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?
Totally agree Fiona is as thought there is a big Elephant in the room but we totally ignore that fact that it is there, we are all masters at only seeing what we what to see and discard the rest. So there is no way any of us is going to admit the the Elephant being in the room with us.
Richard so many people stop smoking but fill the gap by eating more food and so put on weight which they might not want to do. So it makes sense what you are saying that we need to understand the real issue behind why people smoke in the first place, otherwise as you say we simply replace the need or desire with something else without truly understanding what we are doing.
I crave and want sugar when I am tired its my go to, I only now eat fruit sugar but I really relish how even fruit sugar is super addictive.
When we talk to each other about addictions we tend to think of addictions in relationship to prescribed, illicit drugs or alcohol. I would never consider being addicted to sugar as something to be concerned about but I notice that when I eat too much sugar it does affect my body. Carbohydrates which the body turns into sugar puts me to sleep and refined sugar races it so that I feel a bit weird a bit spaced out. If we were to consider just how much sugar is in the food that we eat and then perhaps consider why we need to eat so much sugar is there something that we don’t want to feel and the only way not to feel it is to keep our bodies stimulated and racy.
An addiction to sugar is very hard to break as sugar is everywhere. Stopping eating refined sugar I was finding sugars in many other foods.
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?
Rachel not only does eating sugar put a huge strain on our bodies but it also is a way to stop us from reconnecting to our bodies which having been addicted to sugar I feel is the greatest form of self abuse we can subject ourselves to. When we cut out the sugar we can feel the delicateness and just how sensitive our bodies are when we come to this understanding about our bodies then we don’t want to loose the connection to our delicateness so we naturally stop eating sugar because we can feel how the sugar upsets the gorgeous feeling we are connecting back to. But sugar is only one form of poison we attack our bodies with, so what is it about us that we constantly want to assault our bodies? Why don’t we want to feel just how gorgeous our bodies truly are?
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.
Steve when we look at why we do something such as eating sugar and the subtleties behind the reason it I found it fascinating that I was actually wanting to harm myself because by eating sugar I was racing my body and when our bodies are racy we cannot feel and so we are not aware of our bodies communication with us. That communication is from the universe. So for me it then became what is it about the communication from the universe I don’t want to hear?
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.
What is it about focusing more self care and self love that has many of us racing for something sugary to race our bodies so we do not feel the level of stillness we can all go to. Why is it we want to miss out on the deep and beautiful quality that is naturally part of who we are? How many of us has ever stopped to consider what is behind the impulse to eat or drink something that has huge amounts of sugar what are we actually running away from and why?
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.
I feel everyone is feeling the tension in their bodies which is why we are consuming sugars and any other stimulant which will for a short while give us some relief from what we cannot stop feeling which is the disconnection to our inner most essence. I feel the tension is going to become more intense over the coming years as our bodies are waking up from the illusion we have surrounded ourselves in and have all contributed to. Our bodies cannot be completely silenced from telling us that we are living less than who we truly are no matter how we try to distract ourselves, it finds a way to tell us through illness and disease.
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!’
Comparing what others can eat and thinking that is applicable for me too is a big trap. We are have a different body that wants us to closely listen to what it needs without us comparing to that of someone else.
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.’
We can go on for a long time stuck in the rut of an addiction but to be able to have that moment of awareness to actually see what we are choosing is super amazing. It’s like there is something inside of that truly knows that we deserve more than the abuse we are prepared to put up with. Serge Benhayon has been an extraordinary reflection in showing that everything we consume effects our bodies, it either harms or heals and its not just the temporal it is the energetic as well. Letting go of what is not the Love that we are can be challenging but also an amazing process.
It’s also interesting what connoisseurs we can be on the drug of choice, just the right level of refined, or fruit based or cocao enhanced or simple starch… or even the perfect nut for the job. Leaves no doubt in me that the substance is not the problem, its the trigger for needing that next fix.
Addictions can dominate our lives and for a lot of the time you don’t realise you are in it, well we do but we play the ignorant card. We can get so convinced that it seems impossible to stop it. What I have learnt and experienced is that if you focus on the addiction nothing changes. What has been my life changing cures for all of my addictions no matter how big or small is stopping the momentum and actually looking within in and taking care of myself. The I started to build self-love and it became apparent that what ever the addiction that came up was just not making any sense anymore and I didn’t want to hurt or abuse myself in this way, so it goes. Addictions can be found in anything and can be so subtle.
Addictions can be very subtle, making changes to how you are living, bringing self-care and self-love in to your life as a strong foundation means there is no space for un-loving behaviours anymore.
Even fruit sugars can leave you high and dry, I recently had a day where I really went for the fruit big time, this was followed by a low which inevitably made me crave sugar again. This can be one of our many cycles of abuse – sugar = the need for more sugar. Far better to deal with the reason why we crave it. In my case it was because I was exhausted and not dealing with that.
I had not realised how much I was relying and using sugar until I have begun to look at what I eat and why and then begun refine my choices, there is sugar everywhere, it is put into so many of our foods and we often ignore where it is in the ingredients. I am not completely out of the sugar fog, there are times I seek it, but I am much more aware of why it is happening and this supports me letting go of it as a crutch, a way for not feeling things, using it as a sedative or reward.
I don’t feel we quite comprehend the hold certain foods can have on us, sugar is definitely one of those foods that we can eat in a very harmful manner. The body knows what sugar does to it because it very honestly responds by becoming racy and having a quick high followed by the crash back down again, often leaving us feeling worse than before we ate the sugar. It’s not so much the body that seeks the sugar, more so the being within us that needs a high (and often to remedy exhaustion), and to escape feeling what it is aware of.
The addictions to sugar is something i really relate to and understand. “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.” this is a journey of healing and rebuilding our body and the listening to all its messages and is our guide in life for so much more .
‘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…’ This response to choosing something that is not supportive and addictive is probably the same for most. Speaking for myself I have felt this invincibility and or simply getting to the point of not caring what the consequences are in the moment… only to feel them later. There is definitely an underlying arrogance to the human condition that wants to get away with wayward behaviour, even though it knows it can’t.
It is so liberating to be honest about addictions, and I find that more and more as there is less and less outer stimulants for which I can call my addictions, the real addictions that are driving everything underneath it all are becoming clearer to see and deal with.
Addiction to sugar can go surprisingly deep. Unlike alcohol or cigarettes it is ubiquitous and the less you eat of it the more formerly non-sweet items like lemon juice now taste sweet and sweeteners, even though they may be a protein or other non-sugar, have the same effect as sugar.
“The addiction to eating sugar was so strong for me that I played Russian roulette with my health for many years.” I meet many people with limbs missing who have had to had legs amputated due to diabetes, we really do need to ask ourselves is it worth the pleasure in the mouth when it can do so much harm to the body.
Sugar has to be one of the most legalised and ‘normal’ drugs out there. No one denies the effects of it yet seldom do we really want to do anything about it and address the actual demand for it. We can take it away from places but that does not stop our reliance on it.
Its heart breaking how many children I see addicted to sugar, when I go into any school and see the hype, the intensity, the drama and the misbehaviour and you will see very often all of this is fuelled by this crazy drug.
When we want sugar and the high we get from sugar it is amazing where we will find it. I may not go for refined sugar any more but I will have a spoonfuls of jam or a date bar etc, as it still gives me the sweetness that I’m chasing. I do feel how it is a drug, as I may say to myself I’m not going to have something sweet tomorrow, yet unless I look at why I wanted it, there I am drawn to it again.
It really is insidious that refined sugars are in most food that are available for us to consume. The staples that we as a society are led to believe are ‘essential’ for living a healthy and normal lifestyle are all filled with this chemical, yet our obesity and diabetes rate are going through the roof. I love what you have shared here Robyn as it asks us to honestly consider what we are consuming, why and what effect it has on our body and being.
sugar is a nightmare of a substance to get hooked on – it sets up endless cravings for more of the same and wallops the nervous system into extreme highs and low’s, craving for the next sugar fix, to repeat the cycle of temporary relief. all over again.
Sugar is a drug and the reality of this is something we are becoming more aware of in the world today as it is being added to everything we eat. This is a real sharing and very relatable to and feel the craving it brings as well as the tiredness , need and the effect on our health.
I would love to see what would happen if we suddenly took away all sugar – just think everyone would have to get really honest with where they are truly at.
The thing about giving up anything , a food, activity, hobby, is also about seeing and being honest too about where or when something else becomes a replacement which can have the same effect, like for instance giving up chocolate to consume nuts or health bars, even apples, or giving up smoking to take up jogging or running. Intention and motivation being everything to reveal the everything about ourselves.
When we observe the behaviour of children before and after sugar it is quite clear that sugar is no different to a drug.
Yes, it is quite drastic and the withdrawal symptoms are not pretty as well.
We give sugary gifts all the time to people, what would happen if we substituted the sugar with poison?
I would say sugar and any other form of stimulant that escalates the nervous system is one of the most challenging addictions to break.
It is interesting that we deem some substances ‘drugs’ and other substances which have the same effects on the body are considered and accepted as a very normal part of life, in fact, if you don’t use these substances you are often seen as abnormal even when we know that these substances alter you greatly.
I know this addiction well and I’m yet to kick it. My feeling is that I will need to connect to love for myself that is greater than the addiction I’ve indulged in.
It is amazing how pronounced the affects of sugar are when it is not part of ones diet. Many people are so dosed up on sugar they don’t notice any difference when they consume it.
Yes, and there is a need to keep dosing to keep the levels up and the stimulation going for without it the exhaustion and aftermath of such stimulation is felt, so creating the additive behaviour. I have experienced this myself when I was hooked on sugar.
The more we see our health from our body first the more we will be willing to see the similar effects of sugar, drugs, emotions or TV. The different substance is not so important – it’s the effect on our body that is key. Thank you Robyn.
That’s a powerful way of looking at it, and it takes away pressuring ourselves or needing to control or thinking we need to use willpower. Simple really when we connect to our body.
After stopping all refined sugar in the 1980’s and then over the many years since I am finally feeling the effects of anything that is sugary. So one can see how sugary substances are very much a drug of choice for almost everyone. Slowly over the years all substances that are sweet drop out of my diet, which included fruits and high-end-carbs as they were all making me feel sleepy. That now some 30 years on from my first disconnecting from refined sugar I have such a connection to my body the slightest amount of anything sweet, which brings on a heightened feeling and then the crash with a sleepy feeling has been eliminated from what I eat. Now what ever I am eating it is up to me to choose connection and not to check-out-with-food-choices that only end up dulling my awareness. For me this is becoming a loving discipline that needs me to be dedicated to not be distracted by the smallest thing that sets-up-the-yo-yo-effect. Or being obedient to the Love we all are so that I do not get distracted away from being connected, a deep connection, which is bountiful to say the least.
This is such a powerful sharing Robyn and exposes behaviours that are familiar to so many of us which I certainly did my best to dismiss. I have often claimed not to have a problem with sugar but many years ago I stopped buying e.g. biscuits because one was never enough and before I knew it the whole packet would be consumed. So I have had the knowing that it was detrimental to my health and wellbeing for a long time but chose to ignore the impact until fairly recently and it is only as I have gradually refined my diet that I have become more aware of the impact of different choices and how my body feels afterwards and how often I still choose to dull myself when I do not want to feel something.
Eating the whole packet of biscuits has also been my experience Helen, and now that I have reduced my sugar significantly I can feel the effects of it in my body, usually in the form of a headache and then feeling jittery. Another thing I have noticed is how the smell of sweet things makes me feel nauseous.
I never thought that I had a sweet tooth but then I did move onto non-refined sugar like honey and that seemed to be fine, until my awareness with my body become stronger and started to feel how this still had an impact on my body.
The more I have given up sugar in all its forms, including almost all fruits, the more I have noticed how sensitive my body is to even the smallest amounts of it, and how wired and jittery I feel if I have any, like when I had a kale and berry smoothie and got an instant headache, felt fuzzy-headed, and then crashed and fell asleep soon afterwards. This made me wonder what I was doing to my body years ago as a kid and even adult when I would consume massive amounts of sugar from candy, ice cream, etc. and had a tolerance built up for it just like any other drug!
With such honesty as is expressed here, people have the opportunity to reflect upon something which is not often, in the average workplace reflected upon. I have been at conferences where every table always has huge bowls of sweets and Lollies… in fact, they seem ubiquitous.
Thank you Elizabeth. I love what you are sharing here. I feel inspired to follow in your footsteps!
Eating repeatedly something that we know that harms us, clearly shows the level of addiction we have with some foods. We can see this attitude related too with harming behaviours, relationships, ways of exercising, etc. Only with love and honesty we can look at those choices for what they are and realise their quality… the first steps to start breaking the chain one day we decided to live with.
I have what you would call an addiction also – it’s eating nuts. This has now become only the one type of nut macadamias. It has been many years now I have been aware of this addiction and almost every week I do not eat any until I weaken and give in on day 6 or so. I have had it come up a few times now reading this blog and when I have given my space to feel and move towards a different choice it has flowed nicely for me. I am learning what it feels like to not numb what I am feeling and know and just accept this is me with no need to dull myself down.
What a powerful supportive sharing on the understanding of sugar addiction that is really relatable to and shows what is really going on . I know the addiction to sugar and the way it effects me also with the haze i used to live in that comes back the moment I eat sugar again also.
For a government to allow and pass food that is riddled with sugar’s harmful ways shows the depth of care we are not willing to go to that has resulted in the crisis in our health care system.
I find the same thing, the moment I go back to eat sugar suddenly it captures me and I want more and it is very hard to stop myself at this moment which shows how powerful it is. After all I am an intelligent man and so surely I could easily say no, but this often has not been the case so I know there has to be more going on.
I don’t eat sugar but I still have my ‘go to ‘ foods to make me feel better but if I am really honest they dull my awareness and heighten my mental and emotional bodies which takes a toll on my energy levels and equilibrium. Thankfully my awareness of this supports me sometimes to just say no… giving me more clarity and sense of purpose and significantly more energy
It certainly does take a moment to really feel the choices we are making and then chose differently. Sugar is addictive, but it is about looking at why we don’t want to feel present in our bodies and what are we avoiding. I know I craved sugar because it took me away from feeling stillness and sensitivity in my body.
Wonderful that any addiction can be recognised… Even more so when there is the means to actually heal what is at the core of that addiction
There is so much we can do to support ourselves in our lives one thing being to eliminate refined sugar from our diet. It would save millions and we all know it yet we simply don’t want to see the abuse and harm that these simple choices such as consuming sugar make to our health and wellbeing.
My whole life once upon a time revolved around sugar, what we don’t realise is that consuming sugar opens us up to all sorts of emotional rollercoasters.
Sugar is indeed an addiction as it feeds into our need for comfort and reward which would not be there if we appreciated ourselves.
‘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.’ Isn’t this the illusion we get caught in as our addictions try and blind us to the fact we are doing damage to our body, damage that a doctor sometimes cannot fix with a magic pill or miraculous treatment to clear these past choices – no matter how much we want them to.
Suse we have no idea the damage our addictive behaviours have on our bodies. someone I knew insisted on eating sugary things even though they were diabetic they would work out how and when to take their medication so that they could have a piece of cake or something sugary and they felt they were able to cheat the doctors advise by doing this. This to me shows the absolute arrogance that we can go into so that we defy the very doctors and specialists who are attempting to keep us alive. It made no sense to me.
The word ‘addict’ was derived from the Roman times when a Roman soldier was given ‘an addict ‘ from a conquered land, as a reward for his services . The addict became his property . . . to do his bidding. So when we are addicted to anything we are in fact a slave to that addiction.
We can be addicted to many things, not just foods, even our patterns and behaviours can be a form of addiction when we go to them automatically over and over as a way of dealing with life. They can be hard to break too, feeling as though we are physiologically wedded to them in just the same way we can be to a physical substance.
I can relate to what you are sharing Jenny and these patterns and behaviours can feel life times old as we reincarnate with them again and again until we heal the root cause of the hurt.
Robyn, thank you for sharing your experiences of being addicted to sugar, I can see how it is quite common to be adducted to sugar and yet it is such an acceptable commodity in our society that this addiction is often not seen or spoken about until it becomes an illness or diseases like diabetes.
I would love to hear about the next step of your journey and how you finally eliminated refined sugar from your diet .. what steps did you take and how you cleared this long addiction from your body so you now no longer ‘need’ it.
‘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.’ I guess this is a very common thought, we think we can get away with unhealthy patterns, look at the horrible images and sayings on packages of cigarettes nowadays, it doesn’t work until we are getting honest and truly feel we are sabotaging and harming our body and how precious we are.
I can play games with sugar and fool myself into thinking it only has a brief effect on me but I know when I have some it changes my cognisance not only that day but also for atleast the next few days meaning I become a lot more reactive and frustrated to what is going on around me. I can think oh a little bit does not matter but a little bit slowly or in some cases quite quickly escalates into a lot and then it takes real determination to drop the desire to have more as it tries extremely hard to pull you back in to want more.
I would definitely say sugar is no different to any other addictive drug. Today I had a mini meringue and that was it, the cravings kept increasing with each one I had. Cutting me off from my sugar-free lightnes and ease I feel while at work. Today I was constantly distracted by wanting another sweet. It didn’t feel good but I chose to be distracted from what I am feeling and my body is telling me the reward for wanting to be unaware of my feelings is mouth blisters, itching, a tightness in my chest, arms and jaw.
I was talking about this to a friend at the gym yesterday he was saying about how he only drinks occasionally now because he feels so bad after, this got us talking about the effects of sugar which made me realise many people do not want to admit the harm it really does to them.
Samantha, isn’t it interesting how we lie to ourselves by saying we only drink occasionally in your friends case because he feels so bad after drinking, so then my question would be why drink at all knowing it makes us feel bad? Even small amounts of alcohol is an assault on our bodies, one day we will admit this to ourselves and stop drinking not only will our bodies feel the difference but we will save huge amounts of money too.
Robyn it is great that you talk about sugar being a drug as many see it as a harmless product that sweetens our food. What we don’t realise is just how addictive it is and that it makes our body very racy, drives us and in excess makes us ill no different to taking cocaine. It was only when I stopped eating sugar that I could feel what it was really doing to my body, the raciness the tingling feeling in my feet, a foggyness in my thoughts, the headaches if I ate too much. I have just about eliminated all sugar products from my diet, so if I have sugary foods now it goes straight to my head and body, a feeling I used to get when I drank alcohol.
I’m sure there are studies that show sugar produces the same result in our brain as cocaine and other highly addictive drugs. I know it was a massive addiction for me – I used to use all my lunch money purely on sweets, fizzy drinks and cookies. It had a massive hold on me, I choose now to not eat sugar, but if I ever slip back into it there is that same pull and addiction and one is never enough. Sugar is definitely addictive and I think it’s good to call it for what it is.
Meg humanity has made studies about many topics that affect us, but they are just studies that stay on the paper they are written on because we do not want to change our ways, we like the comfort that eating sugary things give us as a cushion to counter the hurts we have taken on. When we heal these hurts it is very interesting to observe that the want or the need of sugar evaporates from our bodies and we are left feeling the deliciousness of who we truly are so that we actually say no to sugar. Because we have become so sensitive to the effects that sugar has on our bodies that we get to a point where we just don’t want to be racy any more as it disturbs the stillness we can feel which is exquisite. It is the stillness that our spirit runs away from and so keeps us in the raciness and distraction of life.
The energy of addiction is in many areas of life and by shining the light on it, that is by seeing it as an addiction, perhaps even when the rest of society says its okay, there is an opportunity to resolve the underlying issue.
Great Article Robyn but I want to know the rest of the story! Were you successful in kicking the habit so to speak? Is sugar now not in your life and if so how was the transition and do you have a substitute addiction or are you free?
Sometimes all it takes is one moment to stop and honestly look at what is going on with ourselves to really make the changes our bodies are asking for.
I have been eating sugar in my diet recently (I was not having this for a while and know I am doing this because I do not want to feel or read life to the extent I know I can or hold my presence in authority so use sugar to become racy instead of holding and being with the stillness within or being clear .. crazy I know and something I am willing to look at.) However, what I have found is it feels like I have a hangover and also can see how it affects the health of my eyes, they are sore, tired, ache and my vision seems worse and I know this is because of the sugar.
The sugar industry likes to portray sugar as a natural food product but if you really stop and consider its production process it is no different to tobacco or coccaine in terms of the concentrated highly addictive substance that is produced at the end which is a long way away from the original plant.
I used to love love love sugar filled foods and anything sweet but as I look back at my old patterns of this behaviour I realise how much it distorted my sense of taste. It made me need and seek stimulating foods and as such I saw vegetables as very dull and boring foods.
Giving up re-fined sugar was by far the hardest thing I have ever given up food wise. Having been accustomed to eating chocolate, puddings, fruit yoghurts, biscuits, soda and much more on a daily basis, it was a very slow process and took many years. So when it is written that it is more addictive than cocaine, I can well believe it. Now I am feeling the health benefits of not consuming copious amounts of sugar and can eat a small amount of fruit, and if I eat too much or have something that is too sweat I very quickly get a headache or some other form of discomfort in my body.
Sugar is one of those substances that if you start eating it, you will want more the next day and the next.
Julie I agree as someone who ate a lot of sugary foods and drinks all my life I was not aware of the harm the sugar was having on my body. To me it seems as though there is a science behind the want or need to eat sugar that we are not prepared to look at so while there is a demand for sugar from humanity there will be a supply. If there was no demand there would be no supply. We like to point the finger at the big corporations but they are just filling the demand – we need to look at ourselves first and take note of what we are all calling for.
