Sugar is the new Cigarettes is the best headline I have read this week, and it is so true, Sugar is even more addictive than smoking, and it effects everyone even babies and toddlers, which thankfully don't smoke, but still children and babies are affected by the passive smoke, and now that I have been smoke free for over 21 years, I know how disgusting breathing in someones cigarette smoke is, so not only do I beat myself up about the amount of sugar I gave my girls by encouraging them to drink only pure Apple juice, when they were kids, for my eldest daughter I shared the filthy cigarette smoke with her, I smoked all through my pregnancy with her (and I was sick for the whole 9 months, a bit of karma I think) I still can't believe I did that, and why was I surprised when she started smoking as a teenager, she had been virtually smoking her whole life. Why didn't I have internet in 1985, why didn't I know? by the way my whole family were smokers so maybe I can lay some blame there.
I remember asking the nurse at the hospital when I went for a check up, " what effect will it have on my baby if I don't stop smoking" her answer was that "the baby would be underweight and premature", well that wasn't enough to scare me smoke free, and my daughter was born nearly 3 weeks past due date and of normal size, but just as I didn't know in 1985 what the dangers of smoking were, the nurses advice was not very informative either, and I may not have known the dangers of my cigarette addiction back then, but I knew that Type 2 diabetes was called "Sugar Diabetes" and you had to cut out sugar from your diet. My father had diabetes but wouldn't admit he did, right up until he was in hospital after having his leg amputated he still denied that he was Diabetic, and would ask my brother to bring him in some cans of soft drink, "Not his fault he had 2 addictions- Sugar and Smoking" he paid dearly, he paid with his life. That should have been the day I gave up smoking, but I didn't but I did start to question why I was smoking and I started to cut back and smoke lighter cigarettes. Addiction is very real, and I believe you have to want to give up before you can give up, a lot of people say they have to give up because the cost is too great, but like drug addicts money is never going to be a strong enough issue to fight an addiction, no the reason there is still people smoking today even though they are pushed so far outside away from "the non smoking world" basically treated like a leper is because they don't want to give up smoking! And really until they actually make it illegal to smoke cigarettes, it is their choice, to smoke. I did however want to give up smoking when I discovered I was pregnant with daughter number two, and the day I threw my half finished packet of cigarettes in the bin, was the last day I smoked in over 21 years, I wanted to give it up. My Addiction to Sugar is a whole other story, firstly before I gave up smoking, I didn't think I had an overly sweet tooth, but I did have a weakness for Ice cream and chocolate, and would have the occasional binge, I wasn't a breakfast eater, and I never used added sugar, and from and early age I didn't like the texture of sugar against my teeth and would use artificial sweetners in my tea and coffee, but that didn't stop me from developing Type 2 diabetes, whether it was from my food choices or inherited is still not clear, but it has taken me over 13 years to actually quit my Sugar addiction and get my diabetes in control. Now that I am informed of the dangers of Sugar addiction, I chose to quit Sugar for good and not just the added sugars it is all the hidden sugars that add up and keep you addicted, I think you have to take the same approach to your sugar addiction as you would , Smoking , Drugs or Alcohol addictions, if you are addicted then you have a problem, and you have to want to stop the problem, you can always start cutting out the obvious sugars and wean yourself off slowly, or just do as Joey from Full House/Fuller House says "CUT IT OUT". To sum up, I have been an addict for 34 of my 56 years of age, but I am happy to say that I am a quitter!
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Wendy MeersI am a mother of two grown daughters, 3 beautiful grand-babies. Retired freelance Web Designer and a Sugar Free - Juicing Crusader& Keto supporter Archives
May 2022
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