Excessive sugar consumption, writes Annemarie Colbin author of Food & Healing, is believed to be involved in a host of very common problems: hypoglycemia or hyperinsulinism, diabetes, heart disease, dental caries, high cholesterol, obesity, indigestion, myopia, seborrheic dermatitis, gout, genetic narrowing of pelvic and jaw structures, crowding and malformation of teeth, hyperactivity, lack of concentration, depression, anxiety, psychological disorder, insanity, and even violent criminal behavior. In addition, it raises our insulin levels, inhibiting the release of growth hormones, which depresses the immune system. Too much sugar, literally, can make you sick.
So why all the fuss? Considering all the damage that sugar can do to our bodies and minds, why do people love it so much? How come certain people just can’t seem to get enough? After reading this long list of ailments, I took a long pause. I started thinking about my own personal draw to sugar, especially during my more formative, learning years. I remember it tasting good, there were a lot of things I could make with it, and I literally craved it. Even as recent as six months ago, if I was needing comfort, I would run to the kitchen to bake a dozen chocolate chip cookies to calm myself. But interestingly, I’ve noticed I haven’t done this in about four or five months. The education I am receiving at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition could have something to do with it, but it was what Colbin explains next that hit home for me.
If the whole earth is a system, she explains, and living systems tend to keep themselves balanced as they evolve toward forms of higher complexity, sugar eating must fit somewhere in earth’s balancing act. Throughout this book, she gives energetic properties to different foods. One theory is that sugar is associated with strengthening our ego awareness and enhancing our personalities because she has labeled it as expansive (light, scattering of thoughts, associated with short bursts elation/happiness).
Now I was really interested to see where this theory would go—somehow I felt like I was being directly spoken to.
Colbin is not the first to make such statements. Rudolph Hauschka, a German scientist, scholar, and researcher at The Clinical Therapeutic Institute at Arlesheim was the first to discuss sugar in this effect. Sugar has done its job, says Hauschka, when people develop a full consciousness of themselves as individuals and of their place in the universal order.
This certainly makes a lot of sense when thinking about children and teenagers addiction to sugar and sugary substances. They can’t get enough! Because they are in process of gaining their independence and finding themselves. With this in mind, I came to realize my lack of desire to bake super sweet goodies has dropped off a cliff since I’ve been feeding myself on a deeper level and doing something that I am absolutely passionate about. I am not craving sugar because I have found a purpose—something that I love and am excited about. Holistic health was such a natural segue that it was effortless in my decision to follow that path—always a clear sign for me that something is right. Colbin and Hauschka make it clear that, once we become clear and comfortable with ourselves, we don’t need sugared sweets anymore.
Something that I find fascinating is the interconnectedness, the wholeness of our direct relationship we have with the food we put inside our bodies. Not only does it make us feel a specific way physically, but it has psychological and emotional effects as well. Interestingly, this theory put into words something I had been feeling for quite some time and I was compelled to share it with you. What are your thoughts or observations about sugar?
i have thought and struggled long and hard on this topic — i have often felt at the whims of my sweet tooth, and have found that a teeny bit everyday keeps the big craving down to just a little baby one… usually for chocolate and fruits, reserving the baked good (ie cake, cookie, doughnut) for a more special 1 per week treat. seems to work okay for me. love your chia pudding. cannot wait to try it.
xo
You mean I can eat as much sugar as I want as long as I’m engaged in self-discovery? AWESOME. LOL
Leela, I think you’ve got a good system. The chocolate cravings come for me pretty much everyday between 11:00 and 5:00ish — probably because, if I’m having a chill day, those are the times I’m most likely aware of feeling tired or stressed. A little piece of chocolate and some fruit sounds like a good help.
I’m also interested in making my own hot chocolate, from scratch, so I can personalize it anyway I want. Might take awhile before I get around to figuring that one out, but a hot chocolate will almost immediately satisfy any cravings I have. Yummmm…
This post has been keeping my brain busy these past few days, even after writing it! A few more things I’ve come to a conclusion about: I crave sugar/sweetness when I am in the process of doing something difficult and am needing support. But in knowing this, I now reach for better options like you gals, fruit, dark chocolate, and keep my pure sweet-eating down to about once a week. With this said, I believe that because everyone is in such a different stage/place in their lives, sugar does play a crucial role in our personal development and meets other needs. It’s just like anything else, excess is never good–that’s when all the bad stuff happens. But sugar has it’s place, just like salt, love, and sun
.