Most people don’t associate sugar as an addiction, it is just as harmful as the hard core substances and your supplier are the manufacturers.
I used to eat sugar as a form of treat as I thought was deserving of it after working hard all week or when I was tired as a pick me up.
But in the last couple of years I have started to look within myself as to why it is my go to and when I am finding I am not with myself then I go into the doing instead of being with myself – what a game changer.
Quitting sugar completely was one of the most wisest decisions I have ever made to date.
I’ve never had heroin, or any other recreational drugs, but I have known for about 30 years that sugar, and particularly chocolate are like a drug in my body. I get an immediate (literally within 30 secs) high, I become almost manic, and then I crash. The withdrawal is ugly with mood swings and depression, and it lasts days. Its fantastic how the body tells us when something is not wanted by our particular body.
Heather Pope I have also been told by a family member that when they gave up Coffee they had terrible withdrawn symptoms, headaches sweats, shakes etc., they said it was like coming off heroin, not that they had ever taken that drug but they had read enough about the side effects to say that coming off the addiction to coffee was very similar. They almost didn’t stay the course as the withdrawal symptoms were so strong. What is this something that we are all running away from? It must be so powerful and potent that we have to constantly distract ourselves in order not to go there? What are we all avoiding at all cost even knowing we are destroying ourselves in the process.
Yeah it’s pretty exposing when we accept that we are actually more addicted to things than we think. I’ve had a love affair with sugar myself, and the more I refine my diet, the more clever I get with ways to sneak it in there. I might no longer consume refined sugar, but have you noticed just how many ‘alternatives’ there are out there now. It’s insane. It’s a smorgasbord of choice and potency….
Long ago I realised the effects of sugar on my system, especially when combined with milk the bloating was awful, so along the way I changed to other forms of sugar like honey but that did not sit well, so it has been a relative easy process to eliminate sugar in its many forms in my diet, I also cut out most fruits from my diet, and finding by doing so the arthritis I had in my fingers has cleared up as a result.
I can attest that the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with from a dietary point of view is sugar. For years I had a high sugar diet. Today, I have absolutely no refined sugar in my diet. And as such, I am accutely sensitive to sugar overload. I can even feel the effect 2 apples or a small bowl full of cherries or a teaspoon of honey has on my metabolism and my mood, and when I introduce such things back into my diet to any great degree, they can very quickly take a hold again by becoming habit forming. And this is not to say one should not eat fruit. That is not my point, but rather just how addictive the taste of sugar, even in natural sources, is, and equally what a detrimental effect it can have on one’s vitality.
There is no doubt sugar is totally addictive and there have been times when I have been under it’s ‘spell’. However, like you Robyn, I now realise that it is a choice; a choice to numb, hide and bury feelings or not. Thank you for exposing the evil and harm of sugar and, in fact, any form of addiction.
I totally appreciate what you share Robyn. What ever is the preferred way to get the ‘fix’ we crave we can be very clever in manipulating quantity and frequency to keep our bodies at a level where they continue to ‘manage’ the effects. We can push this to serious illness or choose to face it in those moments of realisation.
Our relationships with life and its threads have become so thin that our relationships with anxiety, overwhelm, stimulation and food seeking like sugar for example have become more real than our connection to the stars and each other.
Harrison I agree we have become so totally self obsessed that we do not look to the stars as our ancestors once did. In fact it is almost as though this is deliberate action on our part so that we no longer have the reflection of where we come from.
Great bog Robyn. i have struggled with sugar addiction for a long time. Now I can see the same addictive patterns with fruit. My diet is constantly asking to be looked at and refined.
Ignoring the body’s messages and in effect abusing our health to do something is a loud and clear unwise choice, but how many of us are willing to be honest truly, which in my understanding is a choice that becomes possible when we begin to feel the love within ourselves. The truth is when we feel how precious we are, the choices we make in life will start to change to reflect this preciousness.
Honesty with our food is a rare quality, but one that is extremely necessary. Food choices speak loudly in our body with mood swings, raciness, indigestion, over or under weight and many other symptoms. It’s time we started looking at food more honestly to see what is right for our particular body.
Yes Fiona and for some it is chocolate and the list goes on with others that may not be as obvious yet carry the same feeling of angst that leads us into displaying patterns of behaviour that are not uncovering what is truly going on. I can recall using ‘working long hours’ as my excuse and used it as a drug to keep feeding the next project. I knew I got recognition and all the accolades but deep down inside there was an emptiness and feeling that I was never enough. Like sugar these patterns and choices of distraction whether common or hiding under the radar have a purpose and that is to take us away from the joy and simplicity that we can live our lives if and when we choose to.
Many times over the years I used the expression ‘I have a sweet tooth’ as an excuse for my sugar addiction and my teeth constantly showed me the consequences with many very uncomfortable visits to the dentist for fillings – no numbing injections at the dentist when I was a child. I can still feel the tug for refined sugar substitutes in fruit and am very aware of anything that tastes sweet.
I was having a meal with 2 friends last week when we got talking about sugar and how challenging it can be to cut it out of our diet and acknowledging just how addictive it is. The conversation then went on to examine the reasons why we choose such an addictive substance to numb out from what is happening around us. It feels really important to have these conversations because only then will be able to start addressing the seemingly all pervasive need for the sweet stuff that causes us so many problems. By understanding not only what we are doing to our bodies but why we feel the need to escape from our everyday reality we can start to address the behaviours that contribute to these self abusive actions.
at the moment in our community, there are many headlines about the prevalence of the drug ice… We even got featured on the national news programme… Much to the horror of the new Mayor… But what if the headlines actually screamed out at people… diabetes will break the bank, nation heading on a sugar rush to the brink Of economic disaster with the health systems will not cope… These are the truth as well
Trying to quit sugar, cake and chocolate was a really big challenge for me. In the early days the cravings were strong. At home it was easier as I made sure I didn’t buy any, but in the staff room at work there were always cakes and biscuits on the table. My hand would be on the plate and the cake/biscuit in my mouth before I could even think the word no. Eventually after having longer breaks away from it I began to feel the after taste of sugar in my mouth for up to 2 days afterwards… my tongue would feel furry and my body would feel heavy and buzzy. After a while, feeling these effects enabled me to give it up. The choice to eat tons of sugar was a ploy to keep me from not feeling everything that was there to be felt.
Sugar, sugar, sugar – boy oh boy do we all desire the sweetness it brings. However, something I have found is that no amount of sweetness will ever come close to the sweetness of love I have felt from myself or from another. I used to say to my wife she was the sweetest thing on earth and I meant it – I still do. Sugar can and will only ever act as a temporary substitute to not feeling the sweetest and love within ourselves and long term it depletes the body causing the inner sweetness to dissipate. The choice is obvious yet it is not always one we make, yet when I stop and say what do I value most the choice is always obvious.
I really understand this extreme sugar addiction as it is something I have been through also most of my life and it was only through understanding the harm i was doing myself and the lack of stillness and presence in my body that was lost with sugar and other foods that I was able to understand and from this understanding let go of sugar as i also found now instantly if I have a tiny bit of sugar in any form i cannot keep focused or awake the effect is so extreme in my body.
The why is the important aspect, that part we often don’t see or consider when we try to stop an addictive behaviour, but will power doesn’t bring understanding, that understanding of why we make a self harming choice feels like the most important aspects. Thanks Robyn for your honesty in looking at an issue that affects so many of us.
I don’t eat much sugar and slowly over the last few years more and more sweet things have fallen away from what I choose to eat. Recently I had a piece of cake and it was a very interesting experience. From the moment it hit my mouth I wanted more – that was the drug kicking in. It was then hard to stop and I ate it until I felt quite sick. Many other things followed and the cake ended up going in the bin. The next day I had thoughts of digging it out of the bin to eat. If this is not a drug, what is it?
The harm with sugar addiction is that it is so widely accepted and very difficult to avoid when purchasing produced food. I found it easier to give up cigarettes and alcohol than sugar
Very true Mary, we cannot just blame the food industry as they give us what we are asking for. Imagine that they stop providing from today, the true state of our society and how exhausted (and addicted to sugar) we are will be visible.
It is really important for us all to take seriously the damage these cravings we have can do to our bodies . For a little bit of pleasure (seconds in our mouths) can end with a lifetime of pain!
I became aware without a doubt as to what a drug sugar was once I began to cut it out of my diet. What I discovered was that with less sugar I could really feel its effect when I did have it. One mouthful and then there was such a craving to have more and more and more. One mouthful of cake was never enough. Even savoury crackers that had sugar on them had a very more-ish affect. Sugar is very addictive and if you don’t believe it, try to stop eating it!
I know this feeling: “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 feeling of not being in control at all, even though we might think we choose to take that next lolly, or what ever food we crave, if it is not to nourish our body there has to come a moment we realise we are not really thinking but we are just acting out the energy we have chosen, mostly to not feel something.
I recall going on a candida diet many years ago. This involved eliminating a lot of foods from my diet and sugar was one of them. I have to say that the 1st 2 weeks were very difficult. I was emotional, stressed, craving sugar like I have never done (We definitely crave something more when we don’t get it, and there is nothing to meet out needs) Lets face it a lettuce leaf and some broccoli don’t cut the mustard when it comes to meeting the need of a sugar craving.But I have to say that I felt incredible after that period. Unfortunately it was no long lasting and I end back on the sweet stuff. But what that process really highlighted for me was the effect that sugar was having on my body and also the quality of my thoughts and behaviours. We seem to acknowledge the effect that sugar has on children, but we don’t seem to think that it happens to us as adults, like we grow out of it or something. Perhaps it’s just that kids are just honest regardless and they haven’t yet learned the ways to mask the effects of our chosen poison.
Very interesting point Jennifer: “But what that process really highlighted for me was the effect that sugar was having on my body and also the quality of my thoughts and behaviours. ” I find we often just look at our stomach and energy levels to see the effect food has on us and not at the quality of our thoughts and behaviours and that they too can change because of the foods we consume. Knowing that food can alter the way we feel, think and behave is something important to acknowledge and as you said is no different to the behavioural changes we see in children. It can support us to be more in harmony with our bodies as I find when I eat a food my body does not like I can start to feel very reactive and explosive even though I am normally not like that at all!
Re-reading this blog is a great reminder and confirmation of the totally addictive properties of sugar in any form. Having been off sugar for several years and occasionally getting caught up in the pull back to eat it again – it is very noticeable how deeply this affects my body – aches and pains in various areas, cramp, feeling dulled in awareness and horribly racy in my thoughts, nervous system and in the way I then move.
I have never considered I had or have a sugar addiction, I’ve not ever been big on sweets or chocolate, but over the past few days I realise I do, I choose sugar, it can be in fruits, nuts you name it, it doesn’t need to be chocolate, I can find a substitute for sugar anywhere. This is one because I am exhausted from how I am living, checked out, reacting and in my head a lot of the time, and two even more so and even bigger than that is that I use sugar as a way to create stimulation, to make me racy and avoid reading things, e.g feel the energy at play around me, what’s going on, why is that happening, what’s coming through people and situations, and bringing more love and understanding. But the food is the last thing, there is something else I need to look at, lack of responsibility I would say, well before thinking I have a food issues. It’s not the food, this is just a final outplay. I have tried to stop eating certain foods, but I just find another food to replace this with. So rather than give myself a hard time, and abuse by body by force, I say okay lets go for the most loving and healthy and least physically harmful option, and get support with what’s underlying in all this. It’s only once I look at that will the food thing go away.
Just like we are now realising how deeply harming and bad for us smoking is, so to will it be known how deeply harming and poisonous sugar is to us in our body our society and all of humanity.
It is hard to find any service station these days that is not loaded to the max with refined sugars. Even plain drinking water is a rarity, with juices, flavoured waters, soft drinks, caffeinated drinks etc. filling up the shelves. What is this saying about our epidemic addiction to sugar, where we can get our fix at almost every corner?
When something as ubiquitous as sugar is exposed in all its addictiveness … It is certainly a wake-up call for the world … Because at the moment sugar, along with caffeine and alcohol, are certainly fueling so much dysfunction in the world.
And what if sugar, caffeine and alchol were removed from the world for a day, there would be utter chaos and our reliance on these stimulants would be exposed. It is amazing how many products you find sugar in, I have even seen it in salmon which is crazy but shows that there is an underlying ploy of using sugar as a way of getting us to want more of the product. The question is when will we all open our eyes and actually want to see the reality of how these products are actually effecting us?
Usually when I look for something sweet it is for a pick me up. I have not eaten refined sugar for a long time and have gradually let go of other sugar rich foods such as honey and the various sweeteners and fruit. Recently I went back to using xylitol sweetened peppermints to save me when I felt tired, uncertain, or felt that I needed a little something. Having been attending Universal Medicine courses recently I have not wanted a xylitol peppermint at all. I have reconnected again to myself at a deeper level and am appreciating the stillness that is in my body which I would not want to compromise. This allows me a fuller relationship with myself so that those moments of uncertainty or wanting to be pepped up do not feature. I am also more accepting of the true tiredness that is in my body, also at a deeper level, and willing to address this by taking more care with myself.
Sugar is a drug, and a very addictive and poisonous one to our bodies too, people need to know and fully understand this fact.
I like to imagine that our world has no sugar, that it just run out or got banned because we realised how harmful it was. Everyone would go cold turkey and have withdrawals like you would with any drug, I can see how people would be crazy and moody then after some time once the cravings have left , the body would feel lighter, clearer, energetic and more focused. Ultimately the less people consume sugar the more harmony we have.
We can convince ourselves otherwise but nothing will change the fact that sugar is a known poison to the body. By choosing sugar we are choosing self abuse.
Its a powerful story Robyn, to look at how much effort we can go to in finding that sugar hit. Even now when I don’t have refined sugar I will have cravings for sugar, and those sugar free alternatives that are actually just as sugary disguise badly the addiction we have in society with sugar. I know how much I have gone out of my way to find a sugar free sugar hit, and judging the supermarket aisles, petrol stations and cinemas to name three examples, sugar is the mass drug the population is controlled with. Seems a strong statement yet I know how much my thought process runs out of control when I have excess sugar in my blood.
You are spot on Robyn, sugar consumption is increasingly being exposed for the demon it is to the human body and it’s highly addictive nature. I also grew up very fixated on sugar, it definitely provided a ‘fix’ of some sort that somehow made life feel better. I never questioned why I needed to feel better than I was, although today I understand that all too well. Today I live with a very solid connection to the love within me, and have no need whatsoever for refined sugar, or any sweetener for that matter, and haven’t for many years now. My body is very grateful for the shift and gets me around far more efficiently and effortlessly than ever before too!
Sugar is the accepted drug of choice for so many people. For me it stops me feeling whatever have come up for me to look at almost instantly. But like with anything you can’t just have a part of it that suits you. The consequences are then much bigger than simply not feeling what has come up as then the body becomes more depleted, you become irritable, tired etc.. and so other areas of your life get affected. There are no innocent choices which we can keep concealed in a room – everything affects everything!
Sugar would have to be one of the deepest addictions, you have only to see how entrenched it is in almost every culture – and how fiercely championed by industry and people who are yet to understand its insidious hold. It may not seem as extreme as cocaine yet the results are with us in the every moment when we do not choose raciness over true connection.
I can relate to this, I have been a sugar addict my whole life from very young- it was a way to avoid feeling what was going on, I used to emotionally eat and sugar was what I always reached for. Recently I have given it up all together and now have been feeling how exhausted I actually feel. I have tried to give up sugar previously but not been able too. This time my will was greater and I was surprised how I was able to let it go. It will not be something I will return too as the emotional highs and lows from eating it are not worth the few seconds of elation.
Good on you MW.
A great exposure of the addictive nature of sugar. Sadly it has been sold as a legal and normal drug regardless of the substantial physiological side effects. We tend to override and ignore these until they become too loud. Awareness is definitely the key, followed by an absolute commitment and will power to wean ourselves off what society has basically breast fed us on from young.
I continually deepen my understanding of addiction to sugar, the more research I do the more food I find it in, the more I realise there is a whole industry feeding and enabling my addiction. It is quite normal to be dependent on this little substance.
This is so true Lucy. I read the ingredients of avocado dip the other day and was blown away when I saw it had sugar in it. Now why would sugar be necessary in avocado dip of all things???!
More to the point, are we additicted to denseness, dullness, heaviness, dampness and numbness? I say this because the addictive behaviour you describe Robin is common among so many different substances, tastes and forms. In fact there are nearly countless substances that we could have an addiction with, and in nearly all my own experiences with such patterns and behaviours, it is always a sensation of feeling lighter in ones body and then feeling the craving and then seeing the fix.
It took a few years of not eating gluten and dairy to then get to the stage of being aware of how I felt after eating sugar or anything sweet, even fruit. So first it was refined sugars that went, then in came the honey and other sweeteners and more fruit and then I felt how the other sweeteners felt so these went and then how fruit was. A gradual process but by seeing that when I have the craving for more fruit now it is telling me something about myself. Sugar is a drug and almost worse because it is not seen in this way as we are very clever and find an antidote to how sugar makes us feel (usually more stimulating food or drink!) I found other food could mask the true effects of sugar and it was not until I stopped eating it I could feel and see it in this way.
Its only when you give something up that you realise how bad it was for you
An addiction to sugar is very pervasive as it is not only legal but is also present in so many foods and drinks on offer on the shop shelves. I had not realised the hold my sugar addiction had on me until I chose to stop taking the drug.
Thank you Robyn for sharing your experience, I could relate to loving lollies as a child and I went through a phase of stealing money to buy them, which later on resulted in many trips to the dentist, through my adult life I have had a tendency to low blood sugar and with this, sugar has been off my list for a very long time.
I have stopped eating refined sugar years ago, but recently I was travelling and had to try this dairy-free, gluten free nougat in Europe, can’t be that bad after all and I deserved a treat I felt. Well I had some and about 10 minutes later I was dizzy and needed to sit down and felt like I had been drugged. I drank copious amounts of water to try and flush some of the sugar out of my body, unpleasant as it was it was a great reminder of the reasons why I don’t eat sugar and how harming it is to the body.
I often come back to this blog, and in fact all the blogs on sugar as I keep getting a better understanding of how much of a hold it can have on us, how dangerous it is and how complicit food manufacturing companies are in producing so many convenience foods with sugar in them. It makes it incredibly hard to get sugar out of the diet as everything has been tweaked ‘just a little’ for taste or as a preservative. The more we talk about how much sugar is in and its addictive nature the better because the trajectory for obesity and diabetes means we will soon have no health service to deal with it.
Wow I could have written this blog and sugar is my drug of choice and still my weakness when I don’t take responsibility to go deeper and feel what is happening in my body. When I accept responsibility for what I am feeling when I crave sugar the craving goes away.
Hi Robyn, thanks for sharing your addiction to sugar. I am reflecting on how as a society we allow the addiction to sugar and it’s subsequent behaviours and health implication to go by unchallenged. The health implications are huge – doctors, dentists, the fact that it alters who we are and affects our ability to learn, not to mention how driven we can become in our effort to keep the substance at hand as needed. Your honesty exposes this hidden epidemic and calls for us all to deeply consider what is truly going on. Great article.
Robyn – to say sugar is as addictive as cocaine is spot on. And absolutely it is accessible everywhere. It absolutely contributes to a decline in health and an incline in obesity rates. So what does sugar do? – it makes the body racy, and when we are racy we don’t have to be responsible or just sit with ourselves and feel where our bodies are at. So sugar can act as a really good ‘get out’ card. But we have to be honest with the harm sugar does, and why we reach for it. What it is that we don’t want to feel. Your experience of dropping foods that you knew dulled you (such as gluten and dairy) most probably allowed your body to be more sensitive and therefore start to feel what sugar does. So it is also my experience that the more I am willing to look at how I feel in my body and what my choices are, the more that comes up to be addressed.
Amazing blog Robyn, this is occurring everywhere in the world and we think it is normal – yet it is an addiction and harmful too. Where you have come from with sugar is amazing in comparison to where you were, and I like how you look at it from a different point of view, looking further than ‘I just like sugar’, but finding underneath what it is that we are addicted to. Powerful message to us all, and how we can not (ever) think that we can get away with things like that – we always pay back and pay the consequences (or at least our body does) until we decide to suffer no more from loveless acts.
‘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’. Wow, now this is the type of awareness I would like to be hearing and reading about in the news with follow on reports based on true science of how we can support our bodies to live a life free of such addictions.
The research on the addictive nature of sugar is something we will choose to see and hear or not depending on how addicted we are! For me it explains how incredibly hard it is to give up. That is, till I took time to work out what sugar gave me, what feeling it fed and why I didn’t want to feel what I was feeling. Exhaustion was one ‘avoid at any cost’ emotion and stillness was the other. It took a long while to be honest about that. Anxious and racy was far more familiar and in the familiar I knew how to cope. I see this in so many around me and see it as something we need to talk about with the epidemic of prediabetes that is just waiting round the corner.
It is not so much the sugar we are addicted to, but the state of being it brings us. Yes, there is a physical addiction, a chemical alteration in the body that causes us to crave certain things. But underneath all of that is a very clear calculated choice to take a substance that we know will give us a state of being that suits us. Thus a diet high in sugar will make us racy, and even anxious. It stimulates us so that we can overcome our exhaustion. Now, we may not like the anxiousness, but the truth is we prefer that to feeling the world in its entirety. In other words, we choose our own form of suffering.
