Every year thousands of sugar-addicted women resolve to reduce their sugar intake and that of their families. They make a New Year’s Resolution, or they start a new diet. Cupboards are emptied as women across the globe vow to eliminate sugar forever. With great intentions, they promise to eat fresh fruit instead of sugary sweet desserts.
Connie Eastwood is a Mom who tried to eliminate sugar from her diet year after year after year. She would experience success for a few weeks, but “a small piece” of her favorite dessert would send her right back to craving sugary desserts and treats again.
As she researched and experimented with various ways of eliminating sugar, she did find some methods that sounded promising and, over time, she incorporated the solutions that worked for her.
Nutritional Deficiencies Cause Sugar Cravings
Connie’s first breakthrough was her discovery of the following little-known secret:
If you crave sweets you may be lacking the following nutrition:
1. Chromium - found in Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans and chicken.
2. Carbon – found in fresh fruits.
3. Phosphorus - found in chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains.
4. Sulphur - found in cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage.
5. Tryptophan - found in cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach.
Connie gradually incorporated more and more fresh plants and healthy protein sources into her eating plan and noticed that this did reduce her sugar cravings.
Artificial Sweeteners – Friend or Foe?
A second breakthrough for Connie was her research into artificial sweeteners. She was shocked to discover that research has shown “appetite problems such as binge eating and sugar cravings” have been associated with artificial sweeteners. This means that the artificial sweetener itself can cause more sugar cravings. Connie thought, “No wonder my daily diet soda hasn’t helped me to eat less junky, sugary foods.”
Can it be that the huge companies who make these artificial products know that artificial sweeteners increase sugar cravings? Connie continued to research and then started to substitute natural sweeteners for artificial sweeteners. She started to use honey, maple syrup, and molasses.
Over time, Connie was able to eliminate products containing artificial sweeteners and market-place items marked “diet”.
How Much Sugar is Really in that Teaspoon of Sugar?
Connie learned that it takes 3 feet of sugar cane to make 1 teaspoon of white sugar. No wonder there is no nutritional value left in white sugar. The sugar cane plant itself has lots of fiber and vitamins and minerals, which are all removed during processing, resulting in a “non-food” -- white sugar. One hundred years ago, North Americans ate 6 pounds of white sugar per person per year. Current statistics indicate that North Americans eat over 150 pounds of white sugar per person per year.
Connie discovered “whole organic sugars” such as Sucanat and Rapadura. These sugarcane products retain the vitamins and minerals found in the natural sugarcane, and help the body to metabolize the sugar. Connie was now able to choose sugar cane products that had not been processed to death.
Stevia Plant to the Rescue
A fourth breakthrough for Connie was her discovery of the Stevia plant.
Stevia Rebaudiana is also called “sweet leaf”. The leaves and flower buds of this plant can be 30 to 300 times sweeter than sugar (depending on extraction process), with virtually zero calories.
This all-natural, whole food is becoming more available world-wide in recent years, although it has been used for centuries in China and South America. Connie started to use the liquid stevia extract for herself and her family. She replaced sugar with stevia as a sweetener in drinks, smoothies, desserts and anywhere else she would ordinarily have used white sugar. She soon found that it reduced her cravings for sugar, as well as giving her more energy.
Gradually, Connie helped herself and her family by improving nutritional intake, by getting rid of artificial sweeteners, and by replacing white sugar with healthy alternatives such as liquid stevia extract.
Today Connie and her family are able to eat a very minimal amount of sugary treats, the sugar cravings are greatly reduced, and they feel satisfied with the treats they have.
For over 20 years, Diana Walker has assisted people like you in using natural, safe options for creating vibrant health and well-being. Get her gems of wisdom and healthy recipes mini e-book via her free newsletter at www.diana2.com
