About 4 years ago I realised I was an addict. In order to kick my drug addiction I needed to get honest about my relationship to my drug of choice – refined sugar.
First of all, I needed to realise that my sugar addiction was my baby, it was my comfort, my friend… and it was time to cut the cord.
But going cold turkey did not appeal to me. That seemed a bit harsh.
So I cut out ALL refined sugars first and supported myself with only natural sugars. This meant that I was only consuming sugar in the form of honey, maple syrup and fresh fruit..
And even though I was consuming these natural sugars, I still went through withdrawals from my dear friend, refined sugar. But I was determined to kick my drug habit and part of this detox was realising that sugar actually was no friend of mine, as true friends don’t intentionally harm you in the way sugar was harming me.
Exhaustion, Anxiety and the Quest to Eat Sugar
I had been medically advised that my body broke down refined sugars too rapidly, so thankfully, having decided to stop my sugar addiction then and there, I had halted the destructive behaviour that was possibly leading me down the path to insulin dependent diabetes. But… I still suffered with so many other ill symptoms from eating sugar that I cannot really say that I had indeed ‘gotten away’ with eating refined sugars all those years.
For instance, the exhaustion I felt when I stopped getting my ‘highs’ from sugar was debilitating for a while. I struggled to make it through the day and therefore I decided to support myself by having a rest in the afternoons just so I could physically make it through the afternoon/evening with my daughter and husband.
I realised this exhaustion had not necessarily been caused by having eaten sugar – it had in fact been around for some time – the sugar had just been numbing me to it.
Over many years I suffered from quite severe anxiety and this had indeed created a lot of the exhaustion that I was now feeling: eating sugar had stopped me from truly feeling this exhaustion and therefore inhibited my ability to actually address it.
But… could it be said that my sugar addiction had actually INCREASED the exhaustion I had already been experiencing?
The simple answer to this question is YES.
The Impact of Sugar on the Body and Mind
In fact, through researching sugar I have discovered how very harming sugar is to our bodies, and it explains a lot of the symptoms I was feeling during my sugar addiction that I was really unaware of until after I stopped eating sugar.
To explain this simply, once sugar is consumed it sends pleasure messages to the brain and this triggers an ‘excitement’ that reverberates through the body: this basically means that the body accelerates from its natural rhythm to a faster one. In order to maintain this faster rhythm the body works harder, which then depletes the body – as it is far from normal to be functioning at this excessive speed. This depletion exhausts the body and once the effect of the sugar wears off you will feel tired… so you reach for another ‘hit’.
This cycle also affects your mental health. When you are on the ‘high’ you ‘feel good’ and ‘alive’, but when the ‘low’ comes you can feel quite emotional and down.
But actually FEELING this cycle can be a challenge…
As I have also discovered, when I consumed sugar it disconnected me from feeling a lot of what was happening in my body: it NUMBED me. This then enabled me to use my body in ways that I would not normally use it, translating into my doing some or all of the following regularly:
- over-exercising
- staying up later at night
- over-eating
- working longer hours, and
- racing around like a mad idiot getting an outrageously long list of things done… to just name a few!
All very tiring to my body and, always doing more than my body could naturally handle – depleting my body: no wonder I was feeling exhausted.
For many years I also added caffeine to the mix and I was like the super-charged ‘Energiser bunny’ that just went and went and went… oh, the exhaustion of it all!
Medical Research – Confirming the Ill-effects of Sugar
So how else does sugar impact on us?
The research is many and varied but it all shows that consuming sugar impacts us in many negative ways and contributes to many health issues we are currently experiencing on a world-wide scale.
Here are but a few examples:
- Sugar impacts on our mental health; in particular, it has been linked to the development of anxiety, depression and behavioural problems (especially in early childhood). The average age for anxiety diagnosis is age 6 and for depression the average age is 13. Wow!
- Sugar impacts on the health of our heart in various ways. Which makes sense, if you think about it, because if the body is running at a faster speed than normal, this puts strain on the heart (and all other organs) as it is being asked to work faster to cope with the extra pressure placed on the body!
- It has been found that high blood glucose levels are linked to the development of such diseases as Alzheimer’s and dementia and this includes people who do not even have diabetes. This is a concern, is it not?
- Researchers have also found that when people have been given a mouthful of sugary soft drink, their brain activity is the same as that which occurs when people take a ‘hit’ of heroin or cocaine. There was absolutely no difference in the pathways that were ignited in the brain. Scary stuff!!
