plan strictly for these 30 days (it is my second time around), but kept the principles in mind to adjust my entire lifestyle for the rest of my life. I am a former fat girl, went from 170 lb in my teens to now 115 lbs at 47 years old. I look and feel better tha n I ever have in my life. I can do 30+ pushups, vigorous cardio, working with a preschool population with ceaseless energy. Everyday, I work out and I eat a lower carb, low sugar diet super rich in veggies, fruit, nuts and meats…

I think what you offer us is so great…Your language and formatting is direct, concise and easy to absorb.  You do not come across like a lobbyist, or in-it-for-profit industrialist, or highly technical scientist…

Your encouragement and inspiration works to motivate me.  You are giving the gift of a better-lived life:   with a healthier body, clearer thinking, more energy to be the best YOU…I am so grateful.

Diane Rogers

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I’ve completed 7 days and lost 1.5 pounds. I don’t think I’ve ever EVER gone 7 hours without sugar so this is a HUGE accomplishment. I really look forward to the emails. I keep them all and reread when I need a boost.

Very nice program!

Jess Marke

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I’ve been low-carbing for 5 years now and feel terrific. Still, I have a sweet treat from time to time and was having a horrid problem eliminating artificial sweeteners from my diet. Your challenge inspired me – 30 days! I could do that.

Thanks for sponsoring this!

Bev C

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I’m sorry but I didn’t think to take pictures but I did take body measurements and I lost about 2” off my hips. I hope that helped, I plan to keep doing it for life. Thanks a lot!

Cathy

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I’ve been sugar free and actually, mostly meat free as well, for almost 3 weeks now. The weight is coming off finally and I feel free. I feel that I’m healing from all the destructive foods I’ve eaten in the past year. Not eating the meat has provided my liver to clean up, so I’m grateful to be “cleaning house”. I can tell by my increased energy and healthier looking skin, that it’s really helping.

My cravings have virtually disappeared, I think because I’ve eliminated the foods that trigger the cravings. It’s been, actually, the easiest weight I’ve lost in a long time.

So, thank you again. Just had to write and let you know how much I appreciate this.

Elaine A

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I have become a much healthier person in the last month (my doctor said I could lower my insulin from 30 units to 25) and I thank God for finding you and your program on the internet! Thank you for staying in touch with me through the 30 day challenge and being the encouragement that you are!

God Bless You, Joe

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After just two weeks going sugar free, the biggest benefits I get are:

• Less muscle pain.

• Better sleeping at night.

• More energy.

• Clearer thinking. That is the number one reason I’ve gone without sugar. Sugar fogs my brain. After just two weeks going sugar free, I can think clearly, process difficult decisions effortlessly and remember much better.

• I simply function more efficiently.

Again, thank you for the 30 days plan. I think it’s great!

Yours truly,

Julia M

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I just finished the 30 day Sugar Free Days. I really enjoyed having someone who knew what I was going through. I thought I had been sugar free for three months before I started your program, but I didn’t realize how many products I was eating contain sugar by a different name. I would go to my computer each morning before breakfast to read your encouragements. I learned a lot from your e-mails and printed some out for reference.

I am pre diabetic and my blood sugar was in the 100-115 range when I started four months ago. It has only been in the low 90?s for the last week, for which I am grateful to you. I didn’t think I could get it down without medication. I am having my cholesterol checked on Monday. I am hoping for the same result.

Thank you very much,

Marion

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There are more diet success stories on Facebook, check them out here: Facebook Group 30 Sugar Free Days

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Want to learn how to break a sweet tooth addiction? That is easy. Well it is easy to say (but actually very hard to do). If you have ever tried to stop eating sugar then you know just how hard it is and new research is showing us exactly why it is so hard to kick the white death out of our diets. While you might have wrestled with your sweet tooth in the past, let me show you how you can knock it down and finally triumph over this pesky troublemaker.

Why is it so Hard to Break a Sweet Tooth Addiction?

Do you want to know why it is hard to break your sweet tooth action? The answer is simple: Because it is a real addiction. Research has shown that sugar addiction is every bit as powerful and hard to kick as addiction to alcohol, smoking, and even hard drugs.

So while you might be kicking yourself for not being strong enough to fight your sweet tooth, you should cut yourself some slack because sugar addiction ranks high on the hard-things-to-kick list.

