For most of us, we often associate chocolate, sweets or sugary drinks with our childhood. Either these were forbidden or used as a treat, either way, it made these sugary products desirable to us as a reward. Maybe you associate chocolate or sweets with happy times, with comfort or if you weren’t allowed it very often, with a sense of excitement?
Here’s the problem though: We know too much sugar is bad for us. But trying to reduce the amount of thing we eat containing high amounts of sugar isn’t easy!
For many of us, giving up sugar seems all but impossible. We can break the habit for a few days or weeks. But before we know it, we’re back to snacking on sugar throughout the day.
If you’ve struggled to kick your sugar habit, you’re not alone. In the UK research carried out by Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation estimates that many of us are consuming 3 times the recommended daily allowance and in America it’s suggested this figure is even higher!
But avoiding temptation can only do so much; sugar actually reprograms your brain and creates its own intense cravings. Research shows that, when consumed in excess, it reprograms our brains.
How? Eating sugar triggers the production and release of addiction-forming chemicals in the body. These chemicals stimulate feelings of pleasure, relaxation and comfort. Over time, the brain learns that the body needs sugar to function.
In other words, sugar addiction is very real! In fact, studies have shown that sugar is as addictive as street drugs like cocaine and heroin. That’s serious stuff! so is no wonder it’s so difficult to cut sugar from our diets.
Willpower alone isn’t enough to cure our chocolate addictions. The reason is that sugar addiction is rooted deep in the unconscious mind. Our subconscious has developed a positive attachment to sugary foods and drinks. The bottom line is, without changing these subconscious associations, we aren’t getting to the root cause of our sugar habit, so we are programmed to fail.
