Summary

The author describes their personal journey of giving up sugar due to its negative health impacts, particularly its role in exacerbating health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and advocates for a healthier lifestyle with reduced sugar intake.

Abstract

The article titled "Why I gave up Sugar, My Journey!" details the author's decision to eliminate sugar from their diet after learning about its adverse effects on health, including its contribution to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The author reflects on their lifelong sweet tooth, influenced by childhood habits, and the pivotal moment of their breast cancer diagnosis, which prompted a reevaluation of their relationship with sugar. The piece emphasizes the importance of knowledge and self-discipline in overcoming sugar addiction, noting that even sugar-free alternatives can be harmful due to additives like aspartame. The author also discusses the broader implications of sugar consumption on inflammation and overall health, suggesting that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and proteins can help combat inflammation and strengthen the immune system. The article concludes with a call to action for readers to be mindful of their sugar intake, read food labels diligently, and replace unhealthy habits with beneficial ones to achieve true health and wellness.

Opinions

Sugar is detrimental to health, especially for individuals with diabetes or high blood fat levels, as it raises blood sugar and triglycerides, increasing the risk of heart disease.
Knowledge and self-awareness are crucial in making better health choices; ignorance about the effects of sugar can be deadly.
The author believes that sugar consumption can worsen inflammation in the body, making it more susceptible to various illnesses and diseases.
Sugar is seen as an addictive substance that can and should be replaced with healthier habits and dietary choices over time.
The author criticizes sugar-free items as potentially more harmful than regular sugar due to additives like aspartame.
A healthy diet, including fruits, vegetables, oils, and proteins, is advocated to reduce inflammation and prevent chronic illnesses.
The author suggests that excessive sugar intake is a significant factor in the obesity epidemic, leading to weight gain, insulin resistance, and inflammation.
Daily sugar intake should be limited to 10% of total caloric intake, and refined sugar should be avoided in favor of natural sugars in moderation.
The article implies that economic factors and addiction contribute to the prevalence of sugar in both processed and unprocessed foods.
The author emphasizes personal responsibility in health, encouraging readers to research and understand the impact of sugar on their bodies.

Why I gave up Sugar, My Journey!

Sugar is bad for you a because it has calories, and because if you have diabetes or a diabetes-related condition — lets say high blood fat levels — then having sugar will increase your blood sugar and your triglycerides, which is a risk factor for heart disease. (Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood.)

When you know better you do better. Knowledge is expensive but ignorance is deadly. Treat your body in the manner it was designed to be treated.

I used to have a very sweet sweet tooth and couldn’t get enough of sugar. It all started from childhood. My father would always buy candy and cookies for us. Through childhood to adulthood, I would over indulge on sugar then IT happened and changed my appetite for sugar forever.

As I was diagnosed with breast cancer and discovered the impact that sugar had on cancer cells, that was enough for me to put the sugar bag down. In order to get over one bad habit, it needed to be replaced with a better good and healthy habit. It was a tug of war, especially when it was in my refrigerator so I stopped buying it. So I only had to contend with parties, this proved to be a real challenge but fighting the temptation with tooth and nail, I became victorious and am grateful and feeling much better overall.

So I sought sugar free items for the longest of times up until recently. Will explain later why I dropped sugar free desserts. In brief, they are more deadly than the real raw sugar with all it’s additives, aspartame, that had been proven detrimental to one’s health. Discussion to be continue at another time.

Just recently last week with the scare of coronavirus, there had been little talk about eating healthy along with being diligent regarding hand washing and exposing oneself to the virus.

Only one doctor on the news addressed the importance of eating healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables for children and adults to boost their immune system to fight off viruses in general. He also recommended probiotic for the gut. Also, he went a step further and conveyed that sugar is the biggest culprit in building up inflammation in the body. Once the body had too much inflammation, it would become susceptible to illnesses.

The following day while at the gym as I worked out on the treadmill, I chatted with an elderly lady next to me on another treadmill, who informed me that she had arthritis all over her entire body and was in pain and had many limitations as a result of it. I questioned her diet and exercise routine. She conveyed how diligent she was for working out. Then I asked the question, “Do you eat a lot of sugar?”, and she replied, “She loved sugar!”, and then I replied, “That is part of your problem, cut out the sugar and eliminate some of the inflammation in the body.” She proclaimed, “No she couldn’t for she loved her sugar!”

While sugar is addicting, the desire could be minimized and replaced over time with a healthier habit or diet. One must commit and be diligent. Once the graving is minimized, the sugar won’t even taste the same when consumed. Plus, this would give more control over a sugar frenzy. Break the chain of sugar or the sugar chain will break you down literally, physically and mentally.

Inflammation makes the body susceptible to all kinds of illnesses and diseases, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, arthritis and Alzheimer’s. Processed foods that are loaded with much sugar would make a dire situation worse leading to chronic illnesses. Whereas veggies, fruits, oils and proteins works to stave off inflammation.

With inflammation, our guts are more permeable which would allow bacteria and other inflammatory particles into our blood more easily. Sugar not only causes chronic inflammation when consumed on a large scale but can cause our bad cholesterol, LDL to increase. With this increase comes inflammation in the body and dis-ease.

Why do you think obesity is a problem? Sugar! Sugar causes weight gain and leads to excess body fat which leads to insulin resistance which leads to inflammation.

Sugar is practically in every thing we eat, processed and unprocessed foods. We must read the labels and be aware of the type of sugar and the quantity. On the label, if the sugar is double digit, that would not be wise to consume it. When in doubt about the sugar foods, do your own research. There is all kinds of data available to confirm what is good or bad for the body. Even the so called healthy foods, i.e. energy drinks and energy bars, contain large amounts of sugar and sometimes more than the unhealthy sugar latent foods. Go figure that. It’s called economics and addiction.

Daily sugar intake should be on an average of 10 percent of our total caloric daily intake as part of a healthy diet. Avoid adding refine sugar at all cost and replaced with natural sugar in moderation.

After my diagnosis, my refine sugar intake had all but disappeared. Once in awhile I would indulge in a dessert but monitored that indulgence with due diligent. Replacing a bad habit with a good habit is the best effective method to stave off the sugar craving. I was no longer a slave to sugar!

In conclusion, healthy is the new wealthy. Knowing your body is key. Sugar is not the friend of the body but the enemy to its detriment. To thine own-self be true!! Love your body and it would love you back! thehealthy way thehealthylifefit Total Health & Fitness Health & Fitness Planet Mode wellness Katie Wellness Mama

E.P. MCKNIGHT, #1 Amazon Best Seller’s list Author, IS A GRADUATE OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY LINCOLN CENTER, NY,NY WHERE SHE RECEIVED HER MASTER’S DEGREE IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY. SHE IS HONORED TO DEBUT THREE OF HER 10 MINUTE PLAYS AT THE 2012 NAACP THEATRE FESTIVAL.

SHE IS A POET, ACTRESS, ELEMENTARY TEACHER, WRITER, PRODUCER, TALKSHOW HOST, STAGE MANAGER, FITNESS GURU AND A MEMBER SAG/AFTRA AND EQUITY BUT MORE IMPORANTLY A WOMAN OF GOD WHOM SHE CREDITS ALL OF HER TALENTS AND SUCCESS. www.epmcknight.com www.epmcknight.wixsite.com/epfitspiration www.iquestionamerica-fannielouhamer.com