Is it any wonder so many of us are now crawling out of the woodwork about our sugar addictions, when the substance is literally in every mouthful we consume unless we’re hyper-filtering with our food purchases? I groaned the other day when seeking a light lunch on the go, to find that some seemingly innocuous prawns not only contained salt, but sugar as well. ‘Why?’ hardly does my indignation justice. That governments still continue to drag their feet on this travesty in the face of the food industry giants is practically a crime against humanity. We are literally eating ourselves to death via totally avoidable but self-inflicted diseases that are highly correlated to the consumption of sugar. Where is the duty of care towards the population never mind towards the rocketing health budget?
It goes to show our true level of responsibility- we are happy to accept many things as long as they are not happening to us. Only when we actually become ill do we stop to consider how we got there, if at all. We need to start looking at what is really going on all around us with both eyes wide open.
An extremely honest account of an addiction, and no surprise to read of the similarity in the addiction behaviour…. Addiction is addiction , whether it to be music , sugar, drugs or exercise… it is always a chemical symphony that we are addicted to feeling in our bodies, and when we let go of it the release is extraordinary
Sugar has become so engrained in the modern diet, I am not sure we understand half of what it does. Over the years I have reduced my reliance of sugar, but this has happened naturally as I have worked out what was really exhausting me – the drive, the ambition, the disconnection to my body. There are a myriad of things that TRULY exhaust us, which is what is truly underneath our addiction to sugar. The truth however is that nobody is addicted to sugar. The truth is there is no such thing as addiction. There is only deep familiarity with a way of being that gives us what we want. And when we do not like the side effects of that, we call it addiction. When it gives us what we want, we call it love.
I realised recently that although I have stopped eating foods that contain refined sugar in them, I was still searching for and longing for foods that would create the same effect in my body – which came as a shock because what I was reaching for was a piece of lettuce. Healthy right? What possible harm could a piece of lettuce do? However, the way I was eating it, grabbing for it, devouring it in to my mouth was nothing short of the exact same behaviour as when I would reach for sugary foods. So, even though I have managed to re-train myself with discipline and dedication and I do feel much lighter and vital without refined sugar in my life, I have not as yet managed to heal the underlying impulse that still exists in my body that calls out for numbness and distraction.
‘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.’ Robyn I know this voice, I too think I can get away with things because no one else is looking! I recently had the confronting experience of a naturopath explaining exactly what my biochemistry was telling her – and although my blood sugars were still in the normal range they were creeping up again, a reflection of my decrease in my commitment to myself over the last 6 months. Time to nip that in the bud and look to the underlying cause.
Thank you Robyn yes sugar is quite the drug; it is a drug that many people are addicted to whether they are prepared to admit it or not. And I agree an excellent way to get to the real reason for one’s ‘addictions’ is to start to understand why we chose to consume whatever our indulgence is; the when and the why are key elements.
I have revisited your article Robyn and I love how refreshingly honest you are.
We all have our areas of addiction don’t we?
I know for me that when I am craving something sweet there is always something greater at play.
Thank you Robyn, a truly inspiring sharing on sugar addiction. I get caught out sometimes with the urge to eat something sweet which usually means some form of sugar. Every time I do this I realize how much I notice foods that have sugar in them and the taste is terrible! Thanks for the reminder Robyn.
Addiction is so pervasive in our society, it runs through all walks of life,… It is so endemic that it is taken for granted and yet it is as if these addictions, from sugar to exercise, to everything else, are the engine continually providing the momentum that keeps society running on the rails to chaos and calamity.
Yes, Chris, we are on a collision course to messiness, and then more messiness. When will the madness end?
I have found sugar the hardest thing to eliminate from my diet as when a sugar craving hits I find it almost impossible to say no to – I can look at my situations and reactions but the physiological response is so strong. The other thing I have found is that I can’t really consume just a little bit as once the body has a taste for it it just wants more. I have to actively think how I will support myself physically if a craving hits. If you don’t live with a lot of awareness around what you eat it is easy to understand how you can go into autopilot and consume vast amounts of sugar.
Why does sugar hold so much control over us? In a time when obesity is plaguing our societies, what is it that sugar has that makes all of us, of any shape and size just keep wanting more? I find that if I eat it, I feel so unbelievably racy and tense, like my body has been taken over by a drug. But it is in almost every food, unless you make the food yourself. But this is in some way the only way to take back control, or mastery, of our diets and as such to stop being dictated to by the food industry about what will be included in our meals.
‘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.’ – This was what I first noticed about sugar many years ago, with no understanding of what was going on. Over time I have cut out the sugar, only to then occasionally ‘crack’ and eat some more. What I have noticed is that for about 3 days after a sugar hit, I have to battle a strong urge to eat sweet things… it’s palpable and requires a strong will to avoid getting caught up again in the addiction.
Yes, it does require a strong will to avoid getting caught up again in the addiction but also a deeper understanding of why we go back to the sugar and what is going on in that particular moment. I had some sugar couple of weeks ago (toffees) after a very long time of no sugar and it was great to stop for a moment and to explore why I made that choice. No judging, just being honest. But then it is not only with sugar, but with other foods as well. I still eat things that don’t agree with my body but with some foods, it really takes time to say goodbye.
I love this exposure of how sugar is a drug. I also used to be addicted to it, and still do crave it when I’m feeling a bit off. But the less I have of it (and now I hardly have any) when I do have a little splurge I get a sugar hangover. The other week I went out for lunch and had a Vietnamese Pho soup, thinking it would tick all my food requirement boxes. But in actual fact the broth itself was super sweet from sugar being added to it. Now, I should have just not eaten it, but somehow convinced myself that it wasn’t going to do me any harm. But the rest of the day I had a very sore bloated stomach and I also noticed a racy uneasy feeling in my body and actually couldn’t concentrate on any work. It was a bit like being drunk. And I woke up the next day feeling like I had been partying the night before. I couldn’t even face eating a apple for a few days after that because the thought of any sweetness turned my stomach.
This addiction to sugar is quite known to me, I have come to feel the constant stimulation it brought to my body, which definitely doesn’t feel true to me, as it numbs every other feeling. It is a great addiction to not feel what is going on, as are all addictions.
I can so relate to your past drug addiction Robyn, I can say I too was an addict! I used to steal money from my dad to go to the local sweetshop, I remember waking up and the first thing I would think about was where was I going to get my next sugar fix. It is absolutely crazy to think of how much humanity is addicted to this substance and all because we are not wanting to feel who we truly are.
Your pattern of behaviour as a kid sounds exactly like a pretty full on drug addict, and I remember a time when my sister and I would do the same thing… pinching some change out of my Mum’s wallet so we could go down the shops and feed the habit. Now that is exactly what a heroin addict does…
‘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’. That is exactly the feeling I used to get when I ate refined sugars (in particular sorbet) – I’d just pass out about 20 minutes afterwards and could never understand why. It led me to giving sugar up (no perfection) but thank you for exposing why it happens.
Sugar is ingrained within medicine, I am aware that in Australia the hospital meals often come with desserts, yoghurts, custards, tinned fruits, plain biscuits and they all have quite a bit of sugar added – I would be surprised if these meals even had less than the recommended 6 teaspoons of sugar or less a day as recommended by the WHO. I know that eating sugar in my body lowers my immune system, if I am getting a common cold or virus it can make the difference between getting over it before it starts or how quickly I heal from it. I don’t remember the last time I had a cold actually since taking sugar out of my diet and am convinced my body has a better healing capacity for it.
Yes this is a great point. It does not make sense that our hospitals are serving up meals laden with sugar when we are in a process of healing.
The true horror here is that sugar continues to be permitted to pass into our supermarkets, shamelessly evident in some food and hidden surreptitiously in others, allowed into our shopping trolleys, from there to our fridges and onto our forks. There’s no SWAT team from the drugs squad ready to pounce at every point in the food chain to our mouths, in pursuit of confiscating the stash. And yet this IS a well-known drug, with clearly evident health implications. That governments and the agricultural, retail, food and drink sectors are actively avoiding addressing this absolute truth is shameful and reprehensible.
The UK Government is vascillating about whether to tax sugar or not… to me this is a no brainer as the studies of how much our sugar addiction is costing the NHS show it is staggering. My feeling is that the only thing that is holding them back is the incredibly strong food industry that is lobbying against the tax, happy in the irresponsibility and wallowing in their profits at the expense of who they serve.
Addiction is something really interesting to observe. Reading you would play ‘Russian Roulette’ with you health but also steal is is amazing, and I assume this would not be things you would do without that huge craving for sugar. Addictions really make us out of control and do things we otherwise never would. I noticed this in a mild form myself the other day, not with sugar but just ‘normal’ food, I could just not stop snacking! This is a really horrible feeling to be so ‘out of control’. For me what supports me is to feel it is not me and to really see what I am doing and knowing this is not something I would like to do. From there true change can occur.
This stood out for me too Lieke. It is certainly not intelligent or wise to be making these choices of ‘Russian Roulette’ when our body is clearly communicating that sugar is no longer ok for it to eat. Yet this is what addictions make us do, we are putting need ahead of Love.
“…we are putting need ahead of Love.” This is a great description of addiction and the behaviours that come with it Joshua.
A great sharing Robyn, thankyou. It’s curious how we only seriously consider addiction if the substance is deemed illegal. I know many people who are addicted to sugar, alcohol (more sugar) and a personal favourite from my past, caffeine – yet these substances are all legal. It is as if by making them legal, we afford ourselves as excuse to abuse our bodies with such substances under the guise that it is not harming us, otherwise they wouldn’t be legal, right? Wrong. We crave most what it is we lack. With sugar, it is our natural sweetness that we bury beneath a chosen mask we show to the world in order to do what we think we need to do to get by, be successful, be accepted etc., when really to live ‘who we are not’ at the expense of ‘who we truly are’, invites a bitterness and resentment into the body that is of course, going to crave something sweet to mask its flavour. Sugar is simply a substitute for the love we are but refuse to live.
“we afford ourselves as excuse to abuse our bodies with such substances under the guise that it is not harming us, otherwise they wouldn’t be legal, right? Wrong.” So true Liane. We know very well what is harming our body and what is not being the products illegal or not. Making these products legal just helps us to be ignorant of the fact and in truth lying to ourselves about it. We know cigarettes are bad for us, I know there are certain foods I should not eat but indeed as you say, when I choose to not feel what is going on and reject my own loveliness these foods are easy ways to make me numb to what is going on!
Thank you Robyn for sharing, I was addicted to sugar as a teenager and ended up with dental problems, later on in life, I started to feel the ill effects of sugar on my body, and would avoid it, instead went into honey thinking that it was not so harmful, I know different now, and certainly avoid eating it .
Such a brilliant sharing Robyn. When you mention ‘a part of you thought that you could get away with this type of behaviour – that you were invincible’ and ‘it would never happen to me attitude’. I could clearly relate to this type of constant behaviour starting in my childhood. Having to miss school on many Mondays because of the weekend binges on high sugar foods at my grandparents house. Even now although after cutting back on the more obvious refined sugars, certain foods still can ‘grab me’ (wanting more) as after the cooking process more sugars are released and my body still responds the same. Great lesson into truly listening/feeling what our bodies are constantly revealing to us.
Yes, listening and feeling our bodies and it’s messages is great. Honouring these are what takes us to another level of respecting what we are being offered. This is our way forward in defeating our addictions and building a solid foundation of self-love.
We all need to be honest about why we crave sugar and that is to lift us out of the exhaustion we feel and to give us an artificial high to lift our mood. It then becomes a vicious circle of what goes up must come down, so when you are down just as you do with any drug you crave more. Looking at how you live your day to day, checking in with what seems so simple such as going to bed early and getting a rejuvenating sleep, not pushing yourself when you are tired, not getting caught in the emotional dramas that seem to always readily be at hand to engage in our every day life all go a long way to dealing with a sugar addiction. Any addiction for that matter. We must never underestimate the power and simplicity of self care.
It is easy to see how sugar could be classed as an addictive drug. I have a childhood memory of one of my relatives having the same urges as yourself to eat sugar in many different forms and copious amounts of it and is insulin dependant now – it all adds up. I know from my own experience that if I start eating something sweet, I will want it more and more each day.
Thank you Robyn this is a great article and you inspire me greatly to continue to limit my sugar intake. It’s great that we can gently let go of these harmful behaviours and start living more truthfully – the outcomes always have a positive effect on the body and mind. As you found the addictive pull is quite tenacious in it’s hold, I experience this too and it can be quite confronting to face the need of this drug of choice.
It makes sense to name sugar as one of the major addictions around the world. I really question the energy that is driving the food industry which has managed over the years to keep increasing both the quantity of sugar in foods and the range of common foods to which sugar is added (in some form or another). It’s a sneaky way to keep people addicted if they aren’t consciously checking on the ingredients in what they are eating. And it’s all legal??!!
I find it easy to say no if I understand why I am craving or wanting something sweet. I may be feeling tired, sad, or rundown. When I recognise the cause I can then make a different choice rather than having something sweet, even if it is refined sugar free. I might have a 10 minute lie down instead or sit for a moment and take a breath or investigate further why I am tired. There are so many ways we can support ourselves to not eat sweets other than sheer will power as this does not work long term. Getting honest is a good start.
Robyn, this is a beautiful and supportive practical addition to your blog. I like that you investigate why you are tired and encourage honesty over will-power here. One of the main ways I don’t eat sweet foods when I crave them is not will-power either, it is because I have become familiar with how I feel afterwards and make a choice to not feel racy and anxious rather than not eat the sweet. I dislike how I feel after eating sweets and the domino effect it has on the rest of my day.
I agree Robyn, ‘I find it easy to say no if I understand why I am craving or wanting something sweet. I may be feeling tired, sad, or rundown.’ I agree, if Iam honest about why I want to eat something sweet and have this understanding around it, I can then feel that eating this food will not help and will in fact make me feel worse and so I can say no to the sweet treat and instead choose to be loving and gentle with myself and not try and squash what I am feeling.
And it takes away ‘will power’, as the understanding is what holds us in our choice, no trying needed.
Getting honest is a great start.. whenever I’m craving something, if I just give myself a bit of patience, go for a walk and allow myself to feel what it is that’s driving the craving, then it lets go of me -instead of me having to force myself to let go of it. By allowing ourselves to feel something, we let it go.
Being addicted to sugar is really no Different to being addicted to drugs, caffeine, alcohol and other things, because it is something we use to stimulate our body, and affects our body and our moods so drastically!
Sugar is an addictive substance! I remember I used to have a lot of sugar. It was always lollies, chocolate, cakes, in a cup of tea and sometimes on cereal. I remember when I was 17 and starting to consider different food choices for my body and began to feel how sugar was effecting me, making me always tired when I had it. So I gradually began to cut down on my sugar intake and then one day I just didn’t need it any more.
It is crazy that even when we know something is not good for us we still carry on doing it, maybe until a health scare stops us in our tracks and frightens us. Wouldn’t it be great if we did this lovingly and naturally for ourselves instead of waiting for an illness!
In the past I had also been a big sugar addict along with alcohol and cigarettes, the difference being was that I knew alcohol and cigarettes were bad for me. Its only since being involved with Universal Medicine that I have been made aware of how harmful sugar is and thus significantly reduced my consumption which has resulted in feeling so much energetic and far less mental activity.
I agree Joe. Because it is so freely available and in absolutely every processed food, snack etc there is very little choice. When you consider that, its like we are all being kept at a low dose without really knowing about it, and that is a fundamental state of most of the world population. That is huge, and not a little scary.
We do associate the word Addiction with drugs, alcohol, gambling, tobacco but now there are even more insidious addiction that humanity is taking to , like lemmings to a cliff, with an insatiable appetite for self destruction that is only ever truly assuaged by a knowing of oneself, and healing the hurts that drove one to numbness
The hardest addiction to give up for me has been sugar, even when I feel a little nauseated by it I often still have it in something! Thank you Robyn for sharing your story, it is encouraging to know it can be done I am ready to totally let go of sugar for my bodies sake.
I agree completely Robyn for me sugar has been an addiction too. There is the feelings that coming with it and needing to have it at whatever cost and then also feeling totally wiped out after eating it. I know my body can’t handle it but at times this is overridden by the wanting to have it. When we know something isn’t right for us but the mind is set on having it regardless of the cost to our body- that is an addiction.
It is great to expose the sugar addiction that is lurking – It is definitely something I continue to struggle with on various levels. It seems the more it is talked about the more humanity is realising we are in crisis mode with our health.
I’d also like to add here that salt is no different. In many cases just another addiction. I craved more salty foods over the years and eventually started to eradicate it from my diet. Like sugar it’s just about in every product on the shelves. The interesting thing was that even though I had taken it out of my diet I started to replace it with sugary and sweet foods, so in effect just going to another substance to replace my salt cravings. Previously I had never been tempted by sugary foods.. So what I realised was that sugar and salt were just 2 of my choices in foods I used to comfort, numb, stimulate, excite, distract me from what my body was trying to reveal to me and that is that I was not truly feeling good with myself but lonely, empty and sad. It’s been awesome to attend Universal Medicine workshops, courses and presentations as I have now started to address these deeper issues and my choices of foods is changing naturally without the having to try and change them with will power.
Robyn, awesome subject and one we need to continue bringing further understanding and attention to as it possibly is one of the most destructive of all ‘drugs’ out there in the world today due to how much it has crept insidiously into our lives. Look at how many of the everyday products we buy off the shelf in our supermarkets contain sugar and don’t even taste sweet. We are slowly (or maybe rapidly) being drip fed this poison every day without knowing it. Sort of blows the ‘everything ok in moderation’ belief I hear so often out of the water also. There may be no moderation here but a slow overdose. The scary thing is there are often no acute symptoms as you can experience with diabetes, and so we don’t know the true damage being done to our body by the intake of sugar. This will reveal itself unfortunately when it is too late to stop the damage that has already been done to humanity. Then it will be the slow detox and rehab we must all go through to address our addiction to it.
Sugar is really a drug with bad effects on our health. We just have to look at the high rate of diabetes in our society, which is an illness that can easily lead to death if people do not receive appropriate treatment and nevertheless most people don`t even consider sugar as something which affects their health as long as it`s not them being ill. Many people who can`t eat sugar even take medication so that they can eat it instead of acknowledging that their body does`t want it. We are already made addicted in our childhood with children`s food often being very sweet and sugar being used as a reward when we have done something good or as a replacer for love. Time to face this truth and to get “clean”!
A great blog Robyn, you are absolutely right sugar is a very dangerous drug of addiction, one of which I have fallen foul of.
Thank you for highlighting the insidious, and at times overt, realities of sugar consumption.
It is amazing when you break it down like this Robyn and realise that the behaviours of a sugar addict are indeed very similar, if not the same, as a drug addict. Whatever it takes to get that fix! With the other dietary choices that you had made, with gluten and dairy, it was only a matter of time before your body started to address the next one in line that was doing damage to your body – sugar. I look forward to your next instalment!
Thank you Robyn for your great blogs on the insidious and addictive nature of sugar. I have found it harder to give up than substances that are regarded as addictive.
It’s true, sugar can have a sneaky way of getting back into our diet – especially when it is everywhere and accepted by society as a “natural part of life”. But I feel our addiction to sugar actually has a direct connection to the way we live our “modern” lives, running from one thing to another, stressed and juggling so much that we miss the connection with ourselves and everyone in our lives – so we look for a short-cut, something to pick us up when we are tired, to bring a little sweetness to the pain of knowing that how we are living just isn’t right.
Spot on Hannah, you’ve described a nutshell of my pattern of behaviour when things get a little crazy. When I get a bit over tired my default is to start looking for the pick me that sugar gives… but of course the short term hit quickly fades and I am then left with either having some more, or really having to feel that initial tiredness x 5.
Our society has made sugar a hard thing to get away from. It is in every food packaged or processed and pushed at every celebration in cake or alcohol. I was also addicted to sugar and still feel the pull of it especially when I am tired. It has to be seen in a much more serious light when we consider the disastrous health effects it has throughout our society. Surely with the explosion of conditions like diabetes and obesity it’s time to consider this.
Such an open and honest sharing with us all Robyn. Helen mentions above consuming sugar as ‘sweet poison’ – absolutely it needs the same packaging as cigarettes. With the same health warnings. The strength of our addictions particularly with sugar would, still overrule that too I feel. Our bodies are by far the clearest indicator of what nourishes/harms us. For me it took a health scare to take onboard what I was truly feeding my body (not just the addiction I had with certain foods). Yours sharing Robyn is truly inspiring. Thank you.
I love the way you describe your sugar consuming habit Robyn … disarmingly honest and a bit too familiar for comfort too! I wouldn’t say I was addicted – any more than I was addicted to any other substance. But sugar sure does serve the purpose of keeping me disconnected from myself and from feeling what is really going on around me. Small wonder that our food store shelves are crammed with the stuff and that the demand is so high despite the clear and obvious costs we pay long after we purchase and consume our preferred brand of sweet poison.
I too believe sugar to be a drug that creates cravings and desires and sometimes shameful behaviours to appease these. You just have to watch children and their erratic antics and emotions after a sugar hit to know that it is not healthy or supportive. The funny thing is most people know this on some level but don’t really do anything about it. Well done for committing as you did and finally breaking the addiction.
Great article Robyn, sugar is such a big one for so many people, it is a comfort, can be a friend, can also contribute to incredible disregard for our bodies. Learning to listen to our bodies plays a huge roll in changing deep patterns and behaviours of allowing sugar to run the show.
One needs conviction to let go of refined sugars. I found letting go or refined sugar harder to give up than cigarettes!
Me too Abby – way harder. Given that pretty much everything we eat breaks down into sugars, I find that I will crave whatever source of sugar is available to me. The only thing that can conquer (and I do mean conquer) the desire to elevate my nervous system is a commitment to developing my awareness. Sugar in its many forms is a sure-fire tool for avoiding things.
