I have been trying to cut down on my intake of sugars. I dropped artificial sweeteners about a year ago, and have never looked back. I never thought that I had an addiction to sugar, but when I started to look at different foods, I started to realize, that maybe we all do, even if inadvertently. It is in everything: milk, bread (notice how whole wheat bread is often sweet?), yogurts, cereals, deli meats, etc. We are all consuming large amounts of processed sugars, even if you think you are eating "healthy" foods.
The problem with sugar is that our bodies do not need it for anything. It does nothing but give us a quick spike of energy, which will leave us feeling tired and lethargic afterwards. It also causes our bodies to repeatedly release insulin in order to process it, bringing it into the cells and out of the blood stream. Repeated increases of insulin eventually lead to complications such as obesity. If we do not want to go so extreme, we can talk about how sugar causes moderate weight gain, hampers immune function, causes hormonal imbalances, and mood swings. It was these things that I wanted to observe in my own body.
I realized that even my healthy cereals still had enough sugar in them that I should be cautious. I decided to cut back on any type of cereal, and looked for a bread that did not have any sugar, which is not as easy as it seems. I found Ezekiel sprouted english muffins, which I have incorporated as one of my breakfast options, spread with natural peanut butter or sunbutter. I made a discover that at the Pain Quotidien they have a "Banana Nut and Seed Bowl". It is a bowl of banana and berries with a myriad of different nuts and seeds. I feel so good in the morning after having eaten it. Fruits do have sugar in them, but the sugar in fruit is ingested into the body with vitamins and nutrients, so it does not have the same harmful effect on the system. Another thing that I have cut down on is coffee. I realized that my morning coffee ritual was really a problem, as I was drinking a lot of very densely brewed espresso, and then overly sweetening it with sugar or Stevia, and adding milk. Other things that I have cut down on are alcohol and yogurts.
What I have noticed since I started avoiding sugar is that I feel a lot better inside. My body feels a bit more pure, and I do not get that heavy lethargy at around 11 am that I was getting before. Once I got through the caffeine-withdrawal headaches and cloudiness, I started to feel really good, if not great (or even fantastic!). However, now that I am developing recipes, which include desserts, I find that the second I have something sweet, I want more. It IS addicting. The second ice cream or something sweet touches my tongue, I feel comforted and happy. However, afterwards I notice a change in my body, and don't feel quite as "pure". It is a difficult social context to be living in right now, because our culture revolves around sugar. Sugar=fun. Alcohol=fun. If you are someone who is trying to avoid sweet things, it is very difficult, especially if you are hoping to maintain a social life without people thinking you are too extreme.
That is all for now, but I hope to explore this further, and hear feedback from other people who are noticing the way that sugar impacts their body.