The bottom line is that refined sugars are a shocker for our bodies and our state of mind!
Life Without Refined Sugars – It is Very Possible
I have now been refined sugar-free for over 4 years and it feels AMAZING!
For me, the most amazing part is that I am no longer controlled by the addiction – I am now completely aware that I have a choice as to whether I eat refined sugars or not. When I was being led by the addiction it felt like it owned me, that I was a slave to the cravings and the underlying exhaustion.
It has been as simple as being honest about what was driving the addiction and being willing to address the cause. It has taken a strong commitment on my part to heal the driving force of this addiction.
This awareness and willingness to commit to my health and wellbeing leaves me feeling energised and revitalised, which leaves no room for artificial stimulants such as refined sugars. For me this is truly AMAZING!
Kicking my drug addiction to sugar has not been easy and at times I have over-eaten natural sweeteners to compensate, but I have found many ways to support myself throughout this process… from resting to recover from the exhaustion, to creating and eating yummy sweets that are refined sugar-free.
Finding ways to support myself has been an important part of my success in stopping my sugar addiction.
By attending presentations by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon, I was able to make the changes that allowed me to break through the fog that I was in (partly from the sugar, partly from my self-imposed ignorance) so I could see more clearly the harming effects of sugar in my life. This has enabled me to share today what I have come to know so clearly.
By Robyn Jones, 38, B.Sc. (Psych), Counsellor, Goonellabah, Australia
Read Part One: Addicted To Sugar… My Drug Addiction
Read Part Three: From Sugar Addiction to Gluten, Dairy & Sugar Free Yummy Delights
Related Reading:
Sugar: The Artificial Sweetener… and My Addiction
Begin Breaking The Battle With The Sweet Poison
684 Comments
I’ve been increasingly aware of how tired I get in the evenings and how I then reach for sugar as a pick me up which doesn’t actually work as it leaves me more tired than I was before I had the sugar. Learning to honour going to bed early so that I don’t reach for the sugar in the first place seems to be making a more lasting difference.
How often are we given a reminder that exhaustion can be supported in other means that does not give us instant relief or a ‘pick me up’ but an opportunity to feel where and how we run our bodies to support us in our day to day living?
It is amazing to share how an addiction can own us and keep us from honouring our bodies. I love the process you went through and your willingness to look under the addiction and change how you were living.
Sugar is conveyed as such a feel good food, a way to sweeten life, to celebrate with cakes, etc, and the prime ingredient in foods considered treats and rewards. When you consider what it really does to the body it’s kind of like the smiling assassin.
A really supportive blog on sugar addiction and the effect it has, that is unseen and used in our daily lives. This is something I really relate to and love the rest idea when cutting it out or whenever one feels tired for I know this is something I go to then and the loss of my clarity and the raciness I feel as a result has such an impact on my life, my sleep and a waste of valuable space and the responsibility I have with this.
Great blog Robyn, exposing the harmful effects of refine sugar is very much needed. A huge population of humanity is addicted to sugar and most do not know they are addicted. Sugar has become a normal part of our diet. It is difficult to eat out or buy foods that are not loaded with refine sugar. It is an ingredient that is in almost every processed food. Bringing awareness to how sugar makes us feel is so important. We have depression, anxiety, and exhaustion going off the scales, and in my experience, all of these symptoms are related to consumption of refined sugar.
It was only when I opened up my awareness that I felt the extent to which sugar was effecting my body, making me feel so racy that I was pushing my body so much harder and well beyond my natural limit which was incredibly draining. I realised this behaviour was feeding my addiction: suppressing how my body was trying to communicate its exhaustion and that it needed to rest and that I was fighting my awareness to what I could feel around me.
Many who look to sugar for a fix to increase their energy do so without realising that the fix will only last a short period of time and once it is over they will be craving even more sugar as they will feel even more tired than they were before. And all the while their long-suffering body is simply trying to get their attention by saying – I am tired therefore I need to rest not eat, especially a sugar filled product. This is a big lesson I have learned but one that is changing my life in many miraculous ways.
With diabetes rates soaring and the NHS saying that Diabetes alone is enough to bankrupt the system we need to have this message you share Robyn shared loud and clear.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if Headline news tomorrow was “Life Without Refined Sugars – YES -It is Very Possible”
For many not eating sugar would seem an impossibility. I know that at one time this was true for me. To say I won’t eat sugar was like saying one day I will walk on the moon. The food cravings and desire to fill an inner hole was massive, but it was only after feeling the detrimental effect on my body and feeling unwell with it, that gave me the impetus to change.