Sugar is an accepted drug which has a devastating effect on the body that not many is wanting to look at or admit. With so much illness and disease in the world not many people would consider that sugar could be the culprit. Its in almost all foods that is consumed, with obesity and diabetes being a major health issue, sugar has its hold, its tastes very yummy in everything. Its pure evil in what it does to the body.
Robyn great blog, sugar is such a sweet drug, we fool ourselves that its harmless yet it damages our health in many ways, and is so addictive. Maybe companies add sugar to their products to make the products themselves addictive?
Anything we can’t let go is a kind of addiction to me. I would say I am sitting in the same boat. Maybe not as much, but to me it is just as having five beers daily or only one a week. It’s still a craving for stimulation and I find it really interesting to look at the situations that make me go there. To confront myself by feeling – why am I wanting sugar right now, right at this moment? What has happened? What am I avoiding to feel? That helped me deepen the understanding of me and with that comes the answer. Step by step – to have a chance to let go to me this is important.
Me too Christina, step by step. If I tell myself I cannot have it, I eat even more of what I cannot have. The more allowance I give myself, the more simple it gets and then at some point, it is just not there anymore. But sugar is for sure a tough cookie….
We really have to look at sugar for the evil that it is. It is so addictive, yet such a part of our culture. With desserts to chocolates, and all the situations it is used, like at the end of a meal having something sweet to finish off the night.
When you choose not to eat the dessert, you sometimes get the disapproving look at the dinner table as if your on a diet or something or that you are trying to be good.
Why do we say we are trying to be good, doesn’t that confirm how we really already know that sugar is not good for the body.
Well spotted Gail – ‘trying to be good’ is absolutely an admission that we know its no good for us.
When people ask me why I don’t take a piece of cake or an ice cream when offered I just say that I am already so sweet myself. But having said this, I am still not completely off the sugar and can admit that it is for sure an addiction. I feel like sugar(ly) foods when I am tired and/or when I don’t want to feel what is there to feel.
Thank you Robyn for sharing so openly. With this you have highlighted how important and powerful it is to be honest with ourselves if true healing is to take place.
A revealing correlation between sugar and drug addiction… the initial behaviour as described certainly smacks of drug addiction habits and when the way sugar is used in manufacturing reveals the dark underbelly of so much of our food industry.
I just read it’s National Diabetes Week in Australia and some new stats are seriously frightening. According to Diabetes Australia, more than 1.7 million Aussies have diabetes with a further 280 people developing the disease every day. One in three adults in Australia will develop diabetes in their lifetime unless they chose to make a change. Sugar is well known to be part of the cause for diabetes to present. Sugar is a drug and is hard to kick. With the understanding given to me by Universal Medicine and its many practitioners, I’ve been able to realise my addiction and find a way – through feeling what it does to and in my body – to kick the habit. Willpower for me was never going to work, but the way I choose to not let it get a handle on me is much more delicate and subtle, but is permanent.
I re read your blog tonight Robyn, the night before I host my daughters 6th birthday party and it has bought up the realisation of what the average person in society is choosing. As we plan a party table of healthy gluten, Dairy and sugar free food I have faced the concern that the other children will not eat the food as they are so used to fast food with chocolate, chips etc etc.
Sugar and the effects on our bodies is completely underestimated and the amount of foods it is added to is shocking. I remember not long ago as I sat in front of my friend and she was eating some sweets with the children, watching her change in how she looked, spoke and behaved. It was like she had drunk alcohol but there was none in sight! It is time for us to wake up to the damage it is doing to our bodies in so many ways and be recognised for the drug it is. Thank you, Robyn for all you shared.
The disempowering feeling of being owned by a food or substance is as bad an effect as the substance itself as it robs one of the sense of being in charge of one’s life. It’s like being without a limb and always having to compensate for that loss, but in the case of addiction it does come down to being honest and taking responsibility for our choices and then take the steps to support ourselves. It feels great to be in charge again.
This is a great blog Robyn, thank you. Totally agree how addictive sugar can be… ‘just one more’…. Are the words that follow any intake of something sugary. What a great habit to let go of!
Wow Robyn. Thank you for sharing.. Your addiction is pretty intense! We humans are good at eating things that we know aren’t good for us as.. Things that make us sick or have an adverse affect on our body. We know it’s not good yet we do it anyway. I was just thinking about this tomyself today at lunch, knowing I know something isn’t good for me yet eating it anyway.
The sugar issue that we have today in society has not been helped by the low fat revolution that saw many foods with amazingly high sugar content considered as healthy foods because it was low fat.
Thank you for highlighting your honest evaluation and story of your addiction to sugar and I can really relate to this and its absolute comfort and harmful effect on ones body. This has been a journey for me also and to look at why and how i crave it and have been feed sugar since a small child as a reward and treat. Always knowing it is not good for one the true harm and addiction is so commonly hidden from us as is the amount in foods it is added to for us to like and crave even more.The exposing of sugar and it listing as a harmful drug really does need to be seen and restrictions on the amounts and contents it is added too made.
Hi Ariana, I find your strength in your choices inspiring – I gave up refined sugar but replaced it with eating more fruit, gave up the fruit then went on to honey, the addiction to sweetness was still there and still is now – I know it’s because I’m tired – the drive to go and buy something is awful and not yet completely under control – I avoid one of my favourite eating places because they now serve gluten free cakes with sugar and I don’t want to be tempted, but then I’ll call in at the supermarket on my way home and buy something sweet anyway. The times when I am ‘strong’ are when I’m feeling good about myself so I know the key is more self appreciation, then the deep disregard for my body will be a thing of the past. And early nights will help, it’s a continuing work-in-progress.
Carmel you have highlighted for me a great point about how sometimes it can feel like a battle of wills, when something no longer feels right in my body but I can’t seem to stop eating it. I wonder how much this is a set up, to prove some hidden belief that I have about who I am and what I am capable of, that is contra to the actual person I am and what I am actually capable of.
As a child I was wholly addicted to sugar, even though my body could not handle the effects of it, I loved the sweet comfort that it brought in to my life. It took a long time for me to build up the confidence to let this comfort go, it started with making more self-caring and self-loving choices elsewhere in my life.
It is the behaviour that makes us eat certain things we even know that are not good for us. Very well said. It is for us all to feel why we want to eat certain things we know that are not good for – than we are truly healing the addiction.
Giving up the hard drugs has been easier then sugar, it’s everywhere and in everything, now why’s that I wonder World Health Council
Addictions are ‘pleasant’ ways to harm ourselves. They are very difficult to stop precisely because there is an element of appeal in them for us. What we are addicted to does something for us. It is important to be totally honest and nail what it is that it does. This is the way to start dealing with what is out there.
Sugar is addictive , no doubt about it. If you have some you want more, children and toddlers will scream and shout for it, adults will eat it on their own to avoid others knowing how much they consume, if we feel sad we seek it to console us. It is fantastic that articles like this are exposing the trap we allow ourselves to fall into concerning sugar and our diet.
Thank you for this great and very personal story of your sugar addiction. I have found that since cutting out refined sugars, I can taste the true sweetness of an apple for example and especially of some of the vegetables as capsicum, beetroot and pumpkin. When we load up on refined sugars, we totally miss out on the yummy sweetness that fresh produce so readily provides.
I can so identify with your addiction to sugar. I too am in this cycle. For me it has a very disruptive and depressive affect on my emotions. It feeds my anxiety. Thank you for your honesty Robyn.
Thank you Robyn. I’m still battling my sugar addiction. For me it is my weapon for self destruction.
I can attest to that, that sugar is very addictive. I wouldn’t consider myself having an addiction but I know when I’m tired and eat sugary things it takes a long time before I can get back into ‘normal’ mode again. To me I feel eating sugary things are connected to my willingness to be still. The less sugar I eat the more still my body gets and the more I am able to feel myself in a different way.
A lovely sharing Robyn – I am a great label reader since changing my food choices – so many hidden sugars in a lot or should I say most of the ‘off the shelf purchases’. It does take longer for me to shop but well worth the extra time to do so.
I always read labels, it’s become a natural thing for me. And it’s a sneaky thing putting sugar in just about everything, why is that? Very strange indeed.
When I also made a commitment to stop eating refined sugar I discovered a sweetness in so many foods that had never tasted sweet before. The heavy consumption of refined sugar had numbed my taste buds with a perpetual craving for more sugar. The addiction is gone but I still find I enjoy the taste of sweetness in what I eat.
Great blog Robyn, thank you so much for putting it as it is, and for sharing your experience. I certainly can relate to a lot of what you express.
It’s great that through articles such as this that sugar is now being exposed for the drug and toxin it is. My experience of sugar has been similar to this and it’s taken me a long time (40+years) to finally have it no longer be a part of my life. What a wonderful feeling that is!
Robyn,I love how you describe sugar as being no different to hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin. What I got from this was the description of the energy of addiction, and this being the same no matter the food choice or activity – it still has the same effect on the body and the quality of how we feel. That when we have a ‘need’ we look to fill this hollowness which offers a level of indication as to how we are living life – content, vital and at ease, or otherwise. Much to reflect on here about ‘need’ in one’s life, to make one feel full.
It shows how much you have grown as a person to break that cycle. And it shows with addiction it doesn’t matter how much much we ‘know’ that it damages us it has to come down to how much you value yourself not to damage yourself.
That’s true Luke. Knowing that it is not good for you doesn’t do anything to stop the consumption. The psychology behind addiction behaviour perhaps doesn’t take into account how important it is to love oneself enough to not use things that damage one’s body.
So true Luke the self love has to be strong enough to resist the harming addiction, or nothing changes.
Upon reflection I actually feel like I have found or regained connection with parts of me, through letting go of sugar. I am not so nervous and up and down in my emotions it has allowed me to connect more fully with my stillness, which has unfolding in a reconnection with more of who I am.
Hello Robyn, ah sugar. I remember when I was younger going to a sugar cane factory near where we lived as a part of a school excursion. The sugar was in huge mounds inside the sheds and we were allowed to run up and down them like sand dunes. They gave us a cup of sugar with a paddle pop stick and we walked around eating the sugar the whole time. I don’t have a medical condition that prevents me from eating sugar but I do react badly when I eat it. My eyes go blurry, my stomach feels weird and my body has a tingly feeling that can last for hours. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the taste of things with sugar, funnily enough I still do but I just don’t like what it does to me for hours after. So I let go of eating sugar for no other reason but for the fact it doesn’t feel good in me. Thanks Robyn, sweet blog.
sugar = drug. Great revelation.
The fact that we are talking about sugar as a drug is already revolutionary. We need to understand that substance for what it really is in the body, and we need to understand our behaviours in relation to that substance for what they really are. It’s great that this issue is gathering more awareness within society.
I can relate to this blog so much. It’s true that sugar is just as bad as any drug and very addictive, I have a similar experience and am only just starting to look at that. Thank you for sharing
Spot on Ariana, sugar addiction only has the power we give it and inspiring blogs like these support everyone to say no and rediscover a delectably sweet new life (or livingness) without sugar.
Yes Josephine Bell a life without sugar is possible when we take the time to register how it can be sweet without it!
I always find it amazing how much our bodies communicate with us, whether we are listening to it or not. Your body was obviously telling you at a very young age not to eat the sugar. Thank you for sharing this inspirational blog Robyn.
For one to make change, we first have to start with being honest, and in order to be honest we need to build a level of self-love and care. So we cannot judge or criticise ourselves for our destructive choices. Then we are free to truly choose what supports us in life and what does not.
Thank you Robyn for sharing your amazing story.
So very true Thomas, before we can make change, we first have to get honest with ourselves and what we are choosing, because what I have found is that honesty brings awareness that we do have other choices… and that is the first step to making and changing our choices so that they are supporting and loving to our bodies.
Great Article Robyn, anyone that truly looks at all will see that you are totally right, in that sugar is a complete drug. Like any other addiction the brain overrides the fact that the body is screaming “no more”, but we can still think we are invincible and carry on choosing to indulge.
What a brilliant honest blog Robyn Jones – I love it.
As you have shared your addiction, I feel to add my bit. I was totally addicted to sugar as a child and stealing chocolate was wrong but I could not stop myself. I only just get it that I was addicted. I had to be as sugar sandwiches were my favourite daily treat.
I recently saw a documentary about child obesity and a dentist working in a children’s hospital talked about removing 20 teeth for a 6 year old because of sugar. This is serious and we ALL need to stop and start asking questions.
Why is sugar not having a government health warning?
Why is sugar education not on our national curriculum for our young children?
Why are we not listening to these dentists who are saying we need to educate parents and teachers?
Think about it – how can you educate others about sugar if you are eating it yourself.
A bit like asking a doctor to support you on alcoholism when they drink alcohol every night themselves.
Robyn, well done for cracking the sugar addiction! It is entirely possible to live without sugar, many of us have proved that. When we choose to face our cravings and deal with what is causing them in the first place, the cravings naturally go away. I feel that society is well aware of the dangers of sugar, a bit like cigarettes, they know the danger but choosing to ignore it because they don’t want to feel their pain. Your story will be an inspiration to many, not just for sugar addicts but anyone with food cravings.
It’s interesting how we can sabotage ourselves through food and eat things that are heavy or dulling to our bodies and then choose to ignore the affects they have. I am noticing more and more those times when I overeat is usually the time that I have been feeling really lovely and connected to me. It’s like my head says, so let’s celebrate that and have a handful of nuts, or I will get a thought like, I’m missing out on something if I don’t eat something that my head would call enjoyable to eat. When I get those thoughts, I know my body is not impulsing them and I have a choice at that moment to call it out and choose to honour and support my body by saying no.
That is a great point Julie. That we can eat to sabotage how great we are feeling. This shows me that there is a part of me that is unwilling to be feeling great, that is dishonest and sabotaging. Though with being aware of my body and feeling it, I am learning to catch these thoughts and impulses to sabotage and make a choice myself.
I would say your right Robyn in saying that sugar is a much worse drug than any of the illegal drugs simply because it is so widely available and accessible to everyone. Most people would not bat an eyelid seeing a child in a pram with a bag of sweets or sugary treat. Working in a supermarket I see it all the time. And just like the illegal drugs and even the other substances (Caffeine, alcohol, smoking) and foods (Gluten, dairy, salt, sugar) that are harming to the body but yet are still accepted it’s only when we abstain from them is when we feel the damage caused by having it in the first place. That’s how I have found out what my body does and doesn’t like, experiment removing it, feel the results after and if my health improved then I carried on abstaining until it becomes normal and those foods are just not on my radar anymore. I may lapse and fall back into those foods now and then but now the turn around of my body saying it doesn’t like that food is much faster, supported by my own choice to stop and feel the foods affects on the body.
Great blog Robyn on a subject that most definitely needs some discussion. I remember when I was young in primary school and all I wanted to eat was lots of lollies, biscuits and, my favourite, milo in milk. I can see now, how there was definitely an addiction, one that I did not want to give up as that was my everything, and what I looked forward to every day. Then as I got older, I turned to salty foods, which I found out, has the same affect as sugar on your nervous system. Looking back on all of that, I can see how my emotions played a huge part in all of that and how unloving and unsupportive all of that was for my body, and I now choose to eat foods that support and nurture me.
Ah the lengths we go to to get our fix. I can absolutely relate Robyn. Reading this I connected to the fact that I do always know what my body really needs. When I eat something that I know isn’t really right for me I get the urge to hide despite the fact I know nobody is judging me and I won’t be ‘in trouble’. This is quite ridiculous as I am then the one left in this body to deal with the consequences.
I am noticing that quite a lot of foods seem to be addictive and work like a drug, numbing me to what is going on around me… it is definitely worth being aware of this.
Robyn how insidious is sugar consumption in our society and I feel that most would not consider the harming effects of it. I used to eat heaps of sugar because I was very disconnected from my tired body and was oblivious to its effects. Now that my health is much better I would be clearly able to feel the effects of sugar if I ate it now.
I am often shocked how often I find refined sugar listed in amongst the ingredients when I check something I am considering buying, even in so called ‘health foods’. It is rife. No wonder so many people carry sugar addictions! Thanks Robyn for sharing your experiences in this blog.
Wow refined sugar out of a bowl, thats heavy addiction stuff! I can understand the parallel to common drug addiction, a drug being a substance our body works hard to get rid of and therefore can cause harm. I have seen the effects of diabetes on people, which is about poor sugar regulation in the body and this includes amputated feet and blindness! That is no mild affect! So thank you Robyn for bringing attention to this and the fact that there is something else going on in sugar addiction besides wanting something sweet to taste – something quite important about how we can choose food as a reaction to what we are feeling, or choose food to support feeling healthy and vital.
Thank you Robyn for the truth and honesty of what role sugar can play in our lives. Some would say that sugar is simply, ‘white poison’.
Robyn, your journey with food is one I’m sure a lot of people can relate to. I know I can. Being so honest with our food choices and looking at why we are choosing them is such an important part of wellbeing. We can choose to have the most amazing and supportive diet, or not. More people need to be educated around this as poor diet – especially ones high in sugar – can be so destructive to our health. Thank you for sharing!
I found that letting go of having gluten or dairy in my diet was fairly easy and could feel the benefits of not consuming these foods anymore. But letting go of sugar in any form has been a lot more difficult. I still occasionally feel the pull to look for something sweet to eat, and if I allow these thoughts of needing something sweet, then I will start searching through the cupboards to find something to satisfy this craving. The best thing I have found is to not let that thought of wanting something sweet in, to stop it before it has a chance to take a hold of me. As I become more aware, loving and self honouring, I am finding it a lot easier to let the sugar go, and by doing this the cravings for sugar are getting less and less.
Hi Robyn, I agree sugar is certainly an addictive drug. My feeling is that when you were eating sugar, dairy and gluten you would have been so toxic overloaded it would have been quite hard to give it up. But by you reducing the poisons in your body one by one by the time you got to sugar you had the ability and determination to do it. I went through a similar process in that gluten was making me really ill and gluggy. Once I gave gluten up it was easier for me to see what was next in the queue and that was dairy. Cheese was probably the hardest for me to give up and I used to love eating custard. Each time I was able to let go of a food that was harming me, my health and vitality improved out of sight and it made it easier to eliminate the next thing on the list. The other thing I found really helpful is to do it out of loving and supporting myself and not out of any self-scolding or shoulds. Also once I stopped eating whatever it was and got past the cravings, I felt so much better it was easier to say do I really want to feel yukky and harm my body for the sake of a few second of enjoyment or do I like having heaps more energy, vitality and health?
Even waking up to the question “Why do I choose to consume sugar ” has been a revelation, for so long I was completely unaware of the effect it was having on my body. I have tried many times to ‘give it up’, it is only since discovering a deeper connection to and feeling more love in my body, that the craving has dissipated, my body is less racy, I sleep better, wake refreshed, I feel as if I am shining brighter, not dulled by the sugar.
Thanks for your honesty Robyn.
Robyn, this is such a powerful blog! One that is clearly (evident by the comments and simply by looking around within our homes and society!) much needed!
I too used to sneak sugar at an early age. For me it was in the form of sugar cubes out of the top of my parents pantry, which I was reprimanded for and can now feel how this cycle of behaviour has stayed with me until this day. I have tried to hide or be sneaky about my consumption of sugar (for fear of getting in trouble!) but now, as I expose this pattern, I can feel how this hiding has actually been a contraction and that it has amplified the harm done by also running shame through my body!
What a testimonial to the fact that sugar is addictive Robyn. I love your honesty, as I have found too that at the moment that I get honest about things and see how certain behaviours are not supporting me, I start to make changes to my behaviours.
Its true Lieke, self-honesty is a powerful tool. Not the confessional kind, but honesty with detachment and with a willingness to explore without judgement. For this is the way to truth and with truth comes real understanding and thus freedom.
Thank you Robyn for this in depth article about your life and addiction to sugar. It was funny how you always got caught – the body probably always said “thank God!”! Since I stopped eating refined sugar I need to also observe all the different kinds of sugars that can be substitutes of refined sugar but with/for the same effect, e.g too much Apple/fruit. It is empowering to know and feel that we have enough energy to get through the day without sugar – life changing in fact.
It is incredible how much the research around sugar is still being ignored. Your blog describes really well how much sugar is an addiction.
Loved your honesty and truth exposing sugar as an addiction for you Robyn.
My brother was diagnosed as have insulin dependant diabetes when he was 11 yrs old.
So since then my mother seldom bought us lollies or chocolate. I remember going next door to my auntie in the hope she would give us a lolly or chocolate biscuit. Then in high school whenever we got some pocket money I would treat myself to something sweet. My mother would hide a block of chocolate in her bedroom wardrobe, but my sister and I quickly found this hiding place and we would often sneak and break off some chocolate pieces.
In my 20’s I remember always being tired, and would easily feel faint if I didn’t eat regularly- I was then diagnosed as having hypoglycaemia by a naturopath. I then tried avoiding refined sugar, but substituted it for an alternative – brown sugar, fruit. I still craved eating sweet foods.
Not until I attended Universal Medicine that I started to look into the reasons behind needing sugar – comfort, reward, “I deserve it”- having been denied it growing up, to keep me going when I’m tired. I am now feeling the effects of what it does in my body more – I feel racy, less grounded, go into nervous energy.
As I am self caring, self nurturing more I no longer feel the need for sugar, as I feel the loveliness of who I am within.
Thanks Robyn this has made me consider my use of sugar but also salt which for me has the same effect. I find I have cravings for sugar and salt especially at the end of a day. I have come to realise that I have lost the connection with myself and absorbed the business of my day. This has left me in a tired/exhausted state and have the need to stimulate myself to feel better. All this does is stops me from feeling what is really going and how I have been living during my day. Like you said Robyn it is similar to a drug addict. If I was to stop at the end of a day and ponder as to how my day has been I then have a choice to take responsibility for the quality of my living and hence no salt or sugar would be needed.
