Sunday, February 5, 2012

The sweetest thing

A few days ago, Professors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis (from the University of California at San Francisco) suggested that sugar is so harmful that it should be controlled in the same way as tobacco and alcohol. Their article, published in the science journal Nature (Volume: 482, Pages: 27–29 www.nature.com) pointed out that, far from being just “empty calories” sugar is in fact toxic and indirectly responsible for 35 million annual deaths worldwide due to lifestyle-related conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

While the idea of alcohol-like restrictions has been largely dismissed - the best argument I heard was from a sixty-something American lady who pointed out that nobody ever woke up with the wrong people after eating a chocolate cake - the Profs have a point.

Sugar is dangerous to the health and there is no doubt in my mind that it's addictive too. I should know; my name is Rachel and I'm a sugarholic. While my predilection for creme eggs is legendary and my love of cupcakes widely known, my genuine addiction to the white stuff is an embarrassing secret. If I don't have it I crave it, I get headaches, I feel irritable and I can't manage without it for more than a day or two.

It has to stop. Not only do I need to lose weight, I'm afraid that I'm putting myself at risk of serious health issues - cancer, heart disease and diabetes to name but a few - if I don't tackle this head-on.

So, from this very moment I am giving up sugar. My first goal is to make one week and then take it from there. I'm not looking forward to it. I know it will make me, superficially at least, "unhappy". But losing weight and drastically reducing my risk of the above mentioned diseases is surely one of the best things I can do for myself and my family.

Anybody want to join me?

8 comments:

  1. Day three in the no sugar house - tempers flare...

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  2. I take my hat off to you- I really do! Usually- meaning when it's not Christmas and I'm not pregnant I don't consume a lot of sugar day to day (other than sugar in fruit) and since totally giving in to my love for the stuff four months ago- my teeth have deteriorated very badly. I'll be watching your progress with interest and I promise to join you as soon as I've birthed my babies and recovered. Healthy living hoorah!

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  3. A healthy pregnant lady such as yourself has total dispensation to enjoy some sweet treats while you're growing not one but TWO fabulous humans.

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  4. Rachel, we went through this last year. First thing to realise that its the fructose that is the bad bit of sugar. Fructose doesn't elicit an insulin response, so whilst it might be good for diabetics, it means all those fructose calories are turned straight into fat if not used. Glucose, maltose and lactose sugars are OK though so if you get a sugar craving, drink a glass of milk. Get the book "Sweet Poison" by David Gillespie out of the library. It will change your life. Almost 5 months later, hubby is still sugar free and I am mostly too. He has also lost about 10kgs. Your tastebuds do change. Stevia has become our friend too (although now there is conjecture about non caloric sweeteners). We make a great chocolate milk with chocolate stevia drops I get from the US. If you need a buddy for this, you can count on me.
    Heather

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  5. Thanks for the recommendation Heather, I have heard of that book and will certainly check it out of the library. I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners (diet caffeine-free Coke aside) so don't want to start down that road. I don't think I want to be 100% sugar free as I do love a good cupcake and I believe creme eggs have a spoonful or two of the white stuff but I definitely want to radically cut back. I may have to lean on you as I get further into this!

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  6. I'm not into artificial sweeteners either (except for me its coke Zero, but I'm breaking that habit due to bpa lining in the cans and my avoiding plastic, if I got it in glass though.....). Stevia is completely natural - you can probably buy the plant at the nursery. Stevia powder is just the ground leaves. I am experimenting with erythritol (a sugar alcohol)at the moment in baking but it gives a bit of a cooling effect like menthol.

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  7. Oh you're much more dedicated than me Heather. I'm happy to keep on using sugar in baking but just to bake a lot less often! I will definitely check out Stevia, thanks for the info.

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  8. I need to cut out sugar for Lewis as he has candida. Sugar alcohols are ok though (and tooth friendly too as cavity forming bacteria don't feed on it). I made lovely black bean chocolate and orange cupcakes for his birthday

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