Just a Spoonful of Sugar?

By: Jean Johnson for Body1

“Sugar consumption is off the charts,” said executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Michael F. Jacobson. “Added sugars found largely in junk foods such as soft drinks, cakes and cookies squeeze healthier foods out of the diet. That sugar now accounts for 16 percent of the calories consumed by the average American and 20 percent of teenagers’ calories.”

Take Action

Tips for stemming sugar cravings: Eat three meals a day. Come up for air from the world of processed food and stick close to the Mediterranean diet of beans, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, olive oil, dairy, fish, with moderate alcohol and little red meat. Choose whole fruits instead of juices. Turn a cold shoulder on processed sugar substitutes that can fan the flames of craving. Try a walk after dinner.

While the CSPI – an advocate for nutrition and health since 1971 – has been branded the “food cops” by some, The Saturday Early Show’s Mallika Marshall, M.D. confirmed Jacobson’s concern about sugar consumption in a 2004 CBS interview.

More, according to the CBS story, “Research in animals suggests that sugar may have some addictive properties. In fact, a recent study from Princeton University found rats given too much sugar actually suffered from withdrawal when the sugar was taken away. And they continued to crave sugar for weeks afterwards. But so far, there have been no concrete studies done in humans to prove that it’s really addictive like alcohol and drugs.”

One Woman’s Story

“If they think humans don’t crave ‘sug’ they should study my life before I freed myself of the little tart,” said Derrelina Folis of Salem, Ore. “Sugar might not be physically addictive, but it sure did a psychological number on me. They say that’s how cocaine works. Not so much a physical craving, but a super-power emotional and psychological one. Also, the real point to me is: Why would a person want to eat sugar at all? It’s processed and refined. Not even real food. So it’s just not a healthy choice, basically.”

How Did Folis Give up Her Sweetie Pie, Sugar?

“By falling on my face over and over until I finally came out waving the white flag high,” she said. “I tried all kinds of things. Just eating sweets when I was out to dinner with a friend. Just once a week. All that. Various schemes would work for a while, but before long I’d be back at the candy counter on a nightly, if not daily, basis.”

Folis’ voice takes on a weak tone at the memory of the torment she experienced for more than 30 years. “I started doing some reading and talking to various people in the know. The education really did help me because it got me to realize I was in dire straits. Once I understood the larger scheme of things, I couldn’t pretend any longer that I just had a little weakness and so forth. I finally really had to face the idea that I had a serious problem and would be much happier taking a wide berth around my dearest, darling sugar.” Folis says that her eating habits were pretty trashy when she was into the sweets as well – so poor that she admits to even starting some of her really bad days with chocolate chip cookie dough and café au lait. She also says that she ate a lot of white bread toast and butter, not to mention turning a blind eye to vegetables and fruit.

“These days I know when apricot season is, and I look forward to it. Before I could have cared less about fruit. ‘Why would anyone want that when they could have chocolate?’ was basically what I thought.”

She also says she has always been a fairly driven person. “I worked and played hard,” she said. “There was little in between for me most of the time. I can see that now that I do take time for exercise and yoga and even some meditation, although I still don’t like just sitting without anything to do other than follow my breath. I mean, how boring is that?”

Some Professional Thoughts on Sugar Cravings

According to doctor of naturopathy and licensed acupuncturist at Providence Integrative Medicine Clinic, Loch Chandler, N.D., L.Ac., the pattern Folis reports is an all too common one.

“In a society that is very fast-going like ours, the sympathetic nervous system that controls fight-or-flight mechanisms dominates. That’s one reason why people are doing sugary foods and coffee. They have a level of fatigue that doesn’t get answered and so they go to quick fixes.”

Chandler says that it’s helpful to understand refined sugar as a kind of simple carbohydrate that is high on the gylcemic index of foods. “Sugar shoots up the blood sugar so the body produces more insulin. Then, because it is metabolized so rapidly, what we are left with is high insulin levels, which causes a drop in blood sugar values, the so-called crash after the high. In turn, those cause us to want to refill with carbohydrates – typically the quicker the better.”

“I definitely see it in my practice,” said Chandler. “People are just tired. They are leaning more heavily on the sympathetic nervous system and tapping their body’s ability to deal with stress. Not a lot of people are resting and rejuvenating. I see a lot of people craving that quick fix. While over the short-term simple carbohydrates like sugar is way to get there, in the longer term the price can be weight gain, obesity, moodiness, depression and diabetes among other problems.”

Ideas to Manage Sugar Cravings

The first thing Chandler does in his work as a naturopath is to educate his patients. Derrelina Folis agrees that half the job is getting some perspective on one’s situation and hearing about alternative behaviors that might be less disruptive and promote the happiness that everyone wants.

“We give patients a healthful diet skewed toward whole foods. They avoid processed foods and as much as possible do their own cooking,” said Chandler. “Whole grains, for example, are absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly than simple carbohydrates like pastries, cakes and cookies. Even juices are a problem, since they too have a much higher uptake. We recommend whole fruits complete with their fiber intact.”

Sounds simple. Bite into a crisp, tart apple and get the double benefit of a gentle, sustained rise in blood sugar all the while the gastrointestinal track gets a dose of fiber. The question is, when a person has been dosing on sweet nothings, will education lure them over to the side of health?

“We’re all a product of the environment in which we grew up,” Chandler observed. “What was our family’s relationship with food?”

By starting with a history of a patient’s eating habits, Chandler can identify where to target his comments. “Oftentimes it’s just a matter of talking about what creates sustainable energy. By bringing up points of consideration and thought, people naturally gravitate to wellness because people want pleasure not pain. That’s part of our job as clinicians – to really educate people. We can’t walk the healing road for them, but we can present the pros and cons.”

Chandler adds that water, physical exercise and some form of parasympathetic stimulation (rest-and-digest) that quiets the body and mind are key elements in restoring health and reducing sugar cravings. He says that since patients often mistake thirst for being hungry, they are coached on approaches to staying well hydrated. The same goes for physical exercise since getting the blood flowing can do wonders to balancing blood sugars, in addition to sending fatigue and the doldrums packing.

It is on the parasympathetic nervous system, however, where Chandler offers especially instructive insight.

“In Chinese medicine we have a saying: ‘flaming the lamp without oil.’” His point is that if people are fatigued, trying to relieve the symptom by eating sugar is akin to sheer folly.

Putting It All Together

Didn’t someone say that the answers to most problems were simply just not easy? Then again, another sage somewhere along the way also observed that “the longest journey starts with one step.”

So, pick a step, any step. It matters not whether we start with a yoga class, or drinking more water, or a decent whole foods breakfast.

If Miss Sugar has gotten the better of us more times than we like, a walk tonight after dinner might be in order to consider a reasonable plan of action – or at least a first step. Who knows, next year at this time, the changes we’ve made slowly but surely, might truly amaze.

Last updated: 26-Jun-06