Yes, I agree Bernadette. Sugar is but one of many ‘drugs’ available to us… in fact almost anything can be used as a drug to distract, numb, dull or fill up the void we feel inside.
It’s interesting as you say Robyn, that you knew you were compromising your body; and you knew you were risking your health and so much more – but even that didn’t get in the way of your desire for your ‘drug’ of choice. The desperation to not feel what is painful for us in life can lead to all sorts of behaviours that become even more painful than what we were trying to avoid in the first place.
Addictions, a very big topic Robyn and I can say does not stop at food or drugs! We can be addicted to emotions, drama and or recognition and acknowledgement too, all of which are an avoidance of feeling what is really stopping us from fully opening up and accepting ourselves AS WE ARE. Thank you Robyn.
Being addicted to sugar is so sneaky. More and more research is finally exposing the very real effects it has on the body. I don’t know many people who are not addicted to sugar, including myself. I’ve personally found it to be one of the biggest challenges. I still give in to it more often than not particularly with peer pressure. The fact that it is not classified as an illicit drug certianly helps the choice to ingest it!
My reliance on sugar actually surfaced through my choice to look at my diet. I remember I used to say, often when I went out to dinner, I am not a ‘pudding person’ and so did not consider that I consumed a lot of sugar. However there was so much hidden sugar in my diet, in the alcohol, dairy products and carbohydrates that I would consume regularly – they were loaded with hidden sugar. What was interesting when I stopped drinking alcohol was how quickly I began an affair with cakes and sweets instead; I was now a ‘pudding person’ as the sugar that was hidden in alcohol that I had stopped began being consumed more overtly in cake! This is why it is so important for us to discern for ourselves and have a commitment to having a relationship with our bodies and what we use as fuel to keep them nourished and healthy.
What a great blog Robyn. My choice of drugs was savoury foods and like you I was emptying one pack and had the next one ready to go.
Thanks for the great reminder that addictions can be all types of foods.
It is remarkable to have those ‘stopped in our tracks’ wake up calls, that we take the time and listen. Inspiring to hear yours Robyn, thank you for sharing. Sugar is for me also the most powerful drug to let go of, a not so sweet affair.
Great article, especially at the moment as there seems to be a lot of news reports saying how important it is to cut out sugar from our diet and the fact that there is a high rate of child obesity here in the UK.
It never occurred to my parents or myself when growing up that you could eat too much sugar, fat yes, but sugar no, nothing was ever said in the 70’s and I would say that it was only when I started to attend presentations by Universal Medicine that I started to see how sugar was affecting my body and my health.
Amazing how you had to steal to get your hit of sugar! That certainly sounds like a drug addict alright. I seriously wonder though, do people realise how much sugar they actually consume? I was certainly amazed at how much I relied on sugar to get me through the day and how tired i felt when I didn’t have it. Im so glad I decided to cut out eating sugar all together! It’s sweet as.
I too have been addicted to sugar. I stopped eating refined sugar but instead replaced it with natural sugars, thinking that I was doing the right thing. However over time I realised I was still completely addicted to sugar, but it was worse because it was accepted as being healthy because I was only having fruit and juice. Now I’ll only eat one piece of fruit or even half a piece of fruit a day which is much better, but I can still tell that I have an addiction to sugar because I will still look for my piece of fruit after lunch or even sometimes in the morning, and if I don’t get it I find myself looking for where I can get it. I’m not saying that fruit is bad I’m just recognizing that I have had a long term addiction to sugar has been hard to break. I now see it holds me in a state of stimulation and distraction from anything that I’m trying to avoid feeling. Recently I’ve started to ask myself what is it that I’m trying to avoid feeling instead of going for the comfort of the sugar in the fruit. It’s been an interesting and unfolding process.
I have found that the more sugar I remove from my diet, my ability to taste the sugar or sweetness in foods and drinks that I would have deemed as ‘not sweet’ previously, is much more refined.
Thanks Robyn, such an awesome article about sugar addiction. It is insidious.. the fact that sugar is in so many foods that we would naturally think that it is not. Unless you are well read on the food labels, unknowingly an addictive pathway is set up to which we can unconsciously find ourselves having that automated ‘hand to mouth’ behavior with food.. Awareness is the name of the game hey!
Brilliant blog, Thank You Robyn. Sugar is definitely highly addictive and so many people are either unaware or choosing to ignore the harm it causes when it is consumed. I have used sugar as a form of comfort and I feel extremely sleepy and irritable after eating it. By becoming more aware of what I eat and how certain foods affect me is a great start to eliminating food that is not supportive and harmful to my body.
Robyn, I love your honesty. Sugar is such a “normal” part of our life that I doubt that many people would own up to it being an addiction. I eat very little sugar and this includes a significantly reduced amount of fruit but I still feel the occasional urge to have a sweet something. This may be a raw nut/dried fruit ball which I seem to be able to justify to myself but I know it is the sweetness I enjoy when I am eating it! It is so easy to play this game with myself!
As a society we are not ready yet to see sugar for the addictive and harmful substance that it is, and then there are also the lobby groups and commercial interests– but one day it will be common knowledge, just like we all know that the earth is round and not flat now when the flatness was once an unshakeable concept and decreed postulate.
Great article Robyn, I too have been addicted to sugar and I am still working at clearing this from my diet. I don’t eat refined sugar anymore but I have found other ways to get it from other sources e.g. bananas and honey and dates and there is always a point in my day when Im like – right I need something sweet. Great to bring more awareness to my diet as I know exactly how much it effects my body and my ability to be responsible.
Thank you, Robyn, for writing this article. I feel it is important that we look at this kind of relationship we develop with substances or patterns of behaviour, and our attitude about it (i.e. thinking we can get away with it; we are invincible) with absolute honesty, which you so amazingly have done here.
Thank you Robyn. What you share supports others (including myself) to bring more honesty to foods and the body so that the choice to stop the harm and to start honouring the body can be made.
A little more sweetness to my earlier blog – it is interesting that as I attended Universal Medicine presentations and without there being any discussion on diet, my instincts for certain foods naturally changed. Sugar was one of the casualties (thankfully) that went fairly easily. Also as I acknowledged and healed the underlying issues my body could breathe again and return to its inherent shape and size. Thank you Robyn for sharing and Universal Medicine for all that it presents.
Robyn, great to get this subject out of the sugar bowl. I went through a very strong stage for a few years where I was out of control with sugar consumption. I can freely state now that it was during a time of extreme tiredness, stress, hurtful situations and a way to totally disconnect from myself. It definitely was addictive, every day would start the same, saying that I would stay away from sugar but my lunch caving in. Thankfully that time has passed and my body is back to its natural self.
Nowadays you can buy sugary food everywhere, and for what I see people are finding it hard to withstand the temptation. It is as if the sweets are calling I am the solution for your tiredness, exhaustion, sadness, pain or we are the reward for what you have gone through. I know this for myself I was using sugar, sweets to not feel what was happening inside myself, the numbing effect of sugar. Since a few years I do not use sugar anymore and it has changed so much, I thought I chose to use sugary food but I was addicted to it. It feels great to say no without the feeling I miss sugary food.
As I am still struggling to give up sugar altogether your blog feels like you take my hand, make me stop and fully consider what sugar is doing to you. Or better said, what I allow sugar to do to my body. Yesterday evening I felt some disappointment and went to eat sugar, half an hour later I fell asleep on the couch…
I do agree that sugar is a addictive drug and a very treacherous one, because the effects on your body are not as visible as the ones from alcohol for example. But sugar is truly numbing and when you think about it, it is shocking how sugar is intertwined in our food system. I believe that the food producing industry is well aware of the addictive component of sugar, although I am happy with the growing awareness that eating sugar would give you energy (which was literally said in a TV commercial for candy bars) is a myth. Now it is not wise for me to hide behind some deviousness of the food industry, it is time to look at my motives to eat sugar in the first place. I had the same sensation of feeling sick while reading your blog Robin, I also can “no longer, in good conscience, keep eating refined sugars. The time has come to really commit to not eating sugar anymore!” Thank you.
Eating sugary foods, even naturally sweet foods, always makes me want / crave more of it. It’s like I have no control over whether I eat more of it or not, or whether or not I’m actually even hungry, as that doesn’t seem to matter. So if this is what an addiction feels like, then I’d say it’s safe to say that sugar, for me, is an addictive drug too!
I agree Suzanne, I crave food in general and definitely feel the addiction. The fact of whether I am hungry or not has little to do with my desire to eat and it is something that feels very controlling in my life. I am slowly feeling into what it is that triggers this craving and the distraction that it causes. I can feel the numbing effect of the food and how it diverts my attention away from facing the hurt that I am avoiding. It is definitely a work in progress, and as I open up to my body and let go of the hurt the more lovely my body feels.
Thanks Robyn, my family used to say ‘he’s off for an afternoon nap”, when they saw me go to the cupboard and grab a biscuit! I very much relate to having that one food that I over do it this…even though I ‘ve kicked sugar, I still notice this pattern from time to time… NUTS are the new sugar for me :- ) . So I’m learning that while sugar has all of those addictive qualities it may not be the sugar I’m addicted to but something I’m not dealing with.
So true Joel! Sugary foods, caffeine used to be food of choice for me in the past to not feel what was there for me to deal with at that moment. Once I started to feel why I was going for these foods, I didn’t need them anymore as I was starting to look at the reasons behind taking those foods. It has been replaced with other so called healthier things but even those so called healthy things are again another way of numbing what I need to feel and deal with then. You brought another level of reminder on these. Going for those healthy snacks like nuts while preparing dinner says a lot to me know. Feel and check why I’m going for them before popping the food in my mouth! It’s a forever everyday deepening journey. Thanks Robyn for your sharing.
I love the way you describe your behaviour as a child Robyn. I found it cute and funny until you drew the comparison of this behaviour to that of an addict. I have seen people close to me in the the grip addiction it is exactly what you describe and there is nothing cute or funny about it. Addiction is always harming and your blog leaves no doubt that sugar is an addictive drug.
After reading your article, Robin, I become even more aware how everything is interconnected. With any addiction it is a craving at first, but one already feels hooked. Then one thinks : ” Just this one time. Only.” It is never once. Before one knows s/he is eating/smoking/drinking etc. It makes sense that something inside is creating this void. Emptiness? Feeling lost? Hopelessness? From my experience I notice that it is easy to say no to cravings when one is content and all is running smooth. On the other hand when one is in the “dark” place cravings are stronger and it is much harder to say no.
But again it comes to our choices-where to be and how to feel. And we are choosing every single moment what to be aligned to.
It is a great moment if we allow ourselves to feel the ‘moment of panic’ when our drug of choice may run out. I know I made a life changing choice to give up smoking when I felt this and could recognize it for the pull to stay hooked that is was.
Robyn having read your blog I realised that although I didn’t have the same relationship with sugar I did with salt and savoury food. Is it possible that they could have the same effects?
Yes, sugar is such an addictive product and so accepted in society that we don’t even see it. It is under our noses, yelling at us to buy it, wherever we go. Even though the amount of sugar which is pouring out of the shops now is not as much as when I was young…..still enough sugar around to go to the shop. After reading your blog I realize how sugar is part of daily life of a kid, of me when I was young. Whether it was a dessert, get some money to buy sweets from the little shop at the corner or cakes & sweets at birthdays or with family. It takes a conscious choice and consistency to stop with sugar. You did after 25 years of addiction. Wow!
It definitely sounds like the behaviour of an addict. If we look on a global scale sugar consumption has increased exponentially. A very large percentage of processed foods contain added sugar and if sugar is addictive (like current research certainly suggests) that addiction is used to sell these foods with added sugar that many people are not even aware they are consuming. Schools are facing unbelievable increases in behavioural issues with young children and we know sugar impacts on this. Yet if you look children lunch boxes much of the prepackaged is loaded with sugar but the labelling on the front makes all sorts of health claims.
Robyn what a highly exposing and fascinating story. So many are resistant to the fact that sugar could be as seriously harmful as it truly is for the very reason you yourself struggled with. It is such a huge part of our every day diet that if we were to withdraw we would struggle immensely, but as you say there are so many studies coming to the fore now that show that sugar is as addictive as what we would consider serious hard drugs. Could it be that we do not see sugar as this because we like the taste and how it makes us feel, and have therefore made it socially acceptable? In one night my husband gave up years of smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol heavily and smoking pot on a daily basis and has never looked back. He says though that giving up sugar has been harder than any of that and he is still in the battle with sugar and sometime sugar still wins!
Once you study the ingredients in packaged food you’ll find just how laced the western diet is with sugar and its many forms, including so-called diet and health foods.
The western diet has become so far off what we could so naturally eat – simple, clean food that nourishes and supports us rather than stimulate and exhaust us.
Thanks for this great blog Robyn. I am still working with my sugar addiction and what I have found from the times when I have eliminated sugars from my diet is that the physical responses I have to this are almost identical to those I had when I quit smoking. Sugar is without a doubt a drug, a very powerful one at that… but not more powerful than me!
Robyn, this is a very inspiring read regarding sugar and becoming aware of the insidious addiction to sugar and the effects of this to your body.
How this has brought many changes to your life is very clear to feel in the description of yourself at the end of your blog – which is beautiful to read and to feel the truth of your words – I love this deep appreciation of yourself –
“Robyn Jones – Gorgeous woman, wife of 1, mother of 1 (soon to be 2), counsellor, baker, and expert house cleaner. Enjoys order, nature, connecting with people and seeing the loveliness in others, supporting children to be themselves in the world, cuddling my dog (and my husband and daughter), cooking, nourishing my body with food and supportive activities such as walking and taking bath”s”.
Sugar is seen as a reward but as a wise man once said to me,” the reward is yourself”. If I am deeply caring for myself then I never want to eat sugar as that makes me feel a whole lot worse than I would without it. I have eaten plenty of sugar in my life and for sure it is as addictive as any substance I have experienced.
Thanks Robyn for being so open and honest in this blog, it is interesting how we continue to abuse our bodies when it is so obvious the harm we are doing to it. How great you were able to stop one day and really address your sugar addiction, your blog will support many others also struggling with addiction.
Great blog Robyn, thank you. Addictions come in many shapes and forms and sugar was one of mine, especially binging on chocolate. If there was a block of chocolate handy I would eat the whole block, feel sick and not touch it for weeks. Then the chocolate craving would start up again (must admit the craving coincided with a situation where I didn’t want to feel what was going on) and I would eat another block of chocolate! These days, I do occasionally have the yearning for chocolate and usually I check in to feel what is going on for me and the craving goes away. However, occasionally, I do give in to the craving for the sweet stuff and boy(!) does my body tell me that I have made the wrong choice. (The choice between a ‘feeling fix’ or a ‘sugar fix’).
Thank-you for this elucidating blog, Robyn. The first step towards healing any behaviour that is actually harmful to us, is clearly to be super-honest about what’s been, and is, ‘going on’ with it… to truly stop and take a sound look at ourselves, and just what we are ‘doing’.
It’s powerful to read that you came to the realisation that this behaviour just could no longer be ‘done’. I would love to hear more about your discovery and willing exploration into what has been underlying this need for sugar. Such further elucidation, in conjunction with the literature now so prevalently available on the harmful nature of sugar, can be of assistance to so very many. Part two please! When you are ready of course, and respectfully so.
I knew someone who spent hours upon hours in his attic with his miniature steam railway set. Addiction is addiction no matter what the substance or activity it is to.
Crazy isn’t it that with all thats coming to light about the harmful effects of sugar we continue to give it as a reward for good behaviour in schools, when out shopping, visits to the doctor’s, at the end of a hard day, etc. etc.
Thank you Robyn for this inspiring article.
Hi Robyn, as soon as I read your title “Addicted to Sugar – My Drug Addiction” I felt wow that was me. Great article indeed. I never realized it was my drug addiction; but, yes it was, as I knew I
was allowing myself to be over powered by it. But when I made the choice to remove gluten and all dairy from my diet and felt so good, I knew the sugar had to go, so even though I ate it all my life (as it was my drug of choice) and had made it my favorite part of my diet it was easier than I had realized to let go of. Now even when I eat some vegetables I am amazed at how sweet they can taste.
Robyn thanks for sharing your story, it is so relevant to our Western (& Eastern) culture – sugar (& coffee) is a total drug, very addictive and damaging, but sadly a completely accepted drug. There is no coincidence that we are living with an obesity epidemic and our sugar consumption has sky rocketed since world war II.
It’s interesting that even though there is now a lot of evidence showing how harmful sugar is we still continue to think that it’s not harmful at all. My grandfather was a confectioner and I looked over his shoulder when he was making his caramels a lot. It’s actually a very dangerous substance hot. He lost many a wooden spoon in his hot sugary mixes and had numerous burns as well. It’s the seductiveness of the taste that makes us override any thought that we may have questioning whether we should eat it or not. But like in your case Robyn the truth is in the effect on our body.
It kind of makes sense that sugar is an addictive substance. When you look at the ecology of plants and animals together, all over the world the plants ‘manipulate’ the animals to disperse their seeds and to feed them because plants can’t walk, run around, bend over or gather food. The ways they manipulate are many and varied, like sticky seeds, and yummy-tasting fruits, leaves and stems, like, say, sugar cane! Now along comes a kind of creature that also thinks and plans and alters its environment to suit those thoughts and plans, ie Humans. We grow plants for our own consumption. So…… if you were a smart plant, wouldn’t you capitalize on this great ability of your ‘helpers’, the humans, to think, plan and grow plants? If you look at what humans do, we intentionally wipe out vast realms of wild plants in order to grow just our own favourites, and we care for them, protect them, breed them to amplify the ‘goodies’ and do everything to keep them happy. As they do for us! They pander to our senses, our dreams, our indulgence, our wish for escape from the world’s woes, in the most perfect way for creatures as mentally and sensually inclined as us. If the whole ecology went down the gurgler tomorrow, what plants would we rescue? Food yes, but also sugar, coffee, opium, tea, marijuana, you get the picture. Addictive for sure, and we co-operate with the plants to make it so.
I would agree that Sugar is a far worse drug than cocaine or heroine as these refined sugars can be found in almost all processed foods, are easily accessible to children in many, and sometimes deliberately advertised, forms of treats and meals. While there is growing science to prove it’s addictive properties it is still accepted in society and not unheard of for people to need sugar just to get through the day or to get up and go, so many products with sugar claiming to give you that ‘buzz’ or ‘pep’ (like caffeine) when, as I have learnt through cutting out sugar, it actually has the opposite affect! A quick high yes but the crash and burn comes thereafter, by removing sugar from my diet I have found that I have more energy than the sugar ever gave me without the crashing afterwards.
Sugar is truly one of the ultimate drugs because it is actually accepted as a ‘healthy’ part of ones diet in ‘moderation’ and especially when sourced from ‘natural sugars’ in fruit. Sugar is Sugar, no matter where it comes from it still has the same effects on the body, and no matter how ‘healthy’ the intake can seem, it can still be an addiction. Love how your honesty and eventually your truth saw through this in the end Robyn.
I am glad to know that there are many studies on the harm sugar does to human bodies now surfacing on the web. Thank you Robyn for writing this.
Thank you Robyn, your story beautifully demonstrates the addictive effects of sugar, and definitely shows the parallel of sugar addiction to other drug addictions.
That’s what I loved too Johanne, the parallels to all addictions. Sugar addiction is just one of the many ways we use to totally dis-empower ourselves.
Great sharing Robyn how we override our body by not wanting to face what it is offering us. By having the high sugar blood levels your body was already communicating to you to not consume sugar and you went straight the other way. That’s such an awesome sharing of how we can get aware of the patterns that are holding us constantly small.
Great article Robyn. I love how you have included sugar with other addictive substances such as heroin and cocaine. I feel it is very important to realise that there are very strong similarities. As you have said there are many studies that highlight this including one that shows how sugar and drugs activate the same areas of the brain and that sugar is even more addictive than drugs. I have heard about the withdrawals that people have gone through when giving up drugs. When I stopped eating refined sugar I too experienced very strong withdrawals and cravings which indicated to me that my body and I had been addicted to it. Scary stuff when we know how much refined sugar is in so many foods that are available to us. However in learning to understand what was driving me to eat or drink sugar and understanding what refined sugar actually does to my body I felt empowered to choose not to continue to consume sugar.
There is no doubt that sugar has a ravaging affect on the body and it is clear that we don’t take it as seriously as we should in terms of its health consequences. Sugar is often cited as being good for energy but I have never found this to be true, only a short spike followed by a dramatic drop, my energy levels raised significantly and consistently when I gave refined sugars the heave ho!
I can very much relate to your experience with sugar Robyn. I used to consider myself healthy as I was eating huge amount of fruit every day. It took me a while to realise that this was just another method of getting a sugar ‘high’. It’s great to live today sugar free and with so much more energy. The truth is we are all naturally super sweet, just as we are.
Robyn your blog has opened my eyes to the depth of harm that sugar can be for the body. I too loved sugar (perhaps not as addicted as you described here). I found that I was reaching for the sugar, because life just wasn’t sweet enough for me. Sounds corny I know, but it was true. Because I was living in a way where I was really disconnected from my body, I reached for sugar to make me feel better. As I have worked on my connection with me the need and want for sugar shifted.
Gosh there are so many foods out there that could be categorized as a ‘drug’, due to the affect and change it has on our bodies. My main addiction was with peanut butter and oh boy was I hooked. However the change in my mood and physical appearance was unmissable, yet I chose to ignore the affects, and kept on going, until one day I felt so sick that I thought I was going to throw up. Interestingly enough, I have had this feeling with many of my food choices but all ways ignored them. However I am now listening to my body and proud to say that I am drug free.