How You Can Break Your Sweet Tooth Addiction

If you want to break your sweet tooth addiction, the first thing you have to do is stop thinking it is going to be easy. No one tells an alcoholic (or a drug addict) that they can get rid of their addiction easily. Fighting against your sweet tooth will take time and effort and you will be constantly tested in ways that other addictions are not. For example: how many cigarette ads do you see on the television? And how many of your friends think you are crazy to stop eating sugar? We are bombarded with sugar advertisements daily and most people who stop eating sugar feel alone in a world of sugar junkies. So, take your addiction seriously and understand it is going to be hard.

The second way to succeed in kicking your sugar addiction is find some support. There are many ways to find the support that you need. The best support comes from friends or family members who want to go on a sugar-free holiday with you, but there are also groups on Facebook or other web-based sites that can help you as well.

I have a 30 Day Program called the 30 Sugar Free Days that helps people get off of sugar. Check it out here: 30 Sugar Free Days. You can break your sweet tooth addiction, but it will take time. Breaking your sugar addiction is well worth the effort as you will likely lose weight and feel much better.

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Does eating sugar give you a headache? The sugar headache, otherwise known as the Holliday Headache (because we eat so much sugar on Easter, Halloween, Christmas and other holidays) has a lot in common with a hangover headache but it strikes any time year when we overdo sugar.

While most have experienced a sugar headache at some time in their lives it is not well known in medical circles. It might even surprise you to learn that the exact causes of all headaches are a bit of a mystery. Migraines and cluster headaches are thought to be vascular (having to do with blood flow) but how blood changes create a headache is unknown; the same is true of the sugar headache.

I view the sugar headache as a toxicity or dehydration event and while it might be an annoyance it could also be the sign of something more dangerous. Let’s look at dehydration ad toxicity and see how they might cause a headache.

Sugar Dehydration

Dehydration is a common way to get a headache and sugar can lead to dehydration. Eating too much sugar dehydrates your body in two ways.

• Dilution: When you eat too much sugar, your body has to dilute that sugar to keep it from harming your body. This means that water is being pulled from all parts of your body to balance the large amount of sugar in your blood stream. While this water-pulling effect happens all over the body, it is your head that suffers the most.

• Urination: One of the ways that your body has of getting rid of excess sugar is to dump it in your urine. This is especially true of diabetics, who have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Toxicity

The other way to think about sugar is to consider it a toxic event. While your body runs on glucose (a simple sugar) it was never meant to have a ton of simple sugars running around in the blood. If you look to nature, you would find that there are almost no foods that contain the high amount of sugar you would find in a soda or piece of cake. If natural foods do contain a high amount of sugar it is often bound up and hard to get to (like in a sugar cane). The only way to get a large amount of sugar into your body is to have that sugar processed before you put it in your mouth. Processed sugar or processed grains both act like sugar in your body and this is toxic to the very blood cells that carry the sugar throughout the body. (I explain this at length in my book Sugarettes).

Something Worse?

Sugar headaches can also be a warning. If you get sugar headaches often, you might just be diabetic or pre-diabetic. The best way to find out if you are diabetic is to go and see your doctor and have them run some blood tests, but here are the typical symptoms of diabetes:

• Excessive urination: As I mentioned above, sugar acts like a diuretic and will spill sugar and water into the urine. Having to urinate a lot is often one of the first signs of diabetes.
• Excessive thirst: Since diabetics are losing a lot of water (see above), they are often thirsty all the time.
• Excessive hunger: Everyone has periods of time when they are hungry, but diabetics are hungry all the time (with strong cravings for carbohydrates, sweets and sugar). This is one of the strange things about diabetics: They have a lot of sugar in their bodies, but it is not being used by the cells so they are hungry all the time.

Sugar Headache

The reasons why sugar gives you a headache are many and not readily understood. But you don’t have to wait for a reason to stop the pain in your head.

You can stop your sugar headaches and give sugar the boot by trying my 30 Sugar Free Days Program. During the program, you will learn about foods that act like sugar and what you can do about your cravings. Make sure you understand that sugar is doing more harm to your body than just giving you a sugar headache, take this opportunity to learn from your headache that you shouldn’t be putting large amounts of sugar in your mouth and you need to make a change.

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I’ve pondered this question a lot. My kids suggest that “they” should make broccoli taste good if they want people to eat it. And while I’m sure there is at least one scientist out there trying to make broccoli taste like cotton candy, I think that understanding how our taste buds work and what we can do to manipulate our tastes will go much farther to getting good foods on our plates than any genetically altered broccoli.

