Have you ever been through a bad breakup? Have you ever given up someone or something that you really love? I think it’s time for people to give up their unhealthy love for processed sugar! Some people don’t just have a love for sugar, rather a strong addiction for this sweet and enticing substance. I have no doubt that this love and addiction for sugar, especially processed sugar, is a contributing factor to many of the health issues people face today, especially diabetes.
To prove my point today, I will share with you this recent question that I received on The Feeling Good Podcast from one of our listeners, Bonnie. Bonnie writes, “One of my biggest weaknesses is sugar. I have a huge sweet tooth and know that sugar is not good for me. I don’t use artificial sweeteners only real sugar for my tea, but I love sweets of any kind. After a meal I like something sweet. Do you have any suggestions to lessen the desire for sweets?”
I must confess that I can relate to Bonnie, because I have a sweet tooth too, but I want to give all of you some hope today. I have learned to control that sweet tooth, and I know that you can too, if you follow my recommendations here.
First of all, I want you to understand that the sweet tooth you have quite possibly has an underlying cause that you are totally unaware of. This is something that I see in my practice quite often. That sweet tooth could be caused by an overgrowth of yeast in your gut. A lot of people have this overgrowth of yeast and don’t even know it. They are suffering from various symptoms caused by the overgrowth. One of them is an uncontrollable urge for sweets, and not just sweets but for high carbohydrate foods that turn to sugar like breads and pastas. When you have this overgrowth in the gut, the urge for sugar is just one of the many problems it can cause. If you get the yeast under control, you will likely get the sweet tooth under control as well.
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I would love to hear your story of how you have or are currently breaking up with sugar! Post on Facebook or Twitter using #SugarBreakup and one winner will be chosen to receive an all new Carson Natural comfort colors t-shirt!
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Next, I recommend switching from using sugar to sweeten your tea to a natural low calorie or no calorie sweetener. My favorite one is the no calorie, natural plant based Stevia. Stevia is made from the leaves of the stevia plant. Stevia plants are something you can grow in your garden, but stevia is available in health food and grocery stores, and there are a variety of stevia products out there on the market. You have to be very careful about the one that you choose, and be sure that it is a pure stevia extract with no additives. Many of these stevia products on the market are not true stevia. They have stevia in them, but they have other sweeteners like dextrose and erythritol, which is an alcohol sugar. There are a variety of these brands out there and many times you can tell whether you are getting a true stevia product by the price. Stevia’s that have a lot of additives are much cheaper than the true stevia products. Be careful! Choose the right one and read the labels well and know that the one you are choosing is the real stevia. The one pictured here is available in our store, and you can click it to see more details.
Now I use stevia to sweeten all kinds of foods and to make desserts. It is a wonderful sweetener, and I love the fact that is has no calories and no affect on my blood sugar. You definitely want to use stevia as a sugar alternative especially if you are diabetic.
Third, I want to recommend that if you have that legitimate sweet tooth and you like a little something sweet after a meal then you can do what I always do. Often after my meals, I will eat a couple of small squares of 70% or higher dark chocolate and a few raw nuts. This is a little treat that always satisfies my sweet tooth and doesn’t add a ton of calories to my diet. Another thing that I often eat for dessert is half of a low-sugar, low calorie protein bar. These protein bars are great alternatives to high sugar snacks as well.
The stevia I have talked about here is something you can learn a lot more about if you go back and check out one of my blogs that I wrote several months ago. You can click here to read it!
If you have any health questions, leave me a voice message by clicking on the “Ask Dr. Phil” Microphone. You can also email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!
Healthy Blessings,
Dr. Phil