Sugar. It is an addiction. Thank you for writing so simply about something that affects so many.
Thank you for sharing your story and making the connection to refined sugar being an addiction just like any drug. We tend to gloss over the things that are considered acceptable as addictions but they have the same harmful effect on the person. In effect you are imprisoned by your own need and common sense and care for your body and wellbeing go out the window!
Thanks Robyn, sugar has been my strongest and longest lasting addiction as well. I would crave the sweet taste and the rush of energy I would feel afterwards. This short lasting sensation seemed to outweigh the fact that I would feel even more tired and worn out half an hour later… Through continually deepening the awareness of how my body feels and honouring this I have been able to slowly let go of the sugar addiction from my life and feel better for it. It’s like claiming back another part of me when I give up an addiction, allowing me to feel me, my love and power again instead of numbing myself from the world around me.
Awesome Robyn, how that “something inside you” made you stop.” With addiction it’s also true that until that inner voice is strong enough, it’s very difficult to quit addictive substances for good. Regarding all the evidence coming out on the internet about sugar not being good for us, it’s odd that we as a society did not get the message 40 years ago. Even as far back as 1975 before there were personal computers or internet, myself and fellow biology students were reading a popular book entitled “Pure White and Deadly” that included white sugar along with cocaine et al. After reading it, a friend decided he’d quit sugar. Oh boy! He went through the whole ‘cold turkey’ experience of withdrawal as you’d expect someone to go through when coming off heroin! It was at that point that I realized sugar is indeed an addictive substance and began to reduce my consumption of it quite significantly. Over the years I’ve sometimes wobbled and gotten into it a bit, but pull myself out again, and now my body is able to tell me it’s not right BEFORE I eat it!
That’s interesting that your friend experienced the “whole cold turkey” thing when coming off sugar. My addiction to sugar was so strong that I oscillated between having it and not having it for about two years or so in the period of trying to stop eating it. Unlike your friend I wasn’t able to suddenly quit. In that time I found the taste left in my mouth for two or three days after eating sugar was so revolting and it was eventually this that enabled me to stop eating it. Then the cravings stopped.
Great article Robyn, I too have had a sugar addiction and can relate to much of what you have written. I had this belief that I could get away with consuming sugar without having to be honest about how my body was feeling. By choosing to build self love I began to feel very settled in my body, this was such a contrast to the way I felt when I ate sugar i.e. racy, agitated and never feeling satisfied. The more I choose to deeply care for myself the less I feel like eating sugar. This has been a beautiful and gentle way to heal my sugar addiction.
I agree Ariana, great article that highlighted my own sugar addiction. Oddly enough, I’ve never particularly liked sweet things, always preferring savoury to sweet. Not eating gluten and dairy was fairly easy, and the carbs dropped off naturally, but to stop eating a piece of home baked low sugar cake is so hard, its all or nothing, and I have a tendency to ‘binge’. When I run out and the munchies hit I substitute nuts. But my body knows, and is beginning to reject those, as well as the cake. So every time my taste buds tempt me, I only have to connect to my body to be reminded, and have the strength to say no too.
It is very difficult to find foods that don’t have some form of sugar in them. The food industry really needs to step up and reverse this trend of accepting the dumping of large volumes of sugar in foods. Many students I teach don’t understand the food they’re consuming is full of sugar. The fruit juice boxes they drink are assumed healthy. I’m looking forward to seeing the sugar film documentary and hopefully people can become more aware of the damage sugar causes.
Becoming aware that sugar is harmful for me in so many different ways has made it easier to stop eating it, but just like other drug addictions there is a strong pull to resume eating sugar at times. I have recently felt that when I feel the craving for sugar (nowadays it is usually a sweet fruit) it is a time when my level of commitment to myself has dropped, and because of this drop I have become tired as going through the day has become harder and requires more effort. As soon as I nominated this, my commitment to myself increased again and even the thought of eating something too sweet for my body is not even entertained let alone actually done. This tells me that how we feel about ourselves and how we treat ourselves is an important part in choosing what is supportive for our bodies to eat. This really brings to light how relevant caring for ourselves is and how much of an impact this has on our health and well being.
Beautifully said Robyn. I wonder what our lives would be like if we gave up ‘giving-up’ things altogether, and choose to choose self-love instead?.
Hi Robyn and all I just felt to read this great blog again as the sugar addition cycle is still having a hold in my life, Not refined sugars but even a sweet piece of fruit is enough to give me a lift while making me feel quite racy. I have connected this to the tiredness I feel by trying to be a certain way instead of just dropping my protections and just be me. It’s interesting to notice how much effort it makes not to live who we naturally are which can contribute to our additions to sugar and other foods.
An inspirational blog Robyn – thank you.
Robyn, I relate to every word you write. I was a sugar junkie for 35+ years before I was able to let go of the habit at age 44. As a little girl, Mum and I had our closest “connection” time over bags of lollies. Of course we were more connected to the lollies than each other.
My habit got worse over time. I did not resort to stealing money, but I would hide stashes of chocolate in my bedroom. I could’t bear the thought of sharing with anyone. How odd that I was happy to share anything else, just not my chocolate/lolly stash.
By the time I was in my 30’s I was suffering severe exhaustion. I would eat an entire, large bag of liquorice bullets on my way home from work. I would feel sick eating them but I was unable to stop.
Real junkie behaviour.
When i tried to quit I was a complete mess.
Yes, I was addicted.
What I find amazing is that it was eliminating gluten that paved the way for the sugar reduction process -similar to you Robyn. After 6 months gluten free I was vastly more sensitive and aware of what food was doing to me.
Over a couple of years I found I could not tolerate a lot of sugar, which steadily became super intolerant to any of it.
There was a point at which sugar left my life and I was happy to wave it goodbye.
Is it possible that sugar is designed to keep humanity in addiction? Sorry, this sounds weird even to my own ears and a bit like a strange conspiration theory… But I can’t help, to me it feels true.
Wow, Robyn, I never knew that sugar can be so addictive and damaging to the body! That’s eye opening. I guess we all different and everyone has got their own “drug” which keeps us away from ourselves. That’s what sugar was doing for me-simply putting me to the busy mode. That’s what smoking was doing for me-simply filling up my emptiness as well as sex. But all this addictions can’t replace the joy of us being ourselves. It’s feels so much better to be free.
Just goes to show what a forceful and imposing substance refined sugar really is and how much harm it causes.
Yes, Gabriele, I see sugar as a weapon of mass destruction that has been insidiously manipulated and released into the world, and because of the subtleness in which it has infiltrated our food and diets we, as humanity, have not fully realised the damage that has already occurred and the damage yet to occur, as the majority of us are addicted to it and unable to feel the consequences in our bodies because of this addiction. It is a vicious cycle.
Sugar has been my addiction too since I was a small child and this grew and grew as I got older. As a young mother I got quite ill with too much sugar, using it to give me energy or so I thought. It was only with the support of Serge Benhayon and the presentations of Universal Medicine that I have been able to work with this addiction. Recently my body has changed and I know when I have sugar now, even a little honey, I simply cannot keep my eyes open or function; and this is showing me that in committing in life it means being present. And it is sugar that prevents this hence the choice to not have it is much easier to make .
The relationship between sugar, being present and committing in life have taken me a while to be honest about Tricia and I appreciate that you mention it here. I have always had a sweet tooth and an interest in healthier options so decided that honey, other natural sweeteners and fruit were better than refined sugar when still a teenager. The side effects I found were less extreme than refined sugar but over time I have come to understand that all sweeteners play havoc with my nervous system as it feels sped up, my mind gets racy and I am less present so everything I do takes longer than it has to. Even though I have known myself to go for sweet foods when tired or anxious, the main reason however is because I have not wanted to be present and deal with life and be responsible for myself. Life does not so flow so well when not committed to it so I was also miserable and looking for sweet foods to lift my mood. Universal Medicine re-introduced me to the sweetness of being connected with myself and grounded in my body and it is a work in progress to fully accept this is who I am and accept I do not have to try to connect. I could say it is saying yes to who I am but right now it feels more like saying no to trying and letting go of control.
Robyn,
I so loved reading your article. When i began to look at my consumption of sugar, I was literally in shock as to how many products that are available for us to eat that have sugar in them. Believe it or not even some types of Baked Beans. For a long time I stopped eating sugar in everything else in my diet, except for fruit and Baked Beans. They were my personally most difficult foods to let go of eating. Recently I have discovered that my whole body gets itchy when I consume even the smallest amount. How numb was I that I never felt this before. Yes I can attest that sugar is a drug, one that is way, way to available in our world today.
When I started to look at product ingredients more closely, I too was shocked at how many products have sugar and salt added…its quite staggering. And its devastating what it does to the body when over-consumed. Dr Robert Lustig is doing some great research and getting the word out there about the sugar epidemic and how related it is to the metabolic syndrome that more and more people are being diagnosed with. Its great to see scientists like him sharing what in truth we already know and have felt in our bodies…that sugar is well and truly a drug that has many consequences to the body and thus our health.
I grew up with an addiction to sugar but never saw it as a ‘problem’ as sugar was everywhere, my parents ate sugar and the sugar bowl was a normal item in the kitchen. We were given sweets as a treat. Sugar meant I had got something right. I never even considered taking drugs such as cocaine or heroin; I knew they were dangerous and would be very bad for me. Breaking my sugar habit has not been easy and I can still feel the temptation but, knowing how it affects me, I can say ‘No’.
What an inspirational blog Robyn, thank you for sharing
I still find that I am tempted to eat sugar from time to time and am amazed at the will power it takes to resist.
Even though the craving is sometimes there I can now feel the devastating effect it has on my body and well-being.
As we now know sugar is a powerfully addictive drug, readily acceptable and available in our modern society.
It is interesting to note that there is more and more information being revealed in the mainstream about the addictive and harmful effects sugar has on our bodies.
Awesome story Robyn, I know that feeling when there is something sweet and you just cannot resist … it is so an addiction! Because in that moment it’s like you don’t have control over yourself because if you did, you know you would respect the fact that your body cannot handle it.
To me the Way of the Livingness is getting that control back for yourself so you can make the true choice. So with that in mind, I know and can recognise when I am living my livingness and when I am not.
I really enjoyed the power in your sharing Robyn, that it is simply acknowledging and accepting ourselves and our choices and feeling if they are still the choices we would like to be continually making. Very powerful indeed.
Sugar addiction is so socially acceptable it can be hard to fully accept just how debilitating it is. There is so much sugar in the everyday foods. Even products labelled “sugar free” have sneaky little sugar type ingredients that give exactly the same sugar rush, and encourage the addiction to continue. Getting off sugar takes commitment, but once off, the taste buds come alive, and the nasty 3pm low can disappear…
Is there a follow up to this , letting us know how it all turns out? I’m interested because although I have reduced my sugar enormously, I still eat some now and again. Over my addiction, just not completely over sugar yet. It is as you say Robyn, there is that moment to choose or not, just a case of being able to feel that moment, before it gets swept up in another rush.
I notice that people truly don’t believe that sugar is so harmful, maybe it is hard to feel in their own body what it does. I also notice how people use sugar and sweets as rewards not only to themselves if they worked hard etc but to their children too. Is it because people can readily buy sugar and items that contain refined sugar anywhere, so they don’t see it is as harmful as drugs etc, which are bought illegally and I guess under the table so to speak?
I agree Robyn it definitely is a drug – and an accepted one by society at large!
I have definitely seen that my relationship with sugar is very connected with how I am feeling and the daily choices that I am making…sugar can be such a quick pep up in the body, but sure enough an hour or so later the drop in the body feels awful. It can have such a yo-yo affect on my energy levels. What has been great to explore is my relationship to sugar and how I may be using it as an antidote to dealing with exhaustion or boredom or whatever other reason I may be choosing it. Once I address this, it is then easy for me to see where I can make changes. The 1 minute sensation in the mouth is not worth it if it means feeling so low and depleted an hour later.
How interesting, despite all the convincing medical arguments for giving up sugar, what really made the difference was when you came to the point where ‘The time had come to really commit ‘
I agree a fantastic awareness that Universal Medicine offers us as we work through life’s lollipops.
Cool article Robyn. I love the way you expose sugar for the drug it is and go onto prove this FACT with your behaviour as a sugar addict. I can certainly relate, through my childhood and up until very recently I have hidden, eaten and stolen foods (sugary foods) that are not mine. Even if I have bought or made something sweet I will eat it in a sneaking deceitful energy and be very protective over it. Having been into heavy drugs also, this feeling is one in the same.
Thank you Robyn for an insightful blog. I was brought up being rewarded with sweets and being told that if I was a good girl then I could have some sweets. I carried this into my adult life where I would reward myself with sugary sweets/foods. I am slowly addressing this addiction but there is indeed a strong momentum with it.
Thank you Robin for so clearly and openly sharing your experience with sugar. I can feel an opportunity here to be more honest with myself. I know that I go to sugar when feeling depleted, it is a comfort and a pick me up. But it is time to feel what is really going on here, rather then digging myself in deeper, taking myself further away from my truth and myself and ultimately contributing to the issue that led me to sugar in the first place! What a vicious cycle addiction can be.
Thanks for this blog Robyn. Sugar is such an insidious addiction that is, as every bit as harming as other drugs.
I am still in the process of eliminating sugar from my diet and am finding it harder to quit on a permanent basis than any the other drugs of dependance I have ceased to use. The use of sugar from early childhood endorsed by parents as a celebration and “harmless” treat has left a deep attachment that is difficult to shake.
Great blog Robyn. I agree that sugar is highly addictive, the harm it causes in our body is yet to be exposed. I don’t really consider myself has having a sweet tooth but I have consumed refined sugar in the past. I get an instant headache when I consume it, particularly when I have gone without it for a long time. My body is telling me that refined sugar is toxic. I know that my body will tolerate it and become numb if I continue to ignore the signs. Over 2 years ago I chose to cut out refined sugar, diary, gluten and caffeinated tea to see how I would feel. Not surprising, I feel amazing in my energy levels. I don’t feel lethargic in the afternoons anymore. The next step would be to feel what my body is telling me when I eat wholefoods that are naturally high in sugar and eliminate them out of my diet. I emphasise the part about listing to my body not anyone else or any diet books. I have been inspired by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon to make choices by connecting with my inner most and listening to the constant messages my body is giving me. It has been amazing learning and it is limitless when I am open to change and awareness.
Sugar has affected us all and continues to do so. It is the unspoken about addiction or unclaimed addiction by many people. Thank you so much for sharing your story, I am sure it is one that many of us can relate to in some ways. That desire to consume anything in site when we feel depleted or need a pep up and how damaging it can be when not dealt with medically, also emotionally and physically.
Sugar is the accepted drug. I work in an Alcohol and Drug detox center I notice when people complete their detox they go for the sugary sweets straight away, the addiction is strong.
Very impressive article, Robyn. Thank you for sharing. I agree Christoph. I have always been able to stop drinking and smoking whenever I wanted to but sugar I sometimes still can’t resist.
Thank you Robyn for such an honest expose of your journey with sugar. It’s interesting that white refined sugar actually looks like cocaine! This drug is in every household around the world, (well most), and so accepted as being ok in our diets. Sugar equals energy in many people’s eyes, but the fact is, eliminate it from your diet and watch your energy level sky rocket, now that doesn’t make sense does it, but it’s true. Sugar or any stimulate knocks our body out of its natural rhythm, thus forcing the body to compensate and struggle and to try and re-establish harmony. It is an incredible experience to feel your body ignite again after a long time of thinking how you felt was normal.
I would never have thought that stopping alcohol was ten times easier than stopping sugar. These days it doesn’t need to be refined sugar – any sugar will do and I get a lift and then feel more tired afterwards.
That pattern seems to be really hard to break. Congratulations Robyn if you have done it.
Yes, I agree refined sugar is a very strong addiction and for me it was one of the hardest things to let go. The thing is once I was off it I wouldn’t crave it, I would not even think about it but when it was offered to me I would at times make an exception and take one – and the addiction would set in straight away – I would not be content with one, I would take another one and another and the next day I would crave more so another one and I was trapped once more. What I have managed to this day is to replace refined sugar with fruit but the same pattern is still there, times of not even missing it and then getting caught up again. I can observe how this pattern has a direct relationship to how I feel, e.g. when I am exhausted or tired a little sugar can pick me up, even though it is in truth only masking it. It really helps me when I simply accept that I am exhausted and allow myself to feel that and assess what caused it, whereas the sugar does not really change anything, in fact it makes it worse.
It was a lot easier to give up gluten and diary than sugar, proving to me as well that it is a drug. I still succumb from time to time but its hold is only as strong and I let it be.
An awesome sharing of your sugar addiction Robyn, and your journey to change. I too, like many, was addicted to sugar, and when I look back now I realise that it was probably as I was living on my emotions and as a result I was always tired, so sugar was the quick fix. Then I didn’t have to look at what was truly going on in my life. It took me a long time to realise, and then acknowledge, the harming effects it was having in my body. The difference in the sugar free me is amazing, but I have to stage vigilant and read all labels as the food manufacturers, knowing how addictive it is, are always trying to sneak it in somewhere – all in the name of profit. If I feeling any sugar craving now I realise that I am simply tired and will take measures to address it – without the quick fix of this dangerous substance.
Great point Ingrid. Craving sugar is so often just a way of avoiding feeling the tiredness within. Addressing that issue addresses the sugar craving, thank you.
I never felt I had an issue around sugar, after all I read the labels on all the food I buy, to make sure there is no added sugar, and always thought of myself of not having a ‘sweet tooth’. I found I was kidding myself, because at times there was a craving – either for a piece of chocolate or biscuit. And if I gave into it, I couldn’ t just leave it at eating one, no I had to eat five! Nowadays, if there is such a ‘thought’, just by feeling into it I realise it is the search for comfort and the sweetness that I have not given myself during the day. And as soon as I recognise it and name it, it can leave. Thank you for sharing Robyn
While I can’t claim to have had a sugar addiction I can relate to what you have written except for me it was cheese and coffee. I’d come in from work after having consumed 10-15 cups a of coffee to make it to the end of my day and cut off a huge slice of cheese, sit down and munch my way through it revelling in the comfort and sense of relaxation it gave me after a hard day at work.
Then about 7 years ago my family and I took a 2 week trip in a camper van around New Zealand with a kilo block of mature cheese for company in the fridge. Oddly when we returned the van I had hardly touched the block and it ended up in the bin.
However the first night home after work I found myself, head in the fridge, searching for my fix of cheese when it struck me I was using cheese like most people have a beer. It was that insight that allowed me to feel that it was time to deal with why I needed to comfort myself when I came in from work. By working through this cheese no longer needed to be a part of my life.
It is only when we are given the opportunity to feel and really see what our behaviours are offering us as a form of pay back can we begin to truly heal and let the behaviour go.
Hi Rachel, you are lucky! For me it was sugar, cheese, coffee and beer. I loved them all but these days I can feel the harm they do to me so, finally, it is easy to do without them.
Um Rachel…how is it you are still alive? I was a coffee addict but 10 – 15 cups per day makes me look like I wasn’t really trying.
But of course I was…in other ways. I could easily eat a l-a-r-g-e bag of liquorice bullets on my own every night on the way home from work. I was so tired, so drained and so exhausted that I did not feel alive until I was half finished…bit of course I would keep going until they were all done.
Over the years I tried to quit sugar, but I could not do it. In 2008 I put myself on an anti fungal/anti candida type diet. It nearly killed me to go cold turkey. At that time I was letting myself get so knocked around by work that as soon as the 8 week program was down I was back to my old sugary ways.
It was the exhaustion that I had to look at.
I did.
Steadily I was able to let go of sugar until this day, when I look back in amazement at the desperation of my years of sugar need. It is true liberation to be free of addiction.
I’ve never known you to be cheesy Rachel! What you state here is important, because it shows that addiction can be to anything that we use to get relief from an inner tension.
In my experience drugs are addictive and disempowering. We often think about drugs being just alcohol along with the other known illegal and legal drugs. When we open it up to sugar and anything else that is addictive and disempowering this changes what we class as drugs entirely.
Can one be addicted to food? All food? That is how I feel at the moment as I find it very hard to stop eating, eating too much, and going for food when I am not hungry. It is no particular kind of food, as I don’t long for gluten or dairy or sugar any more, the food I eat is all healthy stuff. I feel that the stage I have got to is really exposing the underlying issue for me that has been there all along, but hidden behind the other addictions. Now they are no longer there, I am faced with the truth, that I am terrified of not having enough. It comes from the influence of the war and rationing, but also from my own lack of of feeling worthwhile, and trusting that all will be given to me if I do not worry about it. That is my responsibility, to notice when this great urge to eat rises. that is when I can face the terror and the unworthiness and refuse to engage with what is definitely not who I am in truth. Thank you Robyn, your blog helped me to recognise all this.
Joan – a great observation Joan with this deeper exploration within yourself with uncovering not only sugar addiction, but that what is underlying the addiction to all food. I can relate to what you say here and it feels good to expose it within myself too to be able to catch those phases of overeating when truly not required.
I remember as a child growing up, sugar was even more acceptable than it is now and we used to pile it on porridge and cereal every morning for breakfast. Most kids at that time would have been sugar addicts, we didn’t know any better. The only thing that we were told was that too much rotted your teeth.
It is so true Robyn, we don’t think of sugar as a drug because it is so readily available and so socially acceptable. We give it liberally to young children as a treat or reward, or just to be nice. We buy chocolates as gifts and make sweet desserts and puddings for dinner guests. We don’t even consider the harm we are doing to our bodies (and others), and sugar enables us to remain numb to this truth.