Kela, I love the way you think!
More seriously…I definitely find myself craving sugar and sweet things when I’m stressed, or even just busy, not necessarily stressed in a bad way.
The other night I made homemade chocolate brownies, and as I sank into the deliciously soft, decadent morsels of chocolate, I truly tried to enjoy every small bit.
Like most, I try to limit my consumption of refined sugars and baked sweets, and I certainly don’t eat them every day…more often than not, a well made fruit smoothie will do the trick!
I find that my sugar cravings are usually seasonal as well. In the spring and summer, I gravitate towards fresh leafy greens, feeling completely content with an almost completely raw diet. Anything cooked feels heavy and burdensome. Baked goods, even bread feel too heavy. But come autumn…suddenly baked crisps and bread and pie sound maaaaarvelous!
Learning to listen to my body’s natural rhythms has been so important to me this spring as I transition from teaching to running my own doula practice. It’s definitely true what they say–you can’t take care of others until you take care of yourself first. Even if it means a bite of chocolate every now and then!
Whatever, maybe you guys have limits on the amount of sun you can ingest… Ha! I can never too much sun! Just get some sunscreen, sit yo’ azz down and don’t move, is my strategy.
Grrrrl, I know for a fact that we do not have limits on sun-digestation, we live in Portland for goodness-sake! We can’t get enough of it here, just like you in Berlin
. And it sounds like we have similar strategies for sure–are we related maybe? 
Yes, and THANK THE HEAVENS we are!!!!!! LOL!!!
Sugar has been around for millennia. We crave it because our ancestors craved it. They craved it because it was one of the richest sources of calories easily available. You talked about children and teenagers being especially drawn to sweet food; that’s because their bodies are growing quickly and they instinctively desire calorically dense food. We do crave sugar more when we’re stressed because the stressors in our ancestral past were of a sort that would require loads of energy. (predators, for instance) And we do desire denser, richer foods in the fall, but that’s in preparation for the winter’s lack of abundance and cold.
There are some conclusions that can be drawn about a person from their diet. Someone who eats a lot of fast food might be poor or busy or have an unrefined palate. But to say that a person doesn’t desire sugar as strongly as they once did because they have a better understanding of themselves as a person is a total non sequitur.
Our bodies tell us what they need. If you’ve stopped wanting bananas, you’ve probably stopped needing bananas as much. There are other factors at play in the case of sugar, but they are not spiritual.
I don’t mean to be condescending, but I do feel strongly about this sort of conjecture. We have ways of truly understanding our world and ourselves. Ideas like these may make sense to everyone on the planet, but if they’re proven wrong then they’re wrong.
There’s a disturbing trend toward dismissing facts and research recently and it needs to end. We need to examine all of our claims and beliefs with the same rigor with which we study new medicines or bridge design. If some engineer just felt that their bridge would hold without doing the structural analysis, she wouldn’t be an engineer for long. We’re living in a time when the truth is more readily available than it ever has been. I, for one, recognize its value.
Hey Amanda, I agree. There are definite physical and scientific reasons for our dietary and health needs. I’m glad you recognize this to be of value as do I and all other nutritionists. In my quest for understanding health from all perspectives though, I believed this one was different and interesting. Yes, if you don’t like bananas anymore, then your body probably doesn’t need that much concentrated potassium at one time, for some reason or another. But sugar is a bit different as it has a highly addictive quality which factors in other parts of our selves namely our emotions. I believe in the value of having a well rounded picture of your personal health from both a scientific, physical, as well as an emotional standpoint.
Hi there!
I just found your blog while looking for a recipe in google and it is so special! this combination of recipes (which look great by the way)and deep thoughts about food and eating is really nice and I’m sure I’ll be visiting often.
about sugar – I think sugar addiction is a very complicated issue. I find myself many times to be absolutely powerless over sugar. this always leads to big frustration and stress (I know what healthy eating is and I put all this effort and money to get it, only to find myself devouring a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, Dammit) which leads to more sugar. I’m green with envy of all those who control their sugar craving!
Lovely post thogh..