There are two reasons why foods that are good for you don’t also taste good. Let’s take a look.

Your Taste Buds Have Been Altered

The first reason why everything that is good for you tastes like cardboard is because your taste buds have been altered. The question you have to ask yourself is who changed your taste buds? The quick answer to that question is : The food you eat. If you are like most people, the food you eat is all high in fat, sugar, and salt and when you eat foods that are all high in sugar, fat and salt your taste buds change.

The easiest way to understand this is to imaging that everything you drink is either vodka or whisky. Imagine if you had been drinking vodka or whisky ever since you were a child. How do you think water would taste to you? When you are drinking a high-octane drink like hard alcohol for your whole life, your taste buds get used to it and everything else is going to taste bland and boring.

Your Addictions Run Your Life

The second reason why everything that is good for us doesn’t taste good is that many of the foods you eat you are addicted to. Foods like sugar, milk and milk products, coffee and even meat all have addictive qualities to them. When you eat a food that you are addicted to it changes your brain in some way; it usually makes you feel better. Broccoli will not do this.

We are attracted to sugary-salty-fatty foods in ways that we aren’t attracted to carrots, apples and Brussels sprouts.

Read more about sugar addiction here: Are you addicted to sugar?

Double Whammy

When all the foods you are eating are super strong tasting (like whisky) then of course you are going to think that real and fresh foods taste like junk. But just as if you were drinking alcohol every day, your body is ruined by these foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. If you add the mood-altering aspect of your food addictions and you are guaranteed to never put something fresh in your mouth.

What Can You Do?

While you probably don’t believe me, your tastes can change. The only way they are going to change, though is to stop eating foods high in sugar, fat and salt. All you need is a few weeks away from the super strong tasting foods before your taste buds come back and you start enjoying the sweetness of foods like carrots or avocados (yes, these are sweet foods).

While it is difficult, you can do it (see my 30 Sugar Free Days Program for help) and once you make the transition from processed foods to real foods your taste buds will change back and you will find yourself enjoying foods like broccoli once again.

Take the plunge and try the 30 sugar free days challenge:

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Dieters, Sugar Addicts, Diabetics & Hypoglycemics To Be Helped By Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge on Jan. 16

Sugar Experts Connie Bennett, and Dr. Scott Olson Invite People Around the Globe to Face Up to the Sour Sugar Facts

PRESS RELEASE:

NEW YORK AND DENVER-On Friday, Jan. 16, a group of concerned health and wellness experts are holding the first annual Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge to draw attention to the many health hazards from over-consuming sugar and refined carbohydrates, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer and heart disease.

This is the first time that a worldwide event has been held to draw attention to the massive amounts of sugar that the typical person consumes (around 150 pounds a year or one cup a day for the average person).

Dr. Nancy Appleton, author of Lick the Sugar Habit; Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, author of Get the Sugar Out; Dr. Larry McCleary, author of The Brain Trust Program; integrative medicine practitioner Steven J. Bock, M.D.; and Sugar-Out coordinators Dr. Scott Olson, author of Sugarettes, and Connie Bennett, author of SUGAR SHOCK!, are among the prominent health authors, who invite people worldwide to learn more about sugar’s dangers, cut back on it or remove it entirely from their diets for one day.

The Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge will take place on the Internet:

• Through a radio show/podcast on Jan. 16 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on Connie Bennett’s Gab With the Gurus Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio featuring the above-named experts, plus other health-minded guests. You can listen live or later at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/GabWithTheGurus/2009/01/16/Sugar-Addicts-Carb-Lovers-Unite-Take-the-Great-Worldwide-Sugar-Out-Challenge)

• Through a 24-hour-long hour TwitAsYouQuit campaign (from Jan. 16 at 12 p.m. to Jan. 17 at 11:59 p.m. on Twitter), where dieters, sugar addicts, diabetics and hypoglycemic will rely on each other, as well as from Sugar-Out coordinators Bennett and Olson for supportive, motivating, helpful tweets throughout the day.

Sugar Harm

“Most people don’t realize that they’re eating or drinking huge doses of sugar over the course of a day whenever they have packaged or processed foods,” says Sugar Liberator and co-Sugar-Out Challenge coordinator Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C., author of SUGAR SHOCK!, a certified health counselor, life coach and journalist, who used to “need” frequent sugar “fixes” to meet article deadlines.

