I have had a ‘drug’ addiction most of my life. I’ve been addicted to sugar, and my drug of choice has been refined sugars.
Now you may think this is a bit silly, saying eating refined sugars is a drug addiction, because this brings a comparison between refined sugars and such substances like cocaine or heroin.
But…
There are a crazy amount of studies surfacing through the web and social media that compare refined sugars to cocaine and heroin, and the findings are showing that refined sugars are as addictive as other drugs, in fact sometimes more addictive because refined sugars are so readily available and so widely accepted as part of our everyday existence.
Addicted to Sugar: How it Began…
When I was 8 years old I was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia, which means my body had an intense response to sugar. It was described as an ‘allergy’ to refined sugars which resulted in my body over-producing insulin whenever I consumed refined sugar. My body saw sugar as the enemy and it went about rapidly breaking it down to get it out of my system.
This would happen at a far too rapid pace for me to handle, and after the high experienced from the sugar, I would very quickly become quite lethargic and sometimes fall asleep as my blood glucose levels dropped too quickly.
So I was told by the doctors to eliminate all refined sugars from my diet and eat regularly to maintain an even blood glucose level. I gave this a go and I found it extremely difficult: so much so, that after a while I started to eat refined sugars again.
And so began my addiction to refined sugars – even though I knew it could potentially harm me in ways that could not be reversed, particularly insulin dependent diabetes.
My Drug Addiction Grew…
It started with eating the sugar out of the sugar bowl but I got caught doing this so I had to find another source. I began to steal lollies from the local newsagency: I got caught again… so this time I stole money out of my Mum’s piggy bank and went and bought the lollies instead. Funnily enough, I got caught again! I was really determined to eat sugar!!
Let’s pause for a moment and consider what this type of dedicated behaviour may mean…
Does it sound like how a drug addict would behave?
…It does to me!
The addiction to eating sugar was so strong for me that I played Russian roulette with my health for many years.
I continued to eat sugar regularly and ignored the doctors’ warnings that at any time my pancreas could run out of steam from over-producing insulin, and stop producing insulin altogether. This could have meant living as an insulin dependent diabetic and having to inject myself with insulin daily for the rest of my life.
But there was a part of me that thought I could get away with this type of addictive behaviour, that I was invincible, and that these kinds of health consequences would never happen to me.
My Drug Addiction Continues…
Fast forward to about the year 2009. I was 33 years of age with a 1 year old daughter; as I had stopped eating gluten as a trial and felt a lot better, I decided to fully commit to not eating gluten anymore. I also stopped consuming dairy, and then rice, and through these choices lost a lot of the weight I had gained during pregnancy.
So there I was: I’d stopped eating gluten, dairy and rice – things I knew affected me – and I was feeling like I was starting to take responsibility for the food I was choosing to feed myself… but I was still very much a sugar addict, and had been one for 25 years.
Reaching the Turning Point…
I remember one day standing in my kitchen popping a Mentos lolly into my mouth, one of many that I had consumed that day, and looking in amazement at the near empty packet. I also felt the pull to check whether I had another packet, for when this one finished I would need more, but something inside made me stop in my tracks and look at what I was doing.
In this moment I realised that I was addicted to sugar – heavily addicted. This was my drug of choice. I felt this sick feeling in my stomach with the knowing that I could no longer, in good conscience, keep eating refined sugars. The time had come to really commit to not eating sugar anymore!
And so began the next stage of my journey, learning how to work with my body and my food choices – to start to understand what I chose to consume and why – to break this powerful addiction to sugar.
With thanks to Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon for opening my eyes to the possibility that what we eat really does impact our health and wellbeing in a huge way.
By Robyn Jones, 38, B.Sc. (Psych), Counsellor, Goonellabah, Australia
Read Part Two: Exhaustion and the Effects of Sugar Addiction
Read Part Three: From Sugar Addiction to Gluten, Dairy & Sugar Free Yummy Delights
Further Reading:
Are We Consuming Sugar Or Is Sugar Consuming Us?
Why Are Our Service Stations Crack Houses? And What Does Sugar Do To The Brain?
564 Comments
Sugar was my addiction too, it is a drug and one that is very hard to kick, but what a difference in the body when we can kick it – it’s the difference between living and existing.
We don’t like to admit just how addicted to sugar we are generally. On a subtle level, it does change our chemical responses, like alcohol (but in a different way)… just observe kids once they have had cake and chocolate and watch them become hyperactive. Eat too much of this over time and the strain we put on our nervous system, adrenals and cellar makeup is it no wonder we are all exhausted, flat and demotivated?
I quit smoking years ago and food became my new substitution. I quit drinking and sugar took its place! It was not until I looked at the cause of my addictions that it comes from numbing oneself to keep me from being all of who I am! And, when this behaviour is realised, there is no need for addictions.
I a hundred percent agree that sugar is addictive – once you get a taste you just want more. I’ve found that the process of elimination through discipline however does not work long term. It can’t be sustained until we discover why we actually have the need for that addiction.
Meg what you have said makes so much sense, using will power to overcome something doesn’t work as you say because the need for sugar has not been addressed. From my own experience I have found that it is usually a hurt that we are carrying and when they have been looked at and understood then the addiction to anything will naturally dissipate because there is no energy to drive it.
Great blog Robyn. Sugar has been an enormous addiction for a greater part of my life. Thanks to the presentations by Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon I have been able to bring a deeper level of self-care, self-love and self-nurturing to myself. The unexpected change was that there was less and less of a pull to eat sugar. This is now a marker of being ‘out of step’ with myself. If craving sugar, its time to deepen my self care and nurturing.
Growing up in the 60’s we had no idea that sugar was so addictive but looking back at our eating habits it’s easy to see that the signs were there. One habit that jumps to mind is eating bread and butter with loads of sugar on top or condensed milk with bread and several tablespoons of sugar. Snacking involved eating a lot of sugar.
I have found it very liberating to approach how I live life, including how, why and what I am eating. I have never been one that liked to be addicted to anything and when I realised that I was addicted to sugar I could not let it just be. In exploring for myself why I was reaching for sugar I could see it was for an escape and to comfort the restlessness I was feeling from within. The more I began to address this and deepen my relationship and honouring of my body and of myself, I found that giving up sugar was a loving choice. I now do not miss it at all in my diet and very seldom crave it. When I do I can pinpoint precisely what is happening within me and with honesty it simply offers me the opportunity to deepen.
“In exploring for myself why I was reaching for sugar I could see it was for an escape and to comfort the restlessness I was feeling from within.” I can relate to that, for that restlessness impacts most of us in the world. We feel the tension of it and seek to dull the body so we don’t feel. Seeking to deepen our connection within – this has got to be a healthier option than seeking the relief that sugar brings, for in truth there is no relief, only a raciness in the body that feels out of kilter to who we are.
That is key, realising that you have an addiction, only then can you do something about it, ‘In this moment I realised that I was addicted to sugar – heavily addicted. This was my drug of choice. I felt this sick feeling in my stomach with the knowing that I could no longer, in good conscience, keep eating refined sugars. The time had come to really commit to not eating sugar anymore!’
I so recognize what you write here:
‘But there was a part of me that thought I could get away with this type of addictive behaviour, that I was invincible, and that these kinds of health consequences would never happen to me.’
Knowing the effects of sugar and sweet things have on my body, my clarity and awareness and yet keep convincing myself that I could get away with it. The body however talks loud and clear until you listen.
Many people still play this game with their health, such is the strength of their addiction, ‘The addiction to eating sugar was so strong for me that I played Russian roulette with my health for many years.’