Did you know that sugar addiction is a major cause of chronic pain, weight gain, and adrenal exhaustion?

In olden days sugar was hard to come by and only consumed in small quanitities. Sugar used to be hard to come by and in early man was only consumed in fiber rich berries, quickly burned with high levels of exercise. In modern times we have access to incredibly concentrated levels of sugar in processed foods, soda, baked goods, and beyond. Unlike natural sugars and slow burning carbohydrates buffered by vitamins, minerals, enzymes and proteins, processed white sugar is stripped of any nutrients and causes a spike in blood sugar. This causes excitability, nervous tension and hyperactivity followed by a plummet that ends in fatigue, depression, weariness and exhaustion. White sugar is hidden in so many foods these days try finding a salad dressing in your grocery store that doesn’t have sugar in it. White flours can also cause a sugar spike due to their low fiber content and fast absorbing nature. This excess of sugar especially highly processed, white, and nutritionally devoid sugar is addictive and detrimental to the proper flow of energy for our bodies and minds.

Like heroin, cocaine and caffeine, sugar is an addictive, destructive drug, yet we consume it daily in everything from cigarettes to bread.

-William Dufty, author of Sugar Blues.

Sugar qualifies as an addictive substance for two reasons:

1. Eating even a small amount creates a desire for more.

2. Suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, cravings and fatigue.

What about artificial sweeteners instead?

They too send signals to the brain that you are eating a sweet food and ignite the production of insulin the same way sugar does despite the caloric load. Not to mention the destructive chemical nature and irritative qualities fake sweeteners have on your digestion, hormonal health, and ability to cause you to over eat.

Natasha Turner, ND, author of The Super-Charged Hormone Diet, says that artificially sweetened foods could trick you into overeating because of they way they feel in your mouth. "The taste and feel of food in our mouth influences our learned ability to match our caloric intake with our caloric need," she says. High fat, high sugar foods taste both sweet and dense, signaling to your brain that they're high calories. But artificially sweetened foods often have a thinner consistency and texture than sugar-sweetened foods and thus, aren't as satisfying. "Our natural ability to control how much we eat and, therefore, our body weight may be weakened when this natural link is impaired by consuming products that contain artificial sweeteners," she says.

So what is the chronic pain and sugar connection?

The cycle of insulin spikes followed by drastic dips in blood sugar will tax your adrenal glands and create a pattern of exhaustion and eventually adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue will cause pain in your mid to lower back, make you feel tired for no reason, make it difficult to bounce back from stress or illness, and ironically cause you to crave salty and sweet snacks. Sugar also aggravates candida (yeast) overgrowth and nutritional deficiencies that can cause or worsen chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia.

How do you reduce sugar to change the cycle of addiction, low energy, and weight gain?

Read this infographic to help adopt a low sugar diet to learn how to ditch sugar and

Retrain your taste buds
Restore sugar sensitivity
Heal the digestive tract
Rev up metabolism
Ignite weight loss

Need a solution for a sweet tooth that is filled with slow digesting natural sweeteners, protein, and fiber? Here's my favorite power snack that stops a sugar craving in its track.

Raw Chocolate Ginger Power Balls

Gluten Free - Raw - Grain Free - Low Sugar - Vegan Friendly - Anti Inflammatory

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts (soaked overnight)
6 tbl raw cacao powder
4 tbl sunflower butter
3 tbl hemp seeds
1/4 tsp pink or sea salt
2 tsp bee pollen powder (optional but amazing flavor and energy boost)
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 c soaked and pitted dates (soaked overnight)

Instructions

Drain and rinse the walnuts and dates. In the bowl of a food processor blend the walnuts and pitted dates until a paste is formed adding a small amount of water as needed if too dry to blend.

Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Transfer the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Add 2 tbl of raw cacao to a plate. Using a small disher or two large spoons roll quarter size balls in your hands and then roll in the cacoa powder to coat. Pass back and forth from one hand to the other to allow the excess cacao to fall off.

Place on a plate and get ready for snacking. Any leftovers keep covered in the fridge. You can also make these in advance and keep these in a ziploc bag in your freezer and take them out as you need them. Leave them to thaw out for an hour or so before eating. This is also a great solution for travel. Bring the frozen snacks in your bag and they will be thawed in time when your hunger strikes.

You can also roll these in unsweetened shredded coconut or ground nuts.

Sore, Fat, and Tired? The Sugar Connection and How To Kick The Habit.