Sugar addiction and healthy eating

Is addiction to sugar a true addiction? A common debate these days, but it really doesn't matter. The consequences of overconsumption of sugar are not being debated sufficiently and general awareness amongst the public is not clear. It is said that as a nation, we consume too much sugar.

Image

The UK guidelines are 70g of sugar for a man and 50g of sugar for a woman. Too much sugar can result in obesity, heart disease and though not fully proven, has been found to increase the growth of the faulty protein associated with Alzheimer’s in humans. Alzheimer’s has been nicknamed type 3 diabetes.

Some clients with a strong sweet tooth will avoid eating all of their healthy main course to leave space for a dessert, chocolate or perhaps a biscuit or two (or even the entire packet) afterwards.

That innocent couple of biscuits or alcoholic drink could be having more of an effect on your health than you realised. People often reward their children with chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks.

A 500ml bottle of full sugar fizzy drink could contain a huge 44g of sugar. That is probably far more than a child should consume. I recently saw something suggesting children should drink milk instead, yet a half pint of semi-skimmed milk contains 12g of Sugar. A well-known brand of chocolate-flavoured breakfast cereal is 35% sugar and even the recommended serving of 30g may contain 11g of sugar. A large helping of such a cereal drowning in milk could contain as much as half or more of your child’s recommended sugar intake for the day!

Perhaps foods laden with sugar need to be treated like other addictive substances for the sake of everyone’s health?

It is amazing how many hypnotherapy clients that visit for weight management believe that they are eating a healthy diet and they then reveal that most of their “five a day” is made up of fruit.

Fructose or fruit sugar is very rapidly converted into fat and can make a significant contribution to high blood sugar and obesity. A large 250ml glass of fruit juice could contain as much as 25g of sugar. Two large glasses of juice for a woman is your recommended daily limit for sugar consumption. And well, if you look at alcohol consumption, there is a standalone argument against some drinks on sugar alone. A pint of dry cider could contain 23g of sugar.

Hypnotherapy provides a rapid solution to help people who have already expressed their desire to tackle their overconsumption and reliance on sugar. By helping people to overcome their “addiction”, we must surely challenge the collective consciousness with regards to healthier levels of sugar consumption?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Hypnotherapy Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

Share this article with a friend
Show comments
Image

Find a hypnotherapist dealing with Sugar addiction

All therapists are verified professionals

All therapists are verified professionals