So You Drugged Your Kids….Now What?
I’m not a parent, but if I was I wouldn’t do anything to harm my children. I especially wouldn’t give them one of the most addictive drugs known to man. And I’m sure you as a parent or future parent feel the same way. But guess what. You have been drugging your kids, and your parents drugged you too. We give our kids one of the most addictive drugs on a daily basis and we don’t even know it. They are rewarded with this drug on their first birthday kick starting a lifelong addiction.
Of course I’m talking about the drug commonly referred to as sugar. You’re addicted. Almost everyone you know is addicted. But it’s not your fault. The food industry has lead us to believe that sugar is a treat. Your kids get straight A’s on their report cards. You take them out for ice cream. You get a promotion at work. You reward yourself with a cupcake. It’s a holiday at the office. You bring in a box of donuts and set it down on a table next to cakes, cookies, pies, candy, and other sweets. It’s just the way we were taught. The problem is that the sugar of today is highly refined, over processed, and more addictive than ever before.
According to Julia Ross, author of several books including The Diet Cure, sugar is just a high calorie drug. When sugar was first introduced in France, it was referred to as “crack”. A University of Bordeux study done in 2007 found that sugar is 4 times more addictive than cocaine. We crave it because it raises our seratonin levels and releases endorphins. And we want this to happen again and again because sugar makes us feel good. We are letting it control us and this needs to stop.
Sugar has many long term effects on your health. It supresses your immune system making you more susceptible to the common cold, influenza and other viruses. It has a negative effect on thyroid function and can decrease your metabolism. It leads to insulin resistance (also known as Type 2 Diabetes). In can interfere with your sleep patterns even more so than alcohol. It causes more severe PMS symptoms in women. It interferes with digestion leaving people with irritable bowels and constipation. And it’s making us fat!
It is estimated that by the year 2050, nearly half of the world’s population will have Type 2 Diabetes. That’s nearly 4 billion people! Diabetes diagnoses have already tripled since 1980, according to Gary Taubes, author of several books including Why We Get Fat. Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and aspartame are all to blame for this increase. Though these substances are all highly addictive, sugar is the most addictive of the three.
Sugar used to be a novelty item. But now it’s a way for companies to get rich quick. Businessmen in the early 1900′s discovered the addictive properties of sugar and they used it to their advantage. Pretty soon, they were adding sugar (and, more recently, high fructose corn syrup and other sugar alternatives) to almost everything. They did this to get you hooked. Because once you get hooked on a product, you buy it again and again. They are using you to make money. And it works. This needs to stop. They don’t have your best interest in mind. If they did, they would stop making this toxic drug so readily available. They wouldn’t make it so appealing to you and your kids.
If you have a lot of free time and are interested in learning more about the toxicity of sugar you can watch a video about it here. But it’s a long video so you really need to set aside at least an hour and a half for it. The article written by Robert Lustig that accompanies the video can be read here, but you have to pay for it. Or you can just take my word for it (and the word of thousands of nutrition gurus around the world) and believe me when I say that sugar is just an extremely addictive high calorie drug. Give it up!
Julia Ross says that 97% of people who try to quit eating sugar will fail. That’s why getting a health coach to put you on the road to health is a good way to go. It might cost you some money, but my belief is that your health is priceless. Just think about your children. Do you want to be there to watch them grow up? Do you want them to be there to watch their children grow up? Of course you do! Stop giving them this drug we call sugar. It’s not too late to break the addiction cycle.
Great post! I completely agree. I have noticed that when I don’t consume sugar for a long period of time I no longer want it. As soon as I have a piece of sugary candy it is all I think about and before I know it, my entire bag of candy is gone.