So today I read a couple of articles about how bad artificial sugars are for your body (I'll link them below). Some doctors are apparently even arguing that sugar is a "drug" that should be regulated just like cocaine. All this information, coupled with the fact that I have gorged on tons of sugary stuff in the past three days, has made me think about sugar and health and all of that stuff. I have noticed that artificial sugars really do affect me in a bad way. For example, if I eat something sweet first thing in the morning, I usually feel like crap for at least a couple hours after that. Also, the past couple of days I have found myself standing in front of a pecan pie or something with a spoon in my hand- and I literally don't know when I stood up and walked there, that's how strong my instinct is to consume sugar. It's scary to think that I might actually be
addicted to something that is potentially just as dangerous and unhealthy as weed or cocaine - and I wouldn't even know that I was addicted, because sugar isn't considered a drug.
I read two stories about people who decided to completely quit eating any kind of sugar. The first woman quit for 4 weeks and she noticed a significant boost in energy, and had less pimples, as well as losing 4 pounds. The second story I read was about an entire family who quit sugar for a whole year and would only have a sugary treat once a month. As the year progressed, they noticed that they would crave the treat less and less, and by the end of the year they could barely eat it because of how sensitive their palates had now become. They also felt more energetic and got sick less.
I've decided to do a little experiment for myself to see how going without sugar will make me feel. Starting tomorrow, Saturday, November 28, I am not going to eat any foods with artificial sugars in them, until Monday, December 28. Any food that has "sugar" in it's top 3 ingredients will be considered sweet. I'm probably going to record how I feel each day here, especially the first week because apparently people literally go into withdrawal when not eating sugar. I think it will be interesting to test my determination as well as how good I will feel after quitting sugar. Also, I made the decision to go completely cold turkey, instead of slowly eating less and less sugar everyday. I did this because whenever I try to limit my sugar intake, I always end up eating way more than I would've if I hadn't tried to limit myself in the first place.
So here goes.
See you tomorrow!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2098428/I-went-cold-turkey-sugar-Its-toxic-addiction-say-scientists-easy-up.html
http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/my-health-story/year-of-no-sugar-one-family-grand-adventure/
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/24/robert-lustig-sugar-poison
