When A Sugar Addict Goes Sugar-Free

 I like to tell people that I ate as much sugar by the age of 45 as most people probably eat in a lifetime, and I’m not exaggerating. I grew up consuming copious amounts of the stuff. It started with a sugary cereal for breakfast, and didn’t end until a sugar-laden dessert after supper that evening. If the cereal wasn’t sweet enough (i.e. Rice Krispies or a plain Bran cereal), I’d douse it with white sugar. It was so fun to scrape it off the bottom of the bowl. “Have a little cereal with your sugar!” The Monday after Easter has been almost as revered to me as the preceding  Sunday itself. That’s the day of the legendary 50% off Easter candy sale at Walmart. I have fond memories of sitting in the parking lot with my bag(s) full of half-price treasures, inhaling Reece’s Eggs.

You get the idea. 

Predictably, as I reached my 40s I started having gut issues. Long story short, I finally wound up at a naturopathic doctor, where I was tested for food intolerances. These aren’t allergies, but rather foods that your body can’t digest properly. I found out that the combination of dairy and grains is an intolerance I have (fine on their own, but bad together). Worse, I found out my main food intolerance is–you guessed it–refined sugar. 

This was one of those “That explains a lot” revelations. It’s also been a game-changer. Although I had cut back on sugar in recent years, I still couldn’t stay away from it. But this news, which would’ve seemed awful to me a few years ago, came as a bit of a relief. 

I know that the sugar beet industry is HUGE close to where I live, so I mean no offense to those who make a living off it, but…there are NO health benefits from refined sugar (okay, I guess it makes one happy, but so do other destructive things–like musical theater;). Let’s be honest: it’s basically poison that slowly kills you. But man, is it delicious!

So, once I was told refined sugar is a no-no, I embarked on this odyssey of trying to avoid it. I knew it was in a lot of stuff, but I didn’t realize it’s almost easier to avoid breathing oxygen than avoiding refined sugar. It’s hidden in legions of non-sweet foods. A while back I bought some Vlasic “hamburger slice” dill pickles. About halfway through the jar, my daughter noticed they contain sugar. I bought the dumb things because there was a blurb on the front: “Doesn’t contain Yellow #5.” Healthy.

Not only is the white poison in pickles, it’s in salty crackers, salsa, tortillas, and regular bread. As if that weren’t enough, it’s in breakfast sausage, and…bacon?! Yes, bacon. I could avoid all sweets and still eat a bunch of sugar in these annoying (but delicious) processed foods.

Avoiding processed sugar can be really frustrating, but I feel SO much better, and am healthier than I’ve ever been (sugar also suppresses your immune system). Despite the frustrations, it’s worth it. And I still get to eat sweets–you’d be amazed at the options out there. I’ll write another blog detailing what I’ve discovered along those lines.