Of course, you’re getting sugar and other sweeteners from candy bars, soda and cookies, but you’re also getting a lot from less obvious sources like yogurt, whole grain cereal, peanut butter, salad dressings and mayonnaise.

Co-Sugar-Out Challenge planner Scott Olson, N.D., a Colorado-based naturopath, who used to be overly attached to much-like-sugar carbohydrates like breads, crackers and chips, notes that “People assume that diseases are a normal part of aging, but the reality is that many illnesses are caused by the sugary foods and drinks and refined carbohydrates that we put into our mouths.”

“Our mission is to get people and medical authorities to admit to the reality that sugar is harmful,” adds Dr. Olson, author of the book Sugarettes.

The goal of the challenge is threefold:

• To wake up to the truth about the huge amounts of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, other sweeteners and simple carbs that they consume-often without knowing it
• To learn about the many dangers of sugar overloading, which could lead to more than 100 health problems, including obesity, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, infertility, sexual dysfunction, Alzheimer’s disease, failing memory, mood swings, depression, anxiety, severe PMS, heart palpitations, acne and premature aging.
• To motivate challenge takers to either kick sugar and other sweeteners entirely on Jan. 16 or to begin phasing out that day so that they can lose weight, feel and look more youthful, boost their energy, diminish depression, concentrate better, rev up their sex drive and improve their general health overall.

People of all ages and sexes – even if they don’t think they have a sugar problem — are invited to find a buddy and take the Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge.

During the Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge on the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show, you may hear differing points of view from the sugar experts about how, why or how long you should quit sugar, but you’ll get ample information to allow you to make a decision that works for you. For instance, you’ll get opposing views as to whether you should kick cold turkey or gradually. All experts do, however, agree that that too much sugar — which is typically consumed by the average American or typical person in other “civilized” countries around the world — can wreak dangers galore, from heart disease to type 2 diabetes.

To join the Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge, just visit www.GabWithTheGurusBlog.com and join the conversation.

To follow inspirational kick-sugar tweets, go to www.Twitter.com/TwitAsYouQuit

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The newest study in rats on sugar addiction paints a complete picture of sugar addiction, from binging, craving to alterations in brain chemistry seen in other addictions.

Read the whole article here: Study Suggests Sugar May Be Addictive.

Remember that we are starting a 30 Sugar Free Days challenge in January and we invite you to join us!

Sugarettes, the book about sugar addiction is availble on Amazon.

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How do you know if you are addicted to sugar?

Addictions can be tricky to define; there are both physical and psychological addictions. Proving something is an addiction is a bit difficult, but the test below is a test that would work for any addiction. Give it a try:

• Have you ever used sugar as a reward for something? Was sugar the treat you gave yourself after you completed a task or a job well done?
• Have you ever used sugar to change your mood, like when you felt sad, tired, or when you needed a lift?
• Have you ever eaten sugar even when you weren’t hungry? You just finished a meal and are very full, but still you order dessert or go to the fridge and pull out the ice cream.
  
• Have you ever tried to stop eating sugar and couldn’t? You tried a diet like Atkins or South beach, but felt endlessly drawn by sugar and foods that act like sugar and couldn’t stick to the diet.
• Have you ever taken a small bite of something sweet and felt compelled to finish the whole thing? You thought you were just going to have a bit of something, but then you at the whole thing. Sugar foods count here too: have you ever started to eat a bag full of potato or corn chips and finished the whole bag?
• Have you ever quit eating sugar and when you started eating it again, couldn’t stop binging? When you took sugar out of your diet and then returned to it, did you binge on sugar and sugar foods?

If you answered yes to one or two of these questions, then you probably have a sugar problem. If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, then you can be guaranteed that you are addicted to sugar.

The signs of addiction are typically:

• Using the addiction for a reward
• Using a substance to change a mood
• Feeling compelled to consume the addiction even though you don’t need it
• Binging, especially when the addicted substance is removed for a while

Sugar has all characteristics of an addiction and the scientific community is just beginning to wake up to that fact. But before you dismiss the addiction as just as a funny thing we all do, you need to realize that sugar addiction ultimately means harm to your body. Sugar consumption is associated with increased weight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and potentially many other diseases.

Getting off your sugar addiction can be hard, but you can do it with the proper support and help.

