I think I’ve been addicted to sugar all my life. When I was little, I would sneak cookies from the cookie jar, and would frequently ask my dad to buy me a candy bar at the store check out. When I was old enough, I started baking cookies, brownies, and cakes. Not sure how all of this sugar stuff started, but I’ve been feeding my cravings for years. There wasn’t a reason for me to stop the habit initially, even though I knew it wasn’t considered healthy. For most of my life, I’ve been able to maintain my weight, did not have problems with my teeth, and have been healthy…according to my doctor. It wasn’t until my spouse was diagnosed with cancer that I started looking into health, particularly, food.
The more I learned about systemic disease and cancer, I was convinced that sugar is a primary culprit in disease. What I found frustrating is that my husband’s doctors did not really touch on foods to eat or avoid. When I asked about sugars, one oncologist told me that cancer will feed on anything and that it’s not necessary to avoid sugars. On the other hand, when a patient has a PET scan (an image to help diagnose cancer), the patient drinks sugar water prior to the scan. Why? Because the sugar water goes directly to the cancer cells or tumor. If cancer doesn’t consume sugar, why use sugar water?
So why stop consuming sugar? Here a just a few reasons:
- Sugar has no nutritional value and is only adding empty calories, and empty calories mean you are hungry more often.
- Loose weight, because consuming empty calories and eating more often leads to weight gain.
- Have more energy, because instead of the highs and lows of the sugar rush, you will have sustained energy.