I’v had a few years without any type of sugar though just recently I have been reaching out for natural sugars, all this is really telling me is I need to slow down and rest when I need to. I know once I do that my sugar cravings will cease.
A super supportive blog for anyone wishing to cut down their sugar consumption and eventually going sugar free. Commitment is key I feel, commitment to your health and well being is what can make it possible along with finding ways that support you during the process – like taking more rest or making your own alternatives when those sugar cravings come in at the beginning.
And alongside commitment we also need honesty about how it truly makes our body feel because sugar can mask both physical symptoms (exhaustion, etc) and how we emotionally feel. This means we may not want to look at it’s impact because it’s a tool (a self harming tool though) to help us manage and cope with life.
It’s clear from the way companies are marketing their products that ‘sugar’ is becoming a dirty word and so they are coming up with more inventive ways to call sugar not sugar, and to generally confuse the public.
They can change what they call it, but sugar is sugar and it is heavy and harming as a product, we all know it, we just choose it.
I would love to see how the world functions without sugar, yes sure it would be absolutely crazy as people went cold turkey – but after that we would be a far more in tune, more aware, more loving with one and other and most relevantly more honest with ourselves and others about how we are truly feeling. We would no longer be able to cover up exhaustion.
I understand what you are sharing Samantha. I reckon the reason we are seeking sugar is to cover up/numb something we do not want to feel. If we do not heal the reasons behind our sugar cravings/addictions then even we give up sugar we may find something else to replace the addiction.
It is very interesting to read about the physiological affects that sugar has on the body, especially the ‘pleasure messages’ that get sent to the brain. And I can understand why sugar is so popular, because life can be super challenging at times and overwhelming.
I use sugar as a go to when I feel the tension of life, its not something I would normally choose, but I do choose it when the tension is felt strong>
I feel it won’t be too long coming whereby addiction centres will be offering sugar addiction detox programmes, along side their more usual addiction detox support, as the deeply harming effects of sugar on our body and wellbeing is now becoming more widely known.
That will be interesting to see what they bring, to look at this sugar addiction.
You only have to observe a child a few hours after a birthday party to know how addictive and harmful sugar is.
I so agree, any child who has had sugar they are bouncing all over the wall and they later feel very exhausted, with achy limbs.
After a long time of not eating any refined sugar and fruit sugar I have recently found myself wanting water melon, being honest with myself – its because I have been super busy and feeling more tired I have not honoured myself by resting or getting to bed extra early – the direct result of this is that I start to want sugar – its super simple if I honour my body there is no need for any type of sugar.
Its great when we listen to our bodies, we know exactly what it needs and what would support it.
Thank you for sharing Robyn and it is great to feel the levels of exhaustion that I have exposed over the years and recognise how often I used sugar to override my exhaustion and keep my body going when it was clearly asking to stop. Although I have been cutting down on sugar for years I have been under the illusion that I don’t really have a ‘sweet tooth’ but this is a lie as I still have certain things that I go to in an attempt to pick myself up when really it would be better if I tuned into my body and chose to support it in a more loving way.
I use sugar to race my body and in the raciness I lose the stillness in my body which dulls my awareness and the drop that the sugar then gives me puts me to sleep. All because of feeling the tension in my body that I can be so aware of everything around me.
Mary I can so relate to what you are sharing. Its calling this out and working on deepening that relationship with self.
Robyn, this stastitc is shocking; ‘The average age for anxiety diagnosis is age 6 and for depression the average age is 13. Wow!’ There is so much sugar consumotion with children – at parties, at home, at school, – sugar has become a part of almost every child’s diet as far as I can see and there’s lots of it too. It has become so ‘normal’ that it is hardly talked about. And yet as this article demonstrates sugar is an addictive and harmful substance to put into the body and so these statistics of anxiety and depression thus make sense if children are having sugar and then getting a low and needing more of it.
Absolutely Rebecca these statistics are truly shocking. Anxiety and depression are so debilitating and that they are blighting so many children’s lives so young and such a freely available and legal substance is contributing to this needs to be recognised by parents and wider society as often parents are seen as depriving their children of ‘treats’ if they try and limit their sugar intake.
I recently heard that many young children and teens are on medication for anxiety and depression, I have to wonder how much sugar and diet are contributing to these conditions in the young.
“I had halted the destructive behaviour that was possibly leading me down the path to insulin dependent diabetes” with diabetes rates as they are your blog needs to be shown to the whole world. We have the power to turn things around if we so choose.
