I gave up most of my sugar-filled comfort foods nine years ago, after a life-threatening portal vein thrombosis (PVT), several days in the hospital, and months of coumadin injections in my stomach. Genetically, I was told that there was no good reason for this to have happened in my body.
Even more enlightening was when I learned that this is an anomaly for almost any “body.” I was a picture of health, but in reality, a crisis had been brewing and I was living through an anomaly. Today we are all living through an anomaly – a planetary pandemic.
Every “body” is experiencing distress; it is an inevitable part of being quarantined during a global healthcare crisis. Right now, we can all agree that together and separate, we are navigating through an oddly stressful environment, massive change, and exponentially more worry and uncertainty. We’re also not able to freely travel between those stress-relieving relationships, places, and activities like being with family for dinner, meeting up with friends for a yoga class or going to our favorite stylist for a much-needed hair appointment at the first sign of frazzled ends or the appearance of salt and pepper sprinkles.
Heck, even those of us who openly embrace our more introverted nature, liking solidarity (I’ll be first to admit I love my alone time) is finding those feelings of anxiety, AKA distress, more often, rising just beneath the surface. Before we know it, feeding our feelings of fear, we could find ourselves becoming the perfect host (the perfect body) for a much deeper level of distress. And, I wonder how many of YOU are upping your intake of sugar-laden comfort foods just to ease the feelings of stress? Unknowingly over-stimulating organs like your adrenal glands that work for you, producing the hormones that help regulate your immune system, metabolism, blood pressure, and stress response during periods of high demand – a function that is directly responsible for resisting the damage of stress.
If this your context and you’ve been looking to reduce sugar consumption, I have great news – over the years, I’ve found the best sugar alternatives to provide comfort and support function without leaving you feeling like you are being forced to go without the familiarity of sweet treats. These alternatives will help you taper off healthfully, without a crisis.
Intelligent Allopathy: A rebuilding strategy that restores balance without sacrificing normalcy.
Time to treat yourself to some body hacking and see how small interventions can reduce the load of physical stressors and support your emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing.
Tapering Tip #1: Take Inventory
Identify all the sources of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners in your daily diet – clarity of where all the sugar is coming from is a great place to start. Donuts might be a no brainer, but that salad dressing and pasta sauce containing sugar also count. Total it up because we are about to do a little math.
If you are finding that you are very reliant on sugar, I would strongly advise against going cold turkey right now. The physical symptoms such as headaches, irritability, and exhaustion can feel like the flu, last up to a week, and leave you feeling like it is just too much. You can avoid this by tapering, coming off the sugar strategically.
Tapering Tip #2: Cut Sugar Consumption
Cut sugar consumption by ¼ every four days. (According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average American adult consumes 77 grams of sugar per day. This is more than three times the recommended amount for women, the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day. This adds up to around 60 pounds of added sugar annually. Ladies, that is the equivalent of (six), ten-pound bowling balls! The numbers are even worse for children, as children are typically ingesting over 30 gallons of added sugars from drinks alone. That is enough to fill your bathtub!
Tapering Tip #3: Establish Alternatives
Replace sugar (refined and artificial) with one or more of the five friendlies found below. These sweeteners are proven to have the least glycemic impact on your body’s blood sugar. In turn, you will be giving your stress supporting organs a much-needed break because your sugar consumption will not be the thing that is repeatedly overstimulating your body and your mind.
- Honey
- Monk fruit
- Stevia
- Maple Syrup
- Molasses
If you choose to just stop (I see you, renegades, and high achieveHERS), there are two supplements that I use to ease withdrawal symptoms and support healthy organ function: Canna Bees Rescue Blend CBD Honey and BMX AdaptAlign Adrenal Support. Take one or both; they are time-honored botanical relief remedies with minimal ingredients and are proven to nourish the body, help manage stress, and support function.
In both instances (tapering or cold turkey), you can try one or both supplements. They are safe and effective. My suggestion if you choose to try both is that you practice sequencing and self-titration. For those who are not familiar with these terms, it means layering and self-dosing.
Introduce one supplement for a period of two, three, or four days. Once you have found all is well add in the second supplement. The purpose of sequencing and self-titration is so that you become aware of the effects inside your own body and take notice of the benefits. Or, in the very rare case when one of nature’s remedies does not set well, you can easily identify which supplement it is and remove it.
Consciously choosing to minimize your sugar intake and support your body’s functional capacity is an empowering next step in any environment. CRISIS DIVERTRED!
