Is sugar controlling your life?

So the usual story, the alarm goes off at 7.00am you grab some cereals (sugar) or a muffin (sugar) with a cup of coffee and sugar (sugar) Usually you go to the office but at the moment because of COVID you are working from home so by 10.00am you are hungry and finish off half a bagel (sugar) and a banana (sugar). Lunch time you make a quick sandwich on with white bread (sugar) and evening is something like pasta (sugar) with tomato sauce (sugar) or a curry with white basmati rice (sugar) and a couple of glasses of wine (sugar) or a beer (sugar)

So you see the pattern emerging! It’s no wonder why we are totally addicted to sugar. The average person will consume 82 grams of sugar a day (that 19.5 teaspoons!) In order to maintain a healthy weight, have sustained energy, hormonal balance and cognitive health we must have balanced blood sugar throughout the day. If like many people your diet is quite similar to the example above you are going to feel frazzled, exhausted and constantly “hangry.”

Too much sugar we all no leads to weight gain but did you also know it can effect your hormonal health, can cause headaches, PMS, cramps, acne, brain fog, yeast overgrowths and candida and a whole lot more?

Sugar addiction is totally a reality, consuming and withdrawing from it can have the same effects on the brain as cocaine!

When we eat simple carbohydrates or refined sugar our blood sugar level is spiked too high, too quickly and our body goes into overdrive. It releases the hormone insulin to clean up the high levels of glucose in our bloodstream. Soon after our blood sugar levels will crash again because all the sugar has been stored away in our liver, fat cells or muscles. This, in turn, causes a craving for more sugar. If we continue to keep consuming empty, refined sugars we are on a rollercoaster for disaster.

The continuous pattern over time releasing insulin can lead to a state of insulin resistance, the blood sugar no longer resounds to insulin which can lead to diabetes, brain fog, exhaustion, constant hunger and depression.

As this was not enough did you know that after consuming sugar, your immune system is depressed for a few hours, meaning you are more susceptible to catching a cold or other illness which at this moment in time is not ideal.

Refined sugar is also known for stressing your adrenal glands (which regulate cortisol, the stress hormone, and aldosterone, which controls your blood pressure) and your thyroid (which secretes hormones responsible for maintaining your metabolism, cognitive function and body temperature.) Cortisol levels often rise when there is an increase in blood sugar levels, which means our stress levels become less manageable, and we’re likely to feel exhausted, wired and anxious.

Sugar also attacks collagen, the structural protein that’s responsible for elasticity and strength of skin and repairing dead skin cells. Therefore, excess sugar consumption can leave us with premature wrinkles.

B vitamins are crucial to our mental health, hormonal health and overall energy levels. When our B vitamins are low we feel increased feelings of anxiety and depression, insomnia, stress and low libido. Sugar consumption can also increase the severity of PMS symptoms such as cramps, irritation, headaches, and moodiness.

So the best advice I can give you here is to eat food to stabilise your blood sugar levels. A well balanced diet of good quality lean proteins, a controlled amount of un-refined fibre rich carbohydrates and healthy fats with lots of clean pure water will keep you satiated. This will prevent cravings, keep those hormones balanced and stabilise blood sugar levels. Regular exercise and adequate sleep will also assist with this. The result will be that you will keep full, happy and sane and get you off that roller coaster sugar addiction ride for good!

At ReadytoGlow we run one month “transformational systems” in which always the main focus is on balancing blood sugar levels and allowing the body to gently cleanse. When you do this everything else will fall into place. Our next one begins on January 9th 2021. If you would like a free assessment to see if the symptoms you are experiencing are due to unbalanced blood sugar levels then please contact me at readytoglow1@gmail.com to book your slot. What better act of love could you give yourself for the New Year ahead?