According to Avail Clinic Research, the average American eats close to 150 pounds (pounds!!) of sugar a year. Just 100 years ago, the figure was closer to 18 pounds a year. In the world, the US ranks #1 in sugar consumption. What happened?! Why does it seem we are so addicted to sugar?
Turns out, humans have a physiological response to sugar like those we experience with drugs, like cocaine – is it a coincidence that they look the same?? Eating sugar causes our gut to make feel-good chemicals like serotonin, making us feel calm and content. But that affect is short lived, leaving us to crave sugar like the peanut brittle addicts we are – and for most people, that craving starts with stress. It’s not wonder so many people identify as emotional, or stress, eaters – when the going gets tough, the tough eat donuts.
Like drugs, sugar excess ages us too. A 2014 study at the University of California, San Francisco, looked at 5300 healthy folks, and found that regularly drinking sugar sweetened soda – looking at you Dr. Pepper addicts – caused our cells to age, and die, quicker. This pattern of early cell death has been linked to Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis, not to mention early mortality.
Link any drug, the first step to recovery is avoidance. That’s where the Sugar-Free Challenge comes in! The 7-day meal plan is completely free of added, processed sugar, and chock-full of plant-based goodness that actually lengthen your life, not shorten it. ?
To join the Sugar-Free Challenge, simply download and print the Meal Plan and Prep Guide, and comment below “I’m in!”. Kickoff will be August 1st with a special live Meal Prep to ensure we kick sugar’s booty!