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A new study in the journal, Pediatrics, looked into sugar consumption from just soda and fruit juice. Here is what they found:

• Children are consuming somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of their calories from soda and fruit juice alone
• Children aged 6 to 19 consumed an average of 30 oz of soda or fruit juice every day
• 2 to 5 year-olds consumed an average of 15.5 oz of juice or soda a day
• The average serving size of the drinks they are drinking has increased 46 percent (almost doubled) since 1972

What you have to understand about the above statistics is that they are saying that 10 to 15 percent of the calories our children are eating are coming from just soda or fruit juice. These numbers don’t include sugar such as breakfast cereals, cookies, candies, ice cream and all the hidden sugars such as those found in peanut butter, crackers, chips and other fast foods. For those who have read my book or this blog often, you know that those statistics don’t include foods that act like sugar in our bodies such as many grains and starchy vegetables.

It is clear that our children are overdosing on sugar.

Are You Sure? One-Half a Pound a day?

Every time I write that we eat 1/4 to 1/2 of a pound of sugar a day, I always get questions. So let’s see how easy it is to make it to that 1/2 pound every day. Remember that 1/4 pound of sugar equals 30 teaspoons of sugar. You can get 30 teaspoons of sugar very easily, for example:

• A 12oz soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar, a 16oz soda contains 10.5 teaspoons
• Typical breakfast cereals contain 4 to 6 teaspoons of sugar
• A donut contains 8 to 30 teaspoons of sugar
• A typical cookie contains 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar for each cookie
• For a more complete list, look here: Percentage Of Sugar In Common Foods

As you can see, it isn’t all that hard to make it to 60 teaspoons (or 1/2 pound of sugar a day).

Parents, Most of this is Happening on Your Watch

The study in the journal, Pediatrics, showed something surprising: that most of this soda drinking was happening at home. Around 55 to 70 percent of sugar sweetened beverages are consumed in the home, while 7 to 15 percent in schools. These numbers were slightly higher from very young children who attended day care or preschool where fruit juice is a common treat for the kids.

This means that parents are largely responsible for the incredible amount of sugar their children eat every day.

Halloween is One Thing, but…

Kids are going to eat a lot of candy on Halloween, but parents should focus more on their children’s day-to-day consumption of sugar. There are long-term health effects that can result from eating so much sugar: Obesity and diabetes are epidemic in children and only getting worse.

We can do a lot to determine the health of our children by helping them make better choices about sugar. Since most of the sugar consumption is happening at home, simply not buying soda, fruit juice and other sugary snacks can go a long way to eliminating sugar consumption in our children.

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Sugar hurts us in a lot of ways, but the most harmful is that high blood sugar is toxic to the blood vessels that carry sugar throughout our bodies and, boy, it is hard to break free of that addiction.

Sugar addicts are unique, they want to have their cake and eat it too. Most people’s solution to sugar addiction is to ask for a substitute: “if I can’t have sugar,” they say, “what can I still eat that is sweet?” This would be like a cigarette smoker asking if it were okay to smoke cigars or to chew tobacco.

What You can do to Break Free of Sugar

First you need to be prepared. No one tells a cigarette smoker or a junkie that it is going to be easy to break free of their habit; sugar addiction is the same. Prepare for a battle. Studies show that sugar addiction is every bit as powerful as addictions to alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs, so you have a tough road ahead of you. The way you feel after kicking sugar and the health benefits are well worth the effort. Here are a few mental pieces of luggage you need to pack for your journey:

• You will have cravings – Sorry, but there is nothing to do about this. Understand, though, that cravings do get better over time and many people are surprised when they break down and try something sweet after being sugar-free for a while that the thing they were craving doesn’t taste all that great and the wonder why they were craving it in the first place.
• There are no substitutes – Remember, you don’t give an alcoholic even non-alcoholic beer once they are sober. As long as you are using substitutes, you are still addicted to sugar. The only good substitute is Stevia, but I recommend against it because what you are really trying to break is your addiction to having something super-sweet in your mouth.
• Artificial Sweeteners are not an option – See the above for a good reason to avoid artificial sweeteners. These chemical sweeteners do much harm to our bodies; some speculate that the harm done by artificial sweeteners is greater than even sugar itself. Doubt that? Check out this book from Mercola, or I have a section in my book, Sugarettes that deals with how harmful these food additives really are.
• Out of sight and Out of Mind – the best assistance you can give yourself is to take everything sugary and get it out of your house, workplace and, yes, even your car. Many of our sugar-eating habits are just that: habits.

