Are we all sugar addicts?

There’s been a lot in the press recently about the amount of sugar in our diet and the potential negative consequences for our health and weight.

When you look at the figures, the amount of sugar in our diet has increased massively. And whilst you would expect to find a lot if sugar in ‘full-fat’ fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate, it can be surprising to discover the amount of ‘hidden’ sugar where we wouldn’t necessarily expect to find it. For example, there is often plenty of sugar in products that are labelled low fat and even in bread and soup.

So why is all this sugar being added? Are we really all sugar addicts?

Our love affair with sugar

There’s a school of thought that our ancestors developed a ‘sweet tooth’ to be able to easily identify foods packed with energy to help them survive.

Yet these days we are swamped with choice and availability and our sweet tooth shows no signs of diminishing. Sugar is a relatively cheap ingredient for manufacturers and we consumers keep buying sweet products, even if we don’t always realise we are doing it.

And perhaps one of the critical factors with sugar consumption is that

a lot of the potential damage to our weight and health is gradual or hidden. We don’t see the amount of fat inside us, or how the sugar levels are impacting. And for many people, by the time they realise their waistline has been gradually expanding, they are already overweight or obese.

End your sugar addiction

Once you understand the impact sugar has on your weight and health, there are ways you can start to wean yourself off your sugar addiction.

For example you can:

• Start checking food labels for added sugar – if you don’t think it should be there don’t buy it or eat it. Generally speaking, the higher up the ingredients list the more sugar there is in the product. Because it is everywhere, it isn’t always easy to avoid it completely so aim to reduce your intake and choose lower sugar options.

• Eat whole fruit instead of fruit juice and smoothies. Whilst they have a reputation for being healthy alternatives, fruit juice is essentially a sugar packed drink.

• Watch out for the healthy alternatives – lots of low fat products are packed with added sugar. And even those labelled the healthy option don’t always have lower fat and sugar than the ‘normal’ choice anyway.

• Start gradually reducing the amount of sugar you add to your tea and coffee or to other foods (there was a time when I had 4 sugars in every cup of tea – a figure I plucked randomly out of the air the first time I drank a cup – now I have none and the taste of even one sugar seems sickly sweet).

• Get help to conquer your sugar addiction. I regularly work with weight loss clients who feel they are addicted to sugar – often chocolate, sweets and biscuits. They often get sugar cravings and then give in and have some – and once they start they can’t stop until it is all gone.

Other times they can’t say no when someone offers or just having sweet things in the house means they know they have to eat it (often they justify eating it all now so that there won’t be any more left in the house. They the next day they feel compelled to nip into the shop and get some more). I’ve even had clients who start salivating when they just imagine their favourite sweets or chocolate bar.

There’s always an excuse to eat sugar – whether you are happy, sad, bored, tired, ‘it was there’ or any other reason.

Yet once you take back control you can take it or leave it – you have the choice. You may choose to have a little and leave the rest or to simply say no thanks and move on.

Help to end your sugar cravings

If you need help to take back control and end your sugar addiction then call me on 01353 669941 and ask to book your free initial consultation.

Best wishes

Dan Regan

Hypnotherapist & Coach

www.elymindcoaching.co.uk