:: on quitting sugar... for good ::

I have been toying with the idea of completely giving up sugar for a while now. In fact, Jase and I had it on our diaries to 'give it our best shot' after I'd finished all the chocolate in the house, and after he had finished all the Jarrah coffee sachets. 

It's not that we aren't already pretty healthy eaters already. I barely bake with sugar, except when expecting guests and we don't do desserts much ourselves after dinner. But, we do do chocolate. And we do do the odd icecream. And Jase does do a lot of those powdered-sugar-laden-coffee-combos. Sure it might not be a lot compared to your average Aussie, but the point actually is (*takes deep breath*), we shouldn't be eating any.

Soooo much easier said than done. 

It's not about weight gain. It's not about bad teeth and stinky breath. It's not even about bloating or cellulite. It's all the hidden things. Stuff that goes on, on the inside of our bodies that should truly have us fleeing from the stuff. Did you know....

Sugar/fructose:

• Inhibits our immune system, making it harder to fight off viruses and infections
• Upsets the mineral balance in our bodies, causing deficiencies as well as interfering with mineral absorption (makes taking them multivitamins pretty irrelevant sometimes...)
• Messes with fertility
• Speeds up the aging process (Hey yeah we all want that! Pass the chockie!)
• Has been connected to the development of cancers of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, lung, gallbladder and stomach
• Is linked to dementia
• Causes an acidic digestive tract, indigestion and malabsorption
• can cause a rapid rise in adrenaline, as well as hyperactivity, anxiety and loss of concentration

 The research is growing to show sugar is indeed poisoning us. Studies are proving sugar to be the biggest cause of fatty liver, which leads to insulin resistance. This then causes metabolic syndrome, which is now being seen as the biggest precursor to heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

It's making us sick! Sugar isn't just a bunch of naughty, empty calories. Some leading scientists are saying it's responsible for 35 million annual deaths worldwide.

(above information from "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson)

This book, "I Quit Sugar" is selling out. I went to BigW where it was on special and there were none left! After 10mins of searching, I turned away disappointed and suddenly spotted one all alone on a shelf.

Sarah Wilson provides an 8 week rescue plan, completely thought through to make your transition to a sugar-free lifestyle a whole heap easier. You can't just 'drop it', you need to replace it with lots of the things that satisfy, mainly, proteins. She has simple recipes with everyday ingredients. And I secretly love that she does dairy.

So no, all the chocolate is not out of the house. And I have an unfinished tub of Halva that I've been spooning my way through. But it's all got to wait, because a friend of mine kicked me in the rear and has got me going through this detox plan, starting this week. Doing it with a buddy is a great idea, so it's game on.

Actually this plan also bans all fruit, which I don't agree with as a lifestyle. But this detox plan is about killing our need (yes, we are all addicted to sugar!) for something sweet. Whether it's a 'healthy' sweet or not. We want to crave stuff that's going to give us life and make us feel 

AWESOME.

As Sarah says, "We don't respond well to 'restrictive thinking'. You're doing this not because you have to, but because it might make you feel better."

I'll be blogging a bit of my journey as I go. Say hello to my breakfast this morning, and my very first ever poached egg! Quite a bit of fun actually.

I can do this!