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Why monitoring your sugar levels will lead to a happier life

The sugar industry has quite the history in our world and its final chapter is still not complete.  We are still, to this day, completely overwhelmed by sugar in our diet and it remains a constant health struggle due to its combination of addictive qualities and toxic nature.

Let’s get one thing out there right away, this author is in the exact same boat as everyone else.  Sugar is delicious, and any time I remove/eliminate/limit sugar intake from my daily diet choices, it requires strong will power and a diligent mind.

The bottom line is that sugar is a toxic substance in the body when it enters the blood stream.  Toxic substances have harmful effects on our bodies and typically result in destruction of organ systems and symptoms of body dysfunction.

There are so many ways that sugar impacts our body negatively; it all stems from the initial contact point in the digestive tract upon ingestion, the artery walls and circulation of sugar within the blood after absorption, and the consequential reaction of storage of sugar as a means of elimination.

These three basic concepts listed above put digestive symptoms, cardiovascular symptoms, and obesity as three potential outcomes just from the processing of sugar not to mention the negative outcomes of long term use and years of breakdown that come with a consistent sugar based diet.

So, let’s talk about what to do. 

First off, you have to recognize that sugar is a problem.  If you’re not there yet, I would encourage you to learn more about sugar and what’s going on.  There are a lot of intelligent people that can relay the biochemistry and science better than I can and their stories can be viewed in documentaries on Netflix or books written on the subject.

Secondly, we want to acknowledge what we need to do about it.  Ultimately, we need to reduce and eliminate as much of the raw, processed and simple sugar compounds that are found in most foods sold in your local grocery store.

Thirdly, after removing sugar, we need to stay on track for at least 90 days to give your body a chance to show you the benefits of these choices.  Yes, it takes a bit of time to “kick the sugar addiction” and let your body get back to health.

If you are just getting started on eliminating sugar, I would focus on these simple ideas:

1) Recognize the obvious
Candy, chocolate bars, white sugar and all of these “sweets” that we know and love, are literally sugar BOMBS and have to be taken out of your diet.

2) Understand the relationship of sugar to carbohydrates 
Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar) and therefore have a similar biochemical reaction to the sugar that we do recognize.  High carbohydrate foods are not your friends. 

This includes breads, cereals, grains and starchy vegetables.

I fully understand that these are staples of most diets, but to get the biggest bang for your efforts, these two areas are the most obvious places to make changes.  There is no point in talking about more detailed issues with sugar such as fruits, sweeteners or protein if you’re eating a pasta dinner followed by dessert of ice cream.

A fantastic resource for reading and understanding what is going on is a book called “The Primal Fat Burner” by Nora Gedgaudas. 

In this book Nora lays out the basics of sugar in the diet, and what to do about it.  It’s a great read which offers not only great explanation, but also practical steps to take and a long list of recipes to help you stick to the changes without losing variety and excitement in your meals.

Good luck, it is a challenge but one well worth the effort.