Sugar - The Sweetest Poison of All

I was recently reminded of the very seductive and addictive power of sugar. During the Ausar cycle I decided to make a sacrifice to Ausar by giving up sugar for 10 days. Even though a true Ausar sacrifice is to abstain from salt in the diet, I wasn’t quite ready for that one; so I settled on sugar.Six weeks later and to my surprise, I'm still going strong and holding out on consuming sugar. Initially I had to summons quite a bit of willpower. But as the days went by, I was delighted to find the urge to consume sugar-laced foods and beverages subsided. Let me stop right here and thank the Creator for fresh fruits. Had it not been for fresh fruits, I can honestly say, I would not have made it through this sacrifice this long or at all.I’ve had quite a few revelations regarding my sugar consumption, starting with the degree to which I had been consuming sweet substances. It was in quite large amounts in all kinds of unsuspecting ways, with liquids being the primary culprit. They included vitamin waters, power drinks, protein drinks, natural sodas, a famous actor's lemonade, and a very popular coffee shop's bottled teas, to name a few. All these liquids have added sweeteners.  My new drink of choice is the elixir of life - water.  I spike my water with lemon or lime, tinctures and sometimes, just a little juice, real fruit juice.  I had been drinking orange juice, but I have since found that berry juices are better because they are less acidic.  And thank goodness I know better than to ever consume artificial sweeteners, which are even worse than cane sugar or corn syrup. But that’s another story for another day.There are quite a number of foods that I no longer consume. The next revelation was that I had convinced myself that many foods I was ingesting fell under the banner of "health food." Some of these foods were: sweetened yogurt, granola, energy bars, muffins, almond croissants - you get the picture. I remember Gary Null once stating that muffins were the new age version of donuts.Another of my realizations was that often my urge for sugar seemed to be a way to reward myself or to have a feeling of comfort. Sugar had become a constant in my life via cakes, cookie, pies, chocolates, sorbet etc. I see these desserts now and they hardly have a pull on me. When I need a sugar fix, I have some fruit and with extreme urges I will treat myself to dried fruits like dates, figs, apricots, etc.Here are some facts about processed sugar:

• Eating processed sugar robs your body of nutrients– vitamins, minerals and even enzymes.
• Having sugar-laced foods in the morning causes a drop in energy levels, like an energy crash in the mid afternoon.
• Eating balanced meals will help stave off sugar cravings
• Sugar produces disease and makes all dis-ease worse
• Sugar has no nutritional value
• Sugar, not fat causes heart disease
• Today the average American consumes 150-175 pounds of sugar a year, 46 teaspoons a day
• Sugar causes mental and emotional imbalances
• Quick and healthy way to loose weight, cut sugar from your diet
• Want to minimize or be rid of that skin issue? Remove sugar from your diet.

The history of sugar and slavery is a brutal one that began with an addiction of the elite that had to be fed. This led to the sowing and reaping of sugar cane and a life of horror for millions of slaves throughout the Caribbean.In William Duffy’s book Sugar Blues - Refined Sugar: The Sweetest Poison of All, published in 1975, it states: “Sugar is a prime ingredient in countless substances from cereal to soup, from cola to coffee. Consumed at the rate of one hundred pounds for every American every year, it's as addictive as nicotine -- and as poisonous. It's sugar. And "Sugar Blues", inspired by the crusade of Hollywood legend Gloria Swanson, is the classic, bestselling expose that unmasks our generation's greatest medical killer and shows how a revitalizing, sugar-free diet can not only change lives, but quite possibly save them.”Since giving up sugar I feel a kind of wellness that is difficult to describe. But an underlying discomfort that I once had, has dissipated. It’s a known fact that sugar causes fermentation in the body, which causes a rapid reproducing and proliferation of bad cells (think cancer cells) reproduction. Sugar also causes heat, and as we now know, heat causes inflammation. If you’re sick with anything, sugar will cause that sickness to become more intense and accelerate.Sugar is ubiquitous in the western diet. You have to go out of your way to avoid it if you decide to not have it as part of your diet.   One of my favorite ways of eating was to have a savory meal while drinking something sweet.  I sometimes miss that.  I hadn’t planned for this sacrifice to become a manifesto, something that I want to commit myself to. But given the damage that sugar causes on our bodies, the way it increases disease, it’s addiction and not to mention its horrific history, why would I not consider removing this poison from my diet, from my life? In addition to all this, my family has a history of diabetes, so I don't need to play with this fire.  Would you consider joining me by cutting back on your sugar consumption? Let me know.But oh, there is one way I still use sugar, and that is with Anu Essentials Body Polishes. On the outside of the body as a way to exfoliate dead skin cells, sugar is quite good, on the inside of the body, not so much.Be well, be healthy!

Smell Good, Feel Good, Look Good