Thanks Robyn! I’ve been a sugar addict also….I’ve managed to rid myself (hmmm, ok maybe 95% of the time) of refined sugars, but I still feel a ‘need’ to have something sweat everyday…and so I substitute refined sugar with a bit of maple syrup in nut cookies or apple and nut butter, or berries and when I’m feeling really down…I’ll grab what I can get. My sweet cravings are directly related with the sadness I just don’t want to feel. Im as aware of it as I can be, and there have been times I have been able to stop myself from numbing out, but not always. A work in progress.
Thankyou for your blog Robyn, it’s very inspiring to read and know it is possible as I am also a conscious sugar addict. But I know the benefits of not having sugar and how great I feel when I have periods of not eating it. Your blog inspired me to make more of a commitment to this.
Letting go of other foods seems to be much easier than sugar. I have falsely chosen to think that a bit of honey in my tea is so much better for me than a spoonful of sugar! I feel inspired to rethink this with the benefit of your article Robyn.
Thank you Robyn for naming sugar what it is: a drug.
For me sugar was a safe way to numb myself. I did not steal it or crave it openly, but developed clever ways of hiding from myself how I consumed more and more sugar as my selfesteem and happiness got smaller and smaller during a phase of my life. I managed to mask it as caring for myself. First i would simply eat better (and more) sweets, then I added exquisite chocolates, then came a fancy for making elaborate cakes and pralines as a treat for me, homemade jam for breakfast everyday… .
Looking back I can say that I used it to numb myself. Being honest I must say that eating sugar never made me really feel happy and at ease, but anxious and nervous – a great excuse for eating even more sugar.
Having changed my diet and eating no refined sugars and only a low amount of carbohydrates has brought amazing yet very gentle changes. I do appreciate my body and what foods it needs more and more. Before, there where strict rules and believes about what was right or healthy to eat and what was certainly not – and a great hardness towards myself to meet my standards. Now there is an openness and joy to eat what I really need everytime I open the fridge or the storage cupboard. How much more love of myself this has broad into my life is something I lack the words to describe.
I can relate to what you’ve written Robyn, as I’m sure many people can. I too was addicted to sugar from a very young age and it played havoc with my health also resulting in hypoglaecemia in my 30’s. Having given up refined sugar a few years ago…or rather it giving me up, I now only feel like I want something sweet when I’m tired and need a ‘pick me up’, and these days will go to fruit for the sugar boost.
Me too Sandra…I have found that even the ‘healthier’ sugar options can be addictive and I too find myself eating more fruit when I am tired or need a pick up. Its great to observe this and know that if I address why I am tired in the first place then I wont need the sugar hit…which means I then wont have to deal with the sugar low an hour later!
I love how you express that sugar is an addiction. When I think of addiction, yes, I think of drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Sugar is so accepted in life, that it is not truly seen as an addiction. We tell ourselves that it is not so bad, compared to drugs for instance. I always told myself that sugar was not so bad, because at least I don’t drink and I don’t smoke. I have come to understand that this is a great way to fool myself. Letting go of sugar is a journey and something that, for me, has taken time to not eat any longer. For this shows that it is in fact an addiction, and I can still have moments that I long for something sweet (piece of fruit for instance), but then most of the time I am tired.
Great post Robyn, Sugar is indeed evil. When I gave up sugar I was amazed to find after reading product labels that sugar is in almost everything. Some items shouldn’t even need sugar in them but low and behold there it was.
I can so relate to your experience Robyn, as sugar has been such an addiction in my own life. While I have found giving up gluten and dairy easy, sugar has until recently been my biggest food nemesis! It’s interesting to note that now sugar is being seen as an addiction and it is not surprising considering how much our food is laced with it. While I still occasionally get “cravings” for sugar I am finding this tends to be more in those times when I have not nurtured or cared for myself or simply been caught in my own emotions. It is amazing to feel the difference when we recognise our true sweetness within rather than reaching for that pick me up (that we can get from sugar) from without. I look forward to reading about your continuing journey.
More and more articles, research and awareness is coming out now about the damage sugar does and like you say it is similar to a drug and addiction. Sugar has also been something I have always had in my life, at times I have stopped it but recently started eating it again … something for me to look at. I would love to hear the next part of your journey and what happened when you stopped eating sugar. Was it easy? Were there any noticeable changes?
I agree with you Susan, no way I consider sugar when I am living consistently and making loving choices. But if I feel tired and don’t want to feel what I feel there is the option of something sweet again. And once I eat something sweet my body starts screaming for it again and that makes it more difficult to say no. But boy oh boy the feeling of sugar in my body is so not supportive for feeling truly vital, clear and still, at all.
Brilliant Blog Robyn thank you for sharing this. It is only recently I have really come to realise how addicted to sugar I had been all my life. It has been from gradually giving up gluten and dairy first then fruit and sugary drinks and foods and sweets leaving myself with honey and dates and still feeling tired and exhausted that i could pinpoint sugar as so harmful for my body. I used to feel it supported me when i was tired to keep going till something changed and suddenly I could not keep my eyes open and concentrate and be present and it was my determination to take responsibility for this that allowed me to see and know i could no longer afford to eat sugar in any form at any time as at night i could not sleep also from its effects. Seeing it now from what you share is amazing as it being like a drug in life is very real and truthful thank you.
The description of playing russian roulette is so apt, because when we eat food we know is not good for us that is the game we play. it just happens to be a slow burner that creeps up on us. Much better to accept honestly what food we eat that doesn’t support us and get the support we need to make the changes that allow vitality and true health to be our way.
i have issues with hypoglycaemia but i never thought I had a big attraction to sugar. i, until recently, ate huge quantities of carbs before i realized that whenever i felt tired i would eat carbs. eventually i had to stop eating carbs, and focus on fats and protein. Universal Medicine helped me understand that when you are exhausted your amazing body can basically turn carbs directly into sugar. i realise now that i actually did have a big attraction to sugar – i believe i was addicted to carbs at one point – just not understanding they are the same thing.
Robyn thank you for sharing how addictive sugar is and how from a young age your body was already showing you that sugar was not good for you. Sugar is in everything today, ready made meals, sauces, crisps, fizzy drinks… it is very hard to find something that does not have sugar in it, so when we do try and give it up we find it is almost in every food we eat. I can still feel the sugar pull when I see certain cakes or biscuits.
Thanks for sharing your story Robyn. I have always had a weakness for all the sweet delicacies and baked goods. Lately though, I have found that I am less drawn to eat those things. I think the main thing that changed was that I am much more aware of the effect of sugar after consuming it. It feels awful. I needed it because I was exhausted and I needed the stimulant to get me going. Now I am on much more even keel by having a really healthy balanced diet rich in protein and vegetables, no gluten, grains or dairy and little to no sugar. On a diet that is low in carbs (which basically becomes sugar), your liver creates the glucose it needs from protein. It does take some weening to get off refined sugars and carbs, but once the body has adjusted, it does feel a lot better for it. I have never been told what I should or shouldn’t eat, however by becoming more aware of my body’s reactions to foods with the support of presentations by Serge Benhanyon and Universal Medicine, I have been making my own choices.
Hi Jinya, like you my weakness was sugar and all things sweet, I loved cake, biscuits and chocolate. For health reasons I decided to make healthier diet choices and decided to cut out sugar from my diet. It was only then that I discovered that i was a sugar addict and had been for years… so I had to gradually reduce my sugar intake as it was too much to cut out completely. It took 2 years in total for me to overcome and resist the cravings for all things sweet. I learned some strategies, one never go hungry and two, look at sleep, because I discovered when I was tired or when i was hungry I would so easily reach for the sugar boost and I did, thus I made sure I ate 3 meals a day and went to bed early or when my body was tired, and in the beginning I always carried alternative healthy snacks which also helped when a sugar craving came on. Today I am sugar free, (i make all my own meals) and my body loves me for it.
Jinya and Jacqui, I find it supportive to look after my blood sugar levels too, by including proteins and fats at meals and being organized I don’t find myself with low blood sugar and nothing nutritious to eat. This way sugar cravings are far less of an issue but I still find I have to contend with emotionally driven sugar cravings at times.
What a journey this has been for you Robyn. You are so right when you compare designer drugs to refined sugars. I’d say this too, has been the hardest thing for me to look at. I felt the perk and slump of eating sugars. So as I’ve made a conscious effort to cut them from my diet, I notice how I plot ways to up the amount of fruit I eat. This also asks me to look at why I want so many sweet things – no matter what form they are in – when really they are not needed in my body.
The question is do I value that little niggling need for something sweet more than I value actually nourishing and supporting my body?
I’m slowly being more honest with what actually supports me, which allows me to make better choices, one grain at a time 😉
Great to highlight the dangers of sugar. I read the book, ‘Pure, White and Deadly’ over 30 years ago, so was well aware of how damaging sugar is to us. I cut out all refined and white sugar, but would use xylitol, coconut palm sugar, dates etc., as sources to sweeten things, but really I still had the addiction to something with a degree of sweetness in it. I have been looking at what is going on with me when I do this, often it is when I am feeling exhausted, so then I look at how I can lovingly support me to not need my fix.
That’s very true Lorraine, its easier to cut out the obvious sugars like refined or table sugar but it’s also being aware of the not so obvious forms of sugar, especially the sugars we get from fruit and vegetables. Although they are not as harmful, it is possible to overeat on these foods to satisfy a craving, as I did when I first cut down on my sugar intake.
Same here Tim, its quite amazing just how integrated Sugar is into nearly everything the supermarket sells even before we consider how many products are naturally sweet.
yep I did that too Tim…stopped refined sugars but made up for it in eating more fruit and simple carbohydrates. At the end of the day it all turns into sugar in the body and has the same ill effects of the ‘sugar blues’. Its been a gradual process of elimination listening to my body which so clearly tells me what it needs.
Robyn. I read your blog over and over, realising what the sugar has done over the years to my body.
The cravings are gradually diminishing, but still have a journey to travel. But will get there.
Awesome blog Robyn – love it!
What is disturbing to me is how much sugar is in things like cereal. As a kid in the 70’s things were not as sugary but we added the sugar on our cornflakes or weetabix by the large spoonful, now the cereal comes with the sugar already frosted on top – supply and demand I suppose.
These days sugar makes me racy and gives me a headache which is a good deterrent to stay clear of it.
Susan I love how you express that when we build a steadiness within, what we used to choose that takes us away from that no longer has appeal .
As you have said Robyn sugar is so readily available and accepted but causes so much damage, from tooth decay to obesity and diabetes as we all know. Thanks for your article exposing it for the drug it really is.
Thank you Robyn for exposing the sneakiest addiction of all: sugar. We as humanity are only starting to realise the real harm behind sugar with obesity spreading pretty much everywhere in the Western world. When I was a child in the 60s sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits were used as a reward for doing well, behaving well and for being a “good girl” or a “good boy”. So its no wonder I, like many others, grew up addicted to sugar! I have been working on this over a long time, and it continues to be a work in progress….
Interesting how you have said that in the 60s products with refined sugars were seen as a reward for doing well, most of the time – in my experience at school I have seen that these products have even become a ‘staple’ in our diets in the Western world – with someone once sharing that they had already eaten their ‘5 a day’ of chocolate bars by lunchtime, and with sugary foods being available at every turn.
Powerful comment Ariana. No craving/addiction is greater than the love that we are. If we choose to love ourself fully then there is no space for addiction.
Choosing to love ourselves fully is also allowing to look at what is causing the choice to eat sugar in the 1st place. To look at what causes the exhaustion hence the sugar craving, or what is underneath the emotion we want to numb and don’t want to feel…. with this understanding say no to any addiction wether “sugar” or otherwise becomes easier to say “no” to.
True Rachel, choosing to love ourselves fully is not only learning to say no but unpacking the feelings that are driving us into an addictive behaviour. Not always an easy task but a rewarding one. I am constantly amazed at what I have let go of, usually something which I at one time thought I could not live without.
Well said Josephine, it’s so empowering to be able to say no, from my body; without feeling I’m depriving myself of anything. The way I feel within myself is worth much more than what the short moment of tasting the sugar would be. Also, that intense sweetness does really not taste good anymore once my body is used to not having it.
Great point you make Rachel. This leads us to take full responsibility for what it is that we put in our mouths and not to be leave things as the whim of ‘this is just how it is, I have a craving therefore I will eat sugar’. We all make our own choices and if we are willing to be honest and look at what it is that driving those choices, perhaps we are open to make different more loving choices.
That of course means that every time we choose to eat sugar, we actually say to our body “I don`t love you.”. A big “Ouch!”
This is very true Maryline , the addiction is not the issue but the symptom and evidence of the lack of expression of love.
Thank you Robyn for exposing sugar so beautifully. I haven’t eaten refined sugar for many years and feel so much better without it. When I first came off sugar I was still eating high sugar fruits but soon realised that these were having an effect on me too. Now the only sugar I eat is apples, and even these sometimes have an effect. I know that I enjoy life so much more when my body is feeling steady and is not under the influence of sugar. I am able to function better, work longer hours, think more clearly and remain calm. It is such a myth that sugar gives you energy. Yes it provides a sugar ‘high’ just like a drug, which will be followed by a come down accompanied by tiredness and depression, and so the desire for more sugar. A horrible cycle that most people are controlled by. It is certainly a joy to be free of sugar.
Dear Robyn, I feel that I had the same experience as you did. I first stopped eating lactose, then gluten and alcohol but the hardest of all for me was sugar. As I was working as a chef and doing fruit preparation everyday, I was eating it all the time and finding it very addictive in a similar way to how I used sugar. My body also reacted the with feeling racy and I found it hard to focus. The one solution I found for me personally is to cut it out of my diet. I do eat a lot of green vegetables and salads to compensate.
Thanks Robyn. Sugar is a real addictive drug, one that I fight on a daily basis. I love my chocolate biscuits, and bars of chocolate. I have started to get tough with myself, and when I get the urge to buy the drug, I have to keep saying to my self YOU DONOT NEED that drug. I will get there.
I always thought, that I did not particularly like sugar. I did not have it in my tea or coffee, I found desserts and puddings too sickly and rich to enjoy and I did not have a particularly sweet tooth (or so I thought), until I explored life without sugar. I could not believe how I reacted. I simply replaced refined sugar with huge quantities of dates and bananas which exposed just how addicted to sweet things I was. Over time and little by little, I have reduced the amount of sugar in my diet and now even a small amount if eaten late would inhibit my sleep.
Fiona, I can relate to what you say. I did not think I had a problem with sugar. But I do remember when I was young, always having brown sugar with my porridge or other cereal, and loving it. For many years, if I wanted a snack, I would head for say the Allbran (very high in sugar), then of course with milk. I had forgotten that one. But then later in life, thinking I was eating healthily, I would eat enormous plates of fruit, sometimes 3 times a day as a finish to the meal. Yes, it was still a sugar hit. Now, thank goodness, my fruit intake is largely half a green apple, 2 or maybe 3 times a day. But I can also at times add some red papaya for breakfast, excuse being, for my digestive system, when things not quite going right. Have not really got rid of that one yet, still using the excuse, but I must say, it does seem to help the digestive system.
Thanks Robyn for your honest blog on the perils of sugar addiction. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, (mainly in the form of chocolate and cake) and find its one of the hardest things to quit, it has been kind of a sweet comfort to make up for something emotional, or as a habit. I thought the best way was to go cold turkey and not have any at all, but even though I could do this for several months at a time the same issues of why I eat sugar in the first place slowly resurfaces. Although not at the same level as before. Now if I have something that’s sweet, I can really taste it and if I eat more than 2 squares of dark chocolate, my body feels too stimulated. My diet is refining and evolving, as I appreciate myself more and so don’t have the same need – I can take it or leave it. I wouldn’t say I’ve cracked it completely yet, although I do know I feel a lot clearer in my body and able to focus more without it.
Robyn sugar has been my drug of addiction and it still the thing I go for if I am stressed or not wanting to deal with something in my life. Of course I don’t go for lollies, chocolates or cakes (as these are too obvious) I tend to go for a dates or sweet fruit. I know these don’t feel great in my body anymore (as it screams at me) but it is interesting to observe how strong the pull to a little bit of sweetness in my mouth, instead of addressing why I dont feel there is enough sweetness in me and my life!
Yes, sharon, it is interesting to observe how strong the pull to have a little bit of sweetness in the mouth, especially when feeling tired, the taste lasts for all of 5 or so seconds, but the effects I feel in my body last a lot longer…and as you mentioned, instead of addressing why we don’t feel there is enough sweentess in ourselves…. great blog.
Beautiful Robyn I can completely relate. I too have weaned myself off sugar and the last stage has been quite confronting, but definitely worth it. Sugar is a real poison, it is extremely damaging within the body, not only upsetting our insulin balance but stealing vital vitamins and enzymes as it passes through. The thing that struck me most having given it up is just how much better my teeth and gums are as a consequence. I used to hate having my teeth cleaned at the dentist because it hurt so much, but nowadays its quite pain free – it showed me that sugar doesn’t just rot your teeth, it destroys your gums too. And I know I could not have undertaken such a deeply entrenched addiction if it had not been for the very practical tools offered by Universal Medicine that also helped me “to start to understand what I chose to consume and why”. Thank you for such an honest article.
I agree Rowena, understanding why we choose sugar, what it is giving us is fundamental to stopping this addiction. Universal Medicine offers great support for us to be more loving with ourselves, and this then means it is easier to stop anything that is not truly nurturing and loving.
I agree Rowena and Lorraine. Understanding why we have reached for the food or behaviour that numbs us out or causes a raciness or distraction is the key. Allowing ourselves to feel this and understand where it comes from is where the healing starts.
Thank you for sharing your experience and exposing the impact sugar really can have on ourselves and how it is accepted in society as normal to have a sugar high or low or need or desire and this reliance is not often questioned by ourselves or others. My sugar craving was also exposed as I started looking at my diet, I dropped a lot of what didn’t feel good in my body but sugar hung around for quite awhile, but as I did let go of other things that did not feel good inevitably, I had to have an honest look at sugar and how it made me feel.
Brilliantly put Ariana. No craving is stronger than I am. It’s a question of whether I am willing to look at what’s driving the compulsion/craving and heal whatever is there to be healed.
So true Karin – I love what you say here.
Karin, that is so true, it’s taking that responsibity and going deeper to understand where and why this craving is coming up, how have I been living that is calling for the craving. And as we go deep with this we are supporting our healing.
Yes, thank you Karin, so true. No craving is stronger than me. It is absolutely that question – am I willing to look and heal or continue the addiction/craving? I know when I choose the former, it is so liberating to be free and I feel so much lighter. And when I choose the latter (which is far less often these days), I feel so complicated and heavy.
“No craving is stronger than I am”… I like that, it makes me feel empowered knowing that my food cravings are not going to go away by themselves, I have to commit to working at it and feeling what lies underneath the cravings, and this applies to all food, not just sugar. Although I agree, sugar is hugely addictive and the dangers of sugar are being exposed, but salt has a hold on me too sometimes and that can be equally addictive if I let it. I have given up sugar, apart from the occasional apple and now even my toothpaste can leave a sweet taste in my mouth that I don’t like!
True Karin, make sure you are at the driver’s seat instead of something else driving your actions.
Like your comment Luke, and it is so true, taking control over our own actions and life starts with how we breathe for ourselves and making the loving choices for ourselves and for others.
So true Karin its not until we are willing to see why we seek something out side of our self to drive us as we are not enough , until this is healed we can find sugar and drive in the so called healthiest of foods, such as an apple.
Wow thank you for your comment Karin – it makes so much sense! Of course we are stronger than our cravings but it makes no sense to fight them, the only true option is, as you say, to ‘…look at what’s driving the compulsion/craving and heal whatever is there to be healed.’.
This conversation really changes the relationship that we have with sugar cravings as rather than fighting it and using will power, the more loving approach is to question, explore and understand for ourselves why we are craving it or feel that we need it. Robyn makes a beautiful point when she shares the moment when she knew that her relationship with refined sugars had to change. You can tell from reading her blog that it was an AWAKENING moment, something that she felt in her whole being which enabled her to then take the next steps in healing the issue.
It is interesting Shevon Simon how you have shared about the approach taken when we decide to give up a way of living that does not truly support us. The control of food is often what causes us to return to the behaviour time and time again after making the commitment to give up a food choice in the first place. It is when we approach the decision with a lovingly and consider the effects it has had on our lives that changes can become life long.
I recently had this awareness also Karin – that what I have is far greater than what has been put in place to stop me living it. From this point, the choice and the responsibility to live the love that we are, is much more simple.
Great point Karin, going deeper to the heart of the craving/compulsion makes such sense as it absolutely places us in the drivers seat and not at the beck and call of the craving itself.
This is definitely the key to getting over our addictions. To really stop and feel into our bodies the moment we have the craving and see what is there to be felt that we would prefer to numb out by going to our drug of choice. When I am craving food it is usually to numb out a deep sadness inside. The amazing thing is that when I feel it and let it go the craving subsides.
And this is where the responsibility to starts with living a life of vitality or not.
Great point. Sugar is a drug and what’s more it seems to be in everything!… From pasta sauce to crackers to breakfast cereals. I have been amazed just how much of the stuff is put in our food. No wonder the WHO says it is going to be the next Tobacco! I also used to be hooked on sugar and I found the only way to break the habit was to look at why I was exhausted and needing the stimulation. It was only when I changed other things in my diet and lifestyle and addressed my exhaustion that it was possible to kick the sugar. Otherwise I would say it is impossible.
