Sheila Magazine

sheila I feature Perth dietitian, Peggy Stacy says the reason we are eating more sugar than ever before s because it is more readily available. "There's more processed food available, more eating on the run and generally poor eating that does not maintain blood sugars at a normal level," she says. Sugar highs are always followed by a low and this will prompt a craving for more. But she says she does not believe sugar is addictive. "It is easy to give up if one eats a high fibre, low GI diet with frequent meals so blood sugars don't drop," she says. "Frequent meals that are high in fibre and low GI will remove the cravings and it is also important do not get too tired. If you are tired, you will turn to sugar for instant energy to keep going." She says one of the dangers of excess sugar consumption is that it delivers empty calories. "When you eat a lot of sugar, you don't get vitamins, minerals and protein that are all necessary for a healthy body." Long term sweet tooths are at increased risk of a range of serious diseases. "It could lead to weight gain that could in turn lead to heart disease and diabetes.," she says. "It is also bad on teeth." "Conversely a healthy diet will maintain the immune system and reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease." She says people with a high metabolism often craved more frequent meals to maintain stable blood sugar levels. And since a drop in blood sugar levels often led to cravings for sweets, it was important for those people to eat frequent nutritious meals. withdrawal, David Gillespie says his life changed dramatically when he quit sugar. Gillespie, a former corporate lawyer, owner of a successful IT company and father of six, lost 40kgs in 18 months after giving up sugar. "I didn't have sugar in my tea, but I did have a fairly serious soft drink habit. I couldn't walk past a soft drink vending machine without buying a drink so I had a couple of cans of that a day," he says. He gave up the sweet stuff cold turkey and made the decision instantly. "It was the day I read an article about the cancerous affect of having sugar in your diet," he says. "It was scary stuff. I'd started out trying to find a way to lose weight. But what I was finding was that my weight was a symptom of an underlying problem being caused primarily by fructose. And when I looked at the problems that cascaded from that, such as Type II Diabetes, heart disease cancer, dementia and the list went on and on, I thought, 'wow, I have just got to get off this'," he says. And quit he did although he says it was not without difficulty and he explains that giving up sugar is easier for men than it is for women. He says after an initial withdrawal period, the cravings stop. A nother everyday Australian who has written a series of successful books on sugar GILLESPIE'S quit sugar tips l First, admit you are addicted to it. You can't kick the habit unless you admit you have one. l Give yourself a fair chance by removing sugar from your environment. There is no way you are going to kick sugar when you have a cupboard and a fridge full of it. l Identify your habits that are associated with sugar. Write them down. For example, you might be in the habit of getting a coffee at 10 o'clock in the morning and you usually end up buying a muffin as well. So still have your coffee but order buttered toast instead. S SHEILA MAY 2012 35 "I remember distinctly people offering me chocolate and me refusing and them commenting on my great willpower. But I didn't deserve the compliment, it had about as much attraction as a plate of broccoli. "Anyone who hasn't given up sugar won't understand this. It is something you don't believe until you do it. But it really does become just another food that you can take or leave." He says being able to quit sugar probably requires a shift in perspective. Since quitting himself, he eats to live, rather than the other way around. "When you're addicted to sugar you really are obsessed with food. I know I was. You live to eat rather than eating to live and when you remove sugar from your diet the next meal or the next sweet treat ceases to be something at the front of your mind. "The other thing since coming off sugar is that my palate has expanded enormously. Before, I think I must have had a fairly blunted perception of taste. I notice flavours and smells much more now than I ever can remember noticing all my life." G "Sugar eaters and ex-smokers have an awful lot in common. They're both addicted to highly addictive substances, withdrawal is very similar in length of time and symptoms and the effect on your ability to taste and smell after it's gone are very similar too," he says. illespie says there are a lot of parallels with giving up sugar to giving up smoking.

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