I am a small town girl that was raised on fast food and sugar. My favorite snack was Barque’s crème soda and Poptarts…oy! By my early 20’s I was depressed, overstressed and not sleeping.

While trying to find my own cure for being tired and miserable, I embarked on a life-changing journey. I picked up a book called Sugar Blues by William Dufty. In this book I learned that there were a multitude of physical and mental miseries caused by sugar consumption. In fact, it is the leading cause of disease; depression and massive weight gain in the US. After researching for my own books, I was shocked at how much information is readily available which supports this.

I always said that “sugar is the devil” because it causes the body and brain chemistry to literally self-destruct. Sugar can lead to disease because it weakens the immune system. If one is prone to sickness or an autoimmune disorder like chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia, sugar has been proven to increase symptoms and pain.

The scariest disease for me personally is cancer. My mother had it, and I watched her body almost die through chemotherapy. Sugar is a positive environment for mutating cells. We all have mutated cells but sugar will cause them to grow more rapidly and in abundance. Am I scaring you yet?

If you think you’re not a sugar addict, guess again. Sugar has been snuck into every food since you were born. Whether we know it or not, we are ALL sugar addicts. It’s in everything from milk to bread and certainly in all processed foods. It’s important to learn to be a smart consumer and read labels carefully. The body is so used to having sugar, that it does not register less than 5 grams of sugar. So, always try to eat portions in that range. It takes the body 10 days to break this chemical addiction.

If you want to curb your sugar addiction, refrain from eating anything white, anything processed and anything above 5 grams per serving. You can eat 2 portions of fruit and all the veggies you want (except for corn). You may actually feel like you have the flu for the first day or two. Power through it because the payoff is weight loss, mood stabilization and energy. Eat a clean, very low sugar diet Monday through Friday, then allow yourself sugar once on Saturday and once on Sunday. You will feel and look better. It does wonders for the skin too. Skin clears up, and lines reduce. Some easy ways to cut cravings include:

• Eating a balanced breakfast like oatmeal with blueberries. Breakfast balances your blood sugar levels and will help you throughout the day with cravings.
• Exercise. It shuts down the brain mechanism that triggers cravings.
• Protein, fiber and good fats kill cravings, so a great snack choice would be almond butter on a celery stick or an apple with a low fat string cheese.
• And I know I push water all the time, but studies show that it not only speeds up your metabolism, it curbs cravings for sugar.
• You want to avoid artificial sweeteners because they spike insulin levels, which causes you to want carbohydrates. Stick with Stevia. You can get it at Whole Foods or any health food store.
• Make sure and remove all sugar from your cupboards because you will not be able to resist if it’s a few feet away.

Now, time to get shopping and clean house! Get ready to feel a million times better!