Andrew that makes a lot of sense. It seems sugar is the staple behind everything – the tea breaks at the office are more about the sugar than the tea. There are very few processed foods without sugar. I find that my need for a sugar fix (including fruits etc..) changes depending on how I’ve been living my day. Your point about addressing the exhaustion, lifestyle and diet first is very valid. By looking at these areas I can start to see why I depend on sugar to pick me up.
Andrew, it is encouraging that WHO is recognising the negative health implications of sugar consumption and is likening it to tobacco. WHO has recently changed their dietary guidelines around sugar and reduced it from 10% of daily calorie intake to 5%. As you noted Andrew sugar is added to most packaged and processed foods, it’s addictive, has a negative cycle that leaves us craving for more, it is used to mask and pep up tiredness and it is a quick mood pick me up that we go to so we do not have to admit we are miserable. A sugar craving can be great distraction from feeling miserable and once the craving is satisfied the chemistry in our body changes to give an artificial elation or pacification until of course blood sugar levels drop and the next hit is sought out but sugar is so easy to access it is even possible to avoid the drop or we fall into bed exhausted. In my experience sweet foods are something I can go to if tired, miserable, anxious, and for numbing but these are all symptoms of a spiritual illness and this is what Universal Medicine is helping me to understand so that the deeper underlying cause is addressed.
One month on from my previous post on this blog I can say that discarding sugar from my life is making a difference. I am finding I am a lot steadier in my life and realised today that I feel less exhausted than I did previously.
Well said, Susan. If that steadiness is there, sugar is not even a consideration, but when we are tired or upset it becomes an attractive option to avoid feeling what is really going on. Thank you Robyn for your honesty.
Very clearly put, Ariana. To know that we are are more powerful than the sugar changes our whole relationship with it.
I like what you’ve shared Mary as I can see it takes it deeper when we stop and truly feel the impulse for why we choose to resist our stillness, who we naturally are. You have definitely got me pondering on some of the reasons I can still use food (in all it’s forms) to stop feeling what lays within me.
And this power for me and changing my relationship with sugar, has only come from being honest about why I need this sugar in the first place.
Thank you Robyn for your honesty and Susan for commenting that sugar sneaks in when we are not feeling steady and strong. I have avoided refined sugars for years because of issues with candida but am aware that I still get caught out when I am feeling over-tired etc. I have found that appreciating myself rather than beating myself up has supported me to start making different choices but it is definitely a work in progress.
Yes, I have found this is also true, Helen, Janet and Susan. When I have felt a reaction to something the wanting of sugar is strong and then of course in the eating of it compounds the feeling of being less solid and more in my nervous system. As you said Susan, “looking at the way in which I live that supports a steadiness within so I have no need to look any further than that” is a true way to go.
I agree Rachel, we need to look at what we don´t want to feel, what is happening when we have that craving, of sugar in this case. I have been having those cravings for sugar, and it is obviously exhaustion, overwhelm, and sometimes wanting to belong (as people in my work buy chocolates and things I cannot have, so that springs up the attitude in me of not wanting to be left out, especially with food). So that is what I am now looking at, and I agree with Robyn, sugar is no small addiction. I have given up so many things and did not think sugar would be difficult, but it is, as it is everywhere and so encouraged nowadays.
I love the attention to detail in this blog Robyn, thank you. Sugar can be such a glaringly obvious addiction it’s frightening to think the dots are not joined often enough. It is only now am I truly in touch with my body can I feel the result of even the lightest taste It’s great to be reminded of the impact of such a product.
Robin thank you a really great perspective on sugar and the ability to be addicted to it. I certainly have found sugar the hardest thing to let go of in my diet. I know I don’t feel so great after it, so try to avoid the obvious types – yet I find anything that can act as a substitute.
Thank you Robyn for a great blog and I am sure everyone can relate to the addictiveness of sugar. I also can recall visiting the shops before and after school to get my sugar fix. Treats and cakes were part of my daily meals at home and it was very rare to not have a pudding or cake after a meal. Wanting to eat something sweet after a meal has been hard for me these past 8 years, even though I do not eat sugary treats anymore. I have found that these days the slightest bit of sugar gives me a headache – it now makes me wonder how I ate all of the sweets, chocolate, puddings and cakes without feeling ill; how numb must I have been.
I can so relate to this Robyn, sugar has been my choice of addiction, I too took money from my parents for a while so that I could buy sweets, I never got caught but it showed the lengths I was willing to go to to get sugar. Later in life I was always eating sweets and because I didn’t put wight on I was able to eat as much as I wanted. I knew sugar was bad for me and I would sometimes cut down, but mostly I would consume what ever was in front of me until it was finished. The trouble is like any addiction once I started eating something sweet it encourages you to want to eat more. I knew I was addicted but I felt I was in control of the addiction and this is the illusion that you think you are ok and it is not really harming me, or others and it is better than being addicted to alcohol or drugs. The truth is it is still an addiction and just because I could not see any signs that it was affecting my body I saw no harm in it. Through attending Universal Medicine presentations I have got to understand how sugar affects the body and then I began to feel for myself the raceyness and the need to pep me up, or to give myself a reward and how I used sugar to numb myself, no different to alcohol or drugs.
Great blog Robyn. You are so right sugar is hugely addictive and pretty much all pervasive in the modern diet. I have given up refined sugars and now feel if I eat a piece of fruit or even nuts that I will always want another carb or sweet food again and again in the day. It’s an instant hook and distraction. Its like there is no escape, such a slippery slope. The days when I go without fruit or nuts I feel so much more steady and at ease in my body and mind.
Great insight Anne-Marie and something I can feel during my day also. If I start the day with eggs on toast, I will be craving sweet or more carbs for the whole day. So GF toast is no longer an option. I can feel this happening for nuts too! Which I am a little hooked on as a protein snack, but they are paving the way for more sugar cravings in my day.
Taking sugar out of our diets really opens up the door to us looking at other foods that may not be so beneficial for our bodies. It really is an ongoing process to feed our body the food that will sustain it and keep it on an even keel.
Such a great exposing. Your clarity clearly exposes that the addiction is similar to that of a drug addiction, yet how often do we fool ourselves pretending that it does no harm? I loved the recollections of the past and your childhood foibles of sugar searching, only to be stopped in one way or another, but still the urge was so strong to push on further. I look forward to reading what happened next…
I loved this, how you have written it – I didn’t want to stop reading. I feel there should definitely be a part 2 to this article. I would love to know what happened after you stopped eating sugar, was it easy to stop just like that? Did you make changes in your diet to support this, etc. You are right sugar is a drug and yet it is found in nearly everything!
Yes Vicky. There are 2 more blogs that follow this one that are waiting to be published. Stay tuned.
I look forward to part two and three as well!
Yes, I do too Rachel.
Oh Good, I want to hear more as well.
Thanks Robyn for your honest article about your addiction to sugar. I can relate to what you have written, although I didn’t have hypoglycaemia, I was addicted to sugar growing up, for many of my teenage years I was overweight and feeling heavy, miserable and dull, but I was just eating what was at home, like biscuits and cakes from the kitchen cupboard and then going to the shop for sweets with my pocket money, this was seen as normal. But I looked and felt awful. In my 20’s I wasn’t consuming as much sugar but it was still part of my diet, I became aware that something needed to change in my early 30’s, I had digestive issues and went to see a nutritionist, she suggested cutting out sugar along with some other harmful foods, this was nearly 10 years ago and I now feel consistently well, with no health complaints, the few times that I have had sugar in this time I have suffered with headaches, energy crashes after eating the sugar and feeling miserable, so it’s been an easy choice to not consume sugar and to choose feeling well and vital instead.
Thank you Robyn for helping to bring sugar out of the closet fro what it is! I have felt passionately that sugar is a drug for over 20 years. Even though the consequences where dire for me, also having an over reactive pancreas, it was my drug addiction from age 9 to 39. Despite the devastating consequences of mood swings, depression, agitation, yeast infections, agonizing drops in self esteem, extreme lethargy {inability to move or 3 hour catatonic style naps}, etc. I could not stop myself from eating sugar!!! …Until I began the work of re-connecting to myself, learning to self love and choosing more awareness around my patterns and behaviors as inspired by Serge Benhayon and deeply supported by Esoteric Healing practitioners…and my need for sugar has been steadily dropping away. At this point, my nemesis sugar, has no true hold over me anymore and as a result my entire life has changed and that list of side effects is 95% cleared!
Great blog Robyn. I love how you describe how you got your sugar fix as it reminded me of some of the naughty things I would do so I could buy some sweets. And you are right , sugar is an addiction and the fact that it is so entrenched in our everyday foods makes it harder to bring that awareness to people.
You describe addiction really well, I can feel the cunning determination in the girl looking for her next hit! Crazy that sugar has been allowed to be so freely available and put into everything pretty much!!! Especially when it causes such raciness in the body. Taking responsibility for what we eat is an amazingly freeing experience. I love it and have given sugar a good boot, yet for me personally it sneaks in as a date or dash of jam on a pikelet!! Its the one drug that I have found to be the most difficult to let go of.
Yes sugar is both harmful and addictive. I spent many of my younger years addicted to sugar and the fact it is considered normal shows how very lost we are as a society. Sugar addiction is a roller coster into mental health problems with ups and downs, its very chemistry means it is a direct poison to our body. Thank you for sharing this with us Robyn, it is time to show the word what sugar really is.
Thank you for writing this Robyn. It’s great to see how you have turned this around and that by making the other food choices to stop eating gluten and dairy it opened your eyes to seeing what else needed to be looked at in your diet. A great way of approaching any changes we want to make – start small and with something manageable and then we’ll feel more equipped to deal with the more entrenched patterns. Awesome work!
For years I tried all sorts of ‘healthy’ diets from books that involved giving up different foods or adding other foods but it never lasted as the diets were theory and did not teach me about listening to my body. When however I gave up gluten my body started to wake up, like the gluten had been keeping my body in a slumber. Then I was able to feel what I wanted to eat, what I could have a little of but not too much of and my body would show me foods that in my head were healthy but my body was saying it did not like or want that food anymore. I know it was taking gluten out of my diet that made it easier to listen to the wisdom of my body.
Sugar has been my drug of choice in the past too. I never smoked, took drugs, drank alcohol or even for that matter coffee, but sugar was the one thing that I craved. All through my childhood and into my thirties I ate copious amounts of biscuits, chocolate, sweet deserts and cereals with added sugar, so much so that like you I developed hypoglycaemia. I had to have my meals on time or watch out I would get miss grumpy, or I felt I would disappear, so no one speak to me because I don’t want to talk to you… just get me to my next piece of food! What an amazing experience and change I have gone through by stopping sugary foods.. (and gluten and dairy free at the same time). No more hypoglycaemia and tons more energy. I don’t even need to eat 3 meals a day anymore and still feel well and vital. There should be warnings on packets, sugar can seriously damage your health!
Absolutely Rachel, sugar should carry a health warning. The medical field are just beginning to make noises about how harmful it is. There is still such an investment in the industry that it will take a long time for our governments to truly recognise it but it is lethal. Sugar is an energy and nutrient thief in the body, it actively strips out vitamins as it passes through us and has zero nutritional value. I too have come from an extreme sugar addiction (and I did all the other things too!). After years of clearing the effects, I now realise I ate sugar because I could not feel my own sweet essence. Thanks to Natalie Benhayon and all her presentations I can feel that now and I no longer need sugar to substitute such an exquisite feeling.
Rachel and Rowena, I completely agree that sugar should carry a health warning and be taken far more seriously. I was reading an article yesterday about the correlation between cocaine usage and sugar usage, in the article images were shown of the brain function and the similarities were frightening. I have taken sugar out of my diet and now my body is used to not having sugar, when I do choose to eat something sweet I feel the raciness on my body immediately and by the end of the day I feel exhausted.
This is incredible, what an amazing transformation Rachel.
I too found sugar an aggressive addiction. The more you eat the more you crave. Having made the choice to cut sugar from my diet I am amazed at the sweetness of so many foods.
That is so true – I definitely notice now that I do not eat as much sugar that everything is much sweeter, even apples, and interestingly, food I once considered very bland has much more taste.
So agree Mary, Fiona and Meg. I am now finding that even an apple is very sweet. I have noticed that when I’m allowing myself to feel and accept whatever feelings are there in my body that I don’t fancy eating sweet things, because I know they will take me out of touch with my body and to make myself feel better from doing so, I’ll want to eat more sugar which I become numb with anyway = crazy addiction!
Yes I can relate to that Meg its incredible how our palette changes when we eliminate different stimulants.
Yes that is very true Mary, all the natural flavours in food return to us when we cut sugar out of our diet. I am quite struck by how beautiful food tastes when cooked very gently and simply, now I have stopped assaulting my taste buds with sugar!
Yes, I agree, a while ago I ordered a bowl of leak and potato soup in a restaurant and complained that it tasted sweet to the waitress. I asked if she could check with the chef whether or not any sugar had been added. The waitress assured me that this would not be the case but went to check. We were both staggered to find that sugar had been added. As a society we are becoming so accustomed to the taste of sugar because almost everything is sweetened (even children’s toothpaste) that we have forgotten what real food taste likes. I am enjoying how by simply giving up sugar I have found a new diversity in my diet.
I absolutely agree Mary, there is an aggressivity in sugar addiction. In fact we would not need sugar at all because many foods we eat are delicious as they are and it is not necessary to add sugar. The less sugar we eat, the less sugar we need.
And, there is enough sweetness in all of us.
And I have found that now I don’t put salt in or on my food, the food tastes even more yummy.
That is so true, Fiona. I had not eaten beetroot for some time but the other day I had a piece of roasted beetroot and was astonished how sweet it now tasted, while before I had not been aware of its sweetness at all.
Yes Mary it is amazing how sweet some foods are. I’m not at the stage yet where sugar is completely eliminated from my diet but I feel the reaction more and more and this is a good thing. I’m looking forward to my totally sugar free days.
It’s true that when we stop eating sugar other foods take on a whole new taste. Who knew that coconut could be so sweet!
Only a couple of months ago I was honest enough with myself to admit that I have been using sugar (mainly in the form of cake) to numb myself. I said to myself, sugar is a drug. I have now made a committed effort to dropping it from my life. My experience of it thus far is reminiscent of stopping smoking. Having time where I really hanker and crave it, sometimes I give in and it makes me then abandon all regard for myself and pushes me to overeat. Sugar is definitely a drug, one from which I am glad I am letting go of in my life.
What you have described Michelle is very true about the side effects of sugar, one being overeating. There are so many different ways sugar affects us that we are unaware of as in my experience once sugar is consumed there is a disconnection to being able to feel much of anything other than raciness. This disconnection then allows us to do things that we wouldn’t normally do like over work, over eat, over exercise, stay up later than necessary etc. There is so much involved in the consumption of sugar over and above eating it that is for sure.
We use sugar in all its forms for many reasons, one being that we are exhausted and need a lift or boost in energy. Eating sugar because we are tired does in fact give us an artificial boost in physiological energy, that then depletes the body when we “crash”, or when the physiological level of sugar in our body drops.
There are so many foods that the body converts to sugar, (which I learned about from a nutritionist), including many processed carbohydrates, ie bread and pasta. There are many hidden sugars in what is held to be a healthy diet.
Yes Robyn the over-eating and over-doing staying up later than usual is my experience of the sugar effect. Then it has a flow-on effect to the next day where I may wake a bit tired, or become so more quickly, and then, guess what … a sneaky little craving for a sweet pick-me up. Nothing innocent here.
Yes the flow on effect is certainly there, Anne. Eating something sweet for a pick-me-up only depletes us, which keeps us on the merry-go-round of consuming sugar to stay up. It took me years to recover from the exhaustion I was covering up from eating sugar.
Thank you Robyn. Yes, sugar was on my list of anything and everything that can be addictive. I did not want my body to run out of whatever I was numbing it with, so I had back ups in place. As I have slowly purged my list, it is now real easy to feel what my body would have told me then if it had not been over-numbed. It is amazing that as I evolve my sugar intolerance, my body just keeps adding to the list that has too much sugar in it. Anything with too much sugar now gives me a pounding headache, in the past that could have been multi-systematic.
Steve I love how, as you got more in tune with your body, you felt the effects of sugar more. It’s inspiring to hear how, once you let go of numbing out, your body told you loud and clear what it likes and doesn’t like. I am starting to pay more attention and make the links between what my body feels like and what I did to cause it to feel that way, so those links are irrefutable, and I can say that sugar, it ain’t worth it.
Yes! Sugar is TOTALLY addictive, and leaves us always wanting more, and never acknowledges that we are in fact sweet enough without it. 🙂
Lovely comment Meg, yes sugar does always crave more sugar and I agree we are so totally sweet enough without any! I too have given up refined sugars but still find that too much of anything with sugar within it, can have the same effect.
And in that wanting more we can easily overeat, in an attempt to ‘fill us up’.
Thanks, Robyn, for presenting the truth in your blog about this ubiquitous, pervasive substance and its affect on our health and wellbeing.
Hey thank you Robyn, I’ve never felt it to be the same as you, but what I have become more and more aware of, is even though we cut out the obvious sugars, when I ‘need’ it for whatever reasons, be it to not feel, for comfort, to numb or avoid feeling exhaustion, there’s certain foods people think of as healthy that I would go to, that even now for me, those are just to get a rush of sugar and a quick pick me up.
And there are plenty to choose from Gyl! It doesn’t have to come in a lolly wrapper to be high in sugar, natural or processed.
Robyn, I loved reading this as sugar has been my addiction too. You certainly have to appreciate the choices you are making in order to have a healthy life.
Yes sugar has a powerful hold on so many. I thought myself lucky for not liking lollies or soft drinks but I did get my daily dose of sugar via biscuits and fruits. I identified with the baking that I used to offer my family and friends. Now when I am invited I offer to bring a dish of vegetables or salad instead of the dessert everyone expects of me.
Sugar in fruits was a real eye opener for me. Because fruit has always been considered so healthy it is so easy to overlook the sugar factor – in whatever form it comes.
I agree, Vicky, fruit is marketed as the ‘healthy’ option but the last time I had a whole mandarin I almost fell asleep from the high natural sugar content doing a number on me.
Wow – that’s awesome – at the moment I am still ‘getting away with it’ because I don’t always sense the result of eating sugary foods – except at bed time when I can’t sleep. I can’t imagine falling asleep from one mandarin! I used to love the fruit smoothies and since learning about their high sugar content have stopped – there is much still for us to learn about this addiction to sugar and what our bodies truly need by way of rest, recuperation and nourishment.
So true, Carmel, “…there is much still for us to learn about this addiction to sugar and what our bodies truly need by way of rest, recuperation and nourishment.” and we are all at different points in relation to this.
Yes Sally, this reminds me how much I was in the grip of sugar/chocolate addiction through all my growing years; some people still find it hard to believe that I haven’t had any for years now. Nothing would make me go back there though. I enjoy the freedom to not have to have any of it anymore. And the tastebuds do change so much with the choices we make. I can easily taste the gentle sweetness in a green apple or in berries, or in beetroot for example.
Thanks Robyn for sharing your story. This is a very candid and refreshing insight into the evils of sugar. I’ve had chronic fatigue and insulin resistance for years so I know all about finding sneaky ways to get my sweet ‘high’. I used to love bowls of cereal, which I would eat every morning and night before bed. I also stopped at the shop on the way home from work and bought turkish delights, cherry ripes, or whatever I could get my hands on to alleviate the sugar crashes. I am virtually off all refined sugar now, but it took great persistence and patience. I tried sipping chlorophyll whenever I felt the ‘urge’ and it helped to settle the insatiable cravings a little. I’ve also started eating dinner much earlier in the evening, sometimes as early as 5pm, which stops me reaching for sweet pick-me-ups as soon as I get home from work.
So perfect that you have described your past fondness for sugar as an addiction – it is exactly that! What great insight you share re how you went out of your way to get it at any cost, and especially how you eliminated so many other things but still got caught up in sugar chasing. I remember the big fad diets of the 80’s and 90’s were all based around low fat, but sugar was seen as ok because we supposedly burned it off so quickly. Time has shown we were right to question this approach to so called health.
I love my very low sugar diet and how it supports me to feel still and rested and centred in my body. When I have indulged in sugar I have to give up this deeper inner connection and I feel racy and lose focus. How great to be aware of this now and choose differently.
Very true Felicity. When I eat something I never considered as being sweet, like a cherry tomato or beetroot, its amazing how really sweet these foods are. Being so much more aware gives you the opportunity to make different choices that truly support your body.
Felicity so true, sugar is fondness. I am currently going through this awareness about sugar, where I can feel my body get racy and out of focus when I have had sugar to when I haven’t. I am currently exploring,, as some foods are more obvious than others.
Thank you Robyn. It’s been only recently that I have really felt my own addiction to sugar and like any ‘drug’ how difficult this is to acknowledge. It’s an insidious substance that sneaks into our diets by way of ‘celebrations’. Then it becomes something we need to get through our days. My grandfather was a confectioner, so there was always lollies around and both grandmothers were amazing cooks, especially of cakes and sweets. So there was a constant supply. In my 30’s I went off sugar for about 6 weeks – none – it was then that I realised the emotional hold that sugar had on me. It was a real eye opener. It’s only now though through addressing the reasons of why I needed the sugar in the first place that I have been slowly and gradually decreasing the amount of the sweet stuff in my diet. It’s incredible really when you consider the risks we take with our health, and your story is an amazing story of turning that around. A real celebration Robyn. With no sugar required…
Hahaha… A celebration without sugar and instead loads of joy. That is my kind of celebration nowadays!
Yes Jen, the emotional pull of sugar and sweet foods is huge.