The power is sure in our hands, we can turn things around if we take responsibility of our lives and our movements.
I am really noticing which foods make me tired and sugar is definitely one, I only eat fruit sugar these days and find even sparking water gives me a short burst of energy before leaving me more tired.
Sugar is in everything so we really need to be more on it.
Very needed story Robyn, thank you. This week I discovered the effects of even the smallest amount of sugar, in this case the sugary taste of pecan nuts. I have skipped eating refined sugars for years, and every now and then eat an apple when I am tired or miss energy. The other day I ate a small bag of pecan nuts and then went shopping: for the first time I saw that by eating these nuts I actually was too racy to thoroughly check my shopping list: I forgot a product on the list. That is what sugar also does: it makes you less clear in what is there to do and makes you skip things. I could not clearly say: this I don’t want.
Reading your frank and honest story here Robyn I really get the sense of how much of an addiction sugar can be. Your story reads the same as a recovering alcoholic or heroin addict and the sooner we start seeing sugar in the same way as these drugs the closer we will be to addressing this worldwide health problem.
I agree Andrew and when you put it like that why would you ever give it to a child and yet we do, all the time as a treat or a reward when in fact it is just an unnecessary poison to the body.
I agree we need to see sugar as a poison only then we can work on releasing it out of our lives.
I find sugar forms such an intense addiction, of all the substances I have used in my life, for me, this has been the one that I have struggled with the most and found the most addictive. I know the impact it has on my body- inability to focus, erratic thoughts, exhaustion, depression, lack of clarity to name a few and even though I know all of this- I find it is one I will often still go back for.
How insidious is it to have something right under our noses, put into more foods in higher quantities and make it readily available. Anything that alters the body to this extent will never be good for us, regardless of the relabelling.
The lies and half truths that labelling sell us. But when we search for the alternative are we not just as equal in the game of buyer and supplier.
I agree not all lables have the truth on them and we don’t stop to read the lables and hence we compromise.
Thank you Robyn for sharing on the harmful and addictive effects of sugar consumption on our body and wellbeing. The more these facts are uncovered, written and spoken about, the greater the chance of more people coming to the understanding that the superficial sweetness of sugar in our mouth has very sinister undertones in the body.
I agree, the more we talk about it and write about it the more others will benefit from it.
I agree Elizabeth, the more we understand the effects of sugar the more we are able to make wiser and more loving choices. I found the most tricky part of giving up refine sugar was to find foods that are sugar-free. I notice in the last few years there are more and more sugar-free food options which highlight that more and more people are asking for refine sugar-free foods. This is pretty awesome to see.
These days the more sensitive and feeling I am when I eat sugar it tastes like vinegar in that it’s very sharp! It gives me a fuzzy head and a feeling of spinning within me, also incessant thoughts about eating more! But if I am tired or in pain or anxious already sucking on a sugar cube is no big deal. I have to already be disturbed to want a substance that will further disturb me.
By eating sugar our body reacts as any other drug. We close down the Connection with our body And from there we run our day from our head which makes our anxiety level go up as it has all to do with the lack of Connection.
This also counts for other mental diseases. The answer is very simple. IT is to re-connect with our body again and make that our best friend.
That is a very clear exposé what sugar does to you and to people, Robyn. Thanks. The fact you mention that sugar puts the body in a different speed so that you don’t feel what is going on in the body hit me. I do that as well! Not with sugar, I don’t eat refined sugar anymore, but a more refined scale with pecan nuts, which I primarily eat when I feel a yukkiness in my body.
Sugar really does have to be exposed for the drug it actually is, growing up little was made known about how bad it was for us, I mean we used to shovel it on our porridge in the morning added it to already sweet things and thought it was great. I can really tell when my daughter has had anything sugary as it changes her whole personality.
Just because we can push on through, we do. But we don’t fully realise it comes at a great cost to our heart, our connection and our health. Instead of numbing ourselves it is so much better to take long, honest look at how we currently live and be real. Thanks Robyn.
It’s so amazing what actually comes up from the body to feel when we stop using something or eating something out of distraction, comfort or numbness. Just this week I’ve given up eating some foods that I’ve noticed I go to when I’m tired or upset about something. I am feeling how tired I am, aches and pains in my body, anxious because there is nothing numbing and I’m feeling so much more around me and within. It does feel a bit awful but I’m also glad because it’s me being real.
Very cool Aimee, its so worth it when we have the confidence to go there.