Most people are aware that refined sugar is really bad for them. Its highly addictive nature is incredibly detrimental to our long term emotional well-being and physical health. Refined sugar acidifies the body, increasing the risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, not to mention being a leading cause of weight gain and obesity.
Sugar is often associated with having an energy ‘boost’. Although this is true in a very short term sense, it also plays havoc with your blood sugar balance. After the sugar high, comes the sugar crash. Sugar is one of main contributing factors to overall low energy, inhibiting your body’s ability to regulate its energy naturally.
Refined sugar suppresses the natural strength of our immune systems. I eat very little refined sugar and I am always amazed by how one refined sweet or dessert can almost instantly lead to a blocked nose, wheezy breathing and other symptoms caused by suppressed immunity. It is very clear to me how much negative impact sugar actually has on my body when this happens.
As with all addictive substances, we grow resistant to the effects of sugar. We need more and more of it, becoming resistant to its temporary energy boost. We are left feeling the detrimental effects of this poisonous substance and with an addiction that’s hard to kick.
Kicking the Habit
There have been a few times in the last 8 years when refined sugar has crept back into my diet. Soon enough, I miss the healthy high and ween myself off it again. I’ve found that upping the amount of raw I eat and having as many raw sweet treats as I want, whenever I want them, means that I become less and less interested in sweet stuff altogether, even of the raw variety.
Weening off and detoxing from refined sugar, cold turkey, can cause strong detox symptoms, as with weening off any addictive substance. If you’re ready to kick your sugar addiction to the curb, the best way to ween yourself off is to replace junk food sweets, cakes and biscuits with raw alternatives, such as today’s coconut macaroon recipe, pear and ginger cheesecake, chocolate brownies and bee pollen balls. Replace the sugar in your tea and coffee with raw honey or stevia.
When you swap out refined sugar your taste buds adjust surprisingly quickly and you’ll find that you don’t miss refined sugar at all after 5 -7 days. Old habits often die hard though, so be prepared to fall off and get back on the wagon from time to time. As you keep re-instating the raw treats, your sugar-free time will lengthen from hours, to days, to months, to years.
Weekend Kick Start
Make it your goal this weekend to get creative in the kitchen and stock up on raw sweet treats for the week, or the month. Most raw sweet recipes will keep for 3 – 7 days in the fridge and also freeze well for a month or more. Choose 3 recipes, write your shopping list and get making!
This Week’s Detox Recipe: Coconut Fridge Macaroons
This week’s recipe has been a great one for us whilst we are travelling. It’s super quick and easy to make and is a lovely treat when your sweet tooth kicks in or you have friends over for tea.
This recipe makes 4 delicious macaroons.
Ingredients
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp melted extra-virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp raw honey or raw agave syrup
1 small pinch mineral salt
Method
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.
Using your hands, shape the mixture into 4 round biscuit shapes*.
Put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
* Depending on your desiccated coconut, the mixture may not hold together that well. If this happens, either place the mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes and try again or add another 1 tbsp of melted coconut oil.
Enjoy 🙂
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