Is Sugar The Real Demon?
For some people it sure is!
Last week I spent about 10 hours interviewing potential candidates for my course.
During our conversations one thing became very present for me.
How sugar can easily become the demon in your life!
If you spend any time on the internet you probably have noticed many articles about sugar, programs about sugar detoxing, entire websites dedicated to the topic.
But WHY is sugar so relevant in our lives?
My first quick answer to this poignant question is: Because of the way sugar acts in out body (addictive potential) and it’s EXTREME presence and availability in our contemporary S.A.D. way of eating.
So let me clarify a bit.
Our body and DNA still follow an original design created more than hundred thousand years ago.
Although they say it only takes about 10,000 years of evolution to modify the DNA, our sugar consumption has remained pretty steady throughout the ages, it only started to increased dramatically around the beginning of the last century. (see graph) That is not enough time for our body to change it’s design to accomodate this increased consumption.
Our body is simply not designed to handle this large amounts of sugar.
As sugar was originally a precious commodity, only found seasonally in ripe fruit or in the occasional honey, our genetic design recognized it as a quick and effective way to get precious calories, when getting food was an all day endeavor!
So our brain became wired to respond to sugar just like it responds to drugs like stimulants and opiates, making you want more!
This mechanism is still at work today, and to make things worst the physiology of our body compounds the effect, because sugar spikes our blood sugar, and then it crashes it, making us crave for more, and more….and more!
This is how we lose control over our willpower, because the impulses of our body become strong enough to override even the strongest person’s will.
So how do we escape this downward spiral? How do we break the vicious circle?
The best way, in my opinion, is to eliminate the cravings. Once the body is free from the addiction, it will be a lot easier to free the mind.
But then how do we do that, if we can not stop eating sugar?
My answer is a gradual transition to ketogenic foods, with low insulin index, leading to keto adaptation.
For extreme cases substituting keto treats for regular treats can be a vital step in making this transition successful, but the ultimate goal is to wean yourself from the addiction to the sweet taste.
Once you are keto adapted, you will experience freedom, n0t only from sugar cravings, but form hunger and the need to constantly snack. You will be free to decide when and what to eat, and have again the power of control over your life!
That is the beauty of keto adaptation!
Can you explain how to elevate leptin levels on A Keto diet? I hear the only way to elevate this hormone is through cargs but I want to heal my hypothalamus.
Linda, it is not about elevating leptin! Once you are leptin resistant, more leptin only aggravates the problem. The key here is to reduce insulin levels and glucose levels, which can be done eating the right foods, in the right manner. 🙂 (I think you are already very very close to doing it anyways!)
Interesting. When I eat sugar, it definitely makes me want more.
Yes, Kariane, me too!! I can feel my brain fire up when I have something sweet!! 😉