Tools for Success

Okay, now that you have packed your mental baggage, let’s give you some tools to help you on your way.

• Eat often: This not only helps balance your blood sugar level, but it also lessens the number of cravings you will have. While you may feel silly eating lunch at ten o’clock in the morning and having another lunch around noon, and yet another meal at two o’clock, having three small lunches is a great way to balance your blood sugar level.
• Eat fruit or dried fruit: Many people crave sweet foods after they eat. Eating something like fruit or a dried fruit following a meal can help. A cup of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries after a meal can usually stomp cravings. Don’t overdo it, though, fruits are still contain a lot of sugar.
• Salad greens: Many grocery stores stock mixed salad greens. Eating these before a meal tends to fill people up; they are also loaded with vitamins and other nutrients so it’s a great two-for-one filler-upper!
• Exercise: If you feel that craving-monster beginning to creep up on you, go for a walk. Exercise not only gets you out of the kitchen and onto the street and away from your temptations, it has also been shown to reduce cravings.
• Brush your teeth: Brushing gives you a sweet taste and many people don’t feel like eating once their mouths have been cleaned.
• Drink water: Sometimes cravings get mixed up in your brain and what your body really needs is water and not sugar. Try drinking a glass of water when your cravings begin.
• Try supplementing: Supplements can help with cravings, including:
  • Amino acids: Tyrosine, phenylalanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), tryptophan, and glutamine can help. Glutamine is sweet-tasting and can be placed under the tongue after a meal or between meals to calm cravings.
  • B-complex: A good mixture of B-vitamins is essential for reducing cravings.
  • Minerals: Some researchers claim that cravings are based on the need for minerals in our bodies. This is especially true of chromium, which has also been shown to help balance blood sugar levels.
  • Gymnema: This herb has been shown to help with blood sugar control and cravings.
  • A good multi-vitamin: Multi-vitamins can help quell cravings. Many include the B-vitamins and minerals (as mentioned above).
• Remember, it is just a craving: You don’t have to be a slave to your cravings. You have probably eaten recently so you are not going to starve — even though your brain is trying to convince you that you are. Often, you can out-wait your craving and it will go away.

You can do it!

You can break free of your sugar addiction; it just takes a little effort. The effort, however, is well worth it. You have no idea how much better you will feel if you remove sugars and foods that act like sugars from your life. You have a great opportunity to avoid many of the diseases that will cut your life short by staying away from sugar foods.

Check out my 30 Sugar Free Days Program

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Here is the story:

I was talking to a group of people about health and we were discussing the nature of sugar and how, when you try to avoid it, it acts like a magnet. As soon as you put a piece of something sweet in your mouth, more wants to follow. It is as if the first piece of sugar was a magnet, pulling more sugar into your body. I was struggling with a way to suggest that sugar this sugar magnet meant that sugar had addictive qualities. But it wasn’t enough to stop there, because consuming sugar in the amount that we all do has health consequences. The problem with the health consequences of sugar is that they don’t happen soon, but slowly over time.

Then it came to me: sugar is exactly like cigarettes.

Let’s take a look and see how similar sugar and cigarettes are:

• Cigarettes are addictive… so is sugar
• Cigarettes cause harm… so does sugar
• Cigarettes give you a boost of energy… so does sugar
• The harm that cigarettes does happens slowly over time… exactly the same as sugar

The more that I looked into the addictive qualities and the harm that sugar does, the more it became apparent to me that cigarettes and sugar are almost identical. Like twins separated at birth, these two non-foods have strong addictive grips on us that won’t let us go (ask anyone who has ever tried to stop smoking or eating carbohydrates) and are they both do damage to our health that is subtle, but end up being profound.

Sugar’s Harm

You may well know that cigarettes are very harmful to your lungs, but you may not know how harmful sugar is to your blood vessels. While I cover this topic with other blog posts, let me briefly let you know what scientists are discovering about what harm sugar can do:

• Sugar causes you to gain weight
• Sugar, despite what many doctors will tell you, is responsible for diabetes
• Sugar may also be responsible for much of the heart disease we see
• Sugar is toxic to blood vessels it will destroy them (you can especially see this in diabetics)
• Sugar is just as addictive as cigarettes, alcohol and other hard drugs

Sugarettes is the perfect name to give you the mental picture of why sugar is such a problem in our diets. You don’t notice the destruction because it happens slowly over time. Your health can be greatly improved by avoiding both sugar and foods that act like sugar in your body.

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