Sugar

The heroin of the food world.  Everyone we know who is addicted to sugar struggles forever to lose the addiction.  Give up sugar for a week, and you’ll understand exactly what “hooked by the bag” means.

What’s so bad about sugar?

Well apart from the science voodoo, sugar releases insulin.  Insulin regulates blood sugar by storing it whenever it comes across it.  Storing it for when you might need it, like running from the police.  Because you just stole a piece of dried fruit, because you’re hooked by the bag.

No seriously, insulin stores sugar.  If you get sugar in your blood, it stores it and then hangs around.  When it hangs around it’s like a child, it nags and nags and nags for more food.  Which you feel like a deep hunger.  So you satisfy that hunger… click, clock… cycle repeat.

Here’s a great example.  Remember the last time you ate so much you felt sick, and your stomach was bloated to the point of pain?  What did you do?

Logic would be something like go to the toilet, or vomit up the excess (it’s what animals do).  But humans, in our infinite wisdom do something else.  We eat more.  But not just anything, we eat to get sugar (ever wondered why dessert is served after the main meal?).  Because sugar releases insulin.  Insulin stores food (making more space), so we don’t have to feel painfully full any more.

Then we eat some more…

Don’t you think it’s odd that we drink a coke to make more space in a full tummy?

So, if you cut out sugar, you unhook your ball bag – and that bottomless pit of hunger is never felt again.  You’ll get used to another feeling.  The feeling of stopping before you get too full.