Breaking a sugar addiction

[Shoney]

Just how does one do this? I have always had a tremendous craving for sweets, even as a child. I'd used to get bags of bulk candy and hide them under my pillow to eat at night. So this is issue is rather long-standing.

Now that I'm working on raw I do feel better, but I could still drink maple syrup and find myself gravitating towards the sweeter foods - fruit smoothies, raw cookies, etc. Is that bad? Should I do something to try and break this sweet tooth, or should I just go with it, work on being raw, and let it take care of itself? Or will it?

Thoughts/experience would be appreciated!

[DavidZaneMason]

-You can find many fruits or fruit juices that are very sweet. If no fruits are satisfying to you....then all you can do is find healthier processed alternatives that are a step ahead of wherever you are comfortable now. Don't you think?

-David Z. Mason

[JessLet]

Shoney! I am in the same boat. Its a serious addiction. I've been fighting it for years now. I can go without buying sweets myself, but if I'm somewhere else and they're offered, I have a hard time resisting. I just try to keep raw sweets with me for those moments. From what I've read, incorporating green smoothies into your daily diet will curb the cravings. I"m going to try it!

[rawxanne]

i wouldnt worry about it. I would just go with it and deal with the transition instead of your sweet tooth. I would have thought through time on raw that it would sort itself out one way or another. When you crave something sweet try and eat something healthy as you mentioned, a smoothie or something. Try some raw chocolate if you havent already. I got some from shazzie last week - expensive, but yum! :)

Blessings.x

[Firicia]

I thought I had the worst sweet tooth ever! I could eat sugar for 3 meals a day! I find when I am eating raw I don't ever miss it. Don't get me wrong it did take about 2 tries of doing raw, but now I know I don't need it at all. I am just fighting the emotional stuff I seem to have associated with having sugar. But don't worry it is beatable, and coming from me.. gosh never saw that coming:p Best of luck!

[chilove]

Just eat all the sweets fruits you want! There is no reason to limit yourself. Bananas, dates and mangoes (once they are properly ripened) are very sweet . I recently tried a cherimoya and almost found it to be too sweet, which I didn't think was possible for me. :-) I LOVE my sweet fruit. Humans have a sweet tooth for a reason, we are meant to eat lots of fruit! Enjoy!

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[cassidy]

I agree... I could easily have a carob/banana/almond butter smoothie in the morning (with agave), chocolate almond milk for snack, cheesecake for lunch, and RP's brownies with banana ice cream and fudge for dinner! EASILY~ I've done it! A few times...:o
It's not the best way to go about things though....

I am, well today is my first day, doing a candida cleanse. So that means NO sugar... none. It's really strange to go a whole day without sugar. But it has given me the opportunity to see how my body can feel a LOT better without it! I don't miss the "desserts" but I really want a mango! I'm such a wimp... it's only my first day! We'll see what song I'm singing at the end of the month :eek:

[spicyfull]

Go with it...If that keeps you RAW..what's the harm, your Body will adjust. Your Body is the BEST Machine known to Man. After being RAW for a while things will even out......

[Ertarox]

You sound like you have candida - which makes sense as it is very possible.

I drink a TON of kombucha tea. Kills sugar cravings big time. :-)

[Firicia]

Ok odd question, what is candidia? I keep hearing people talk about it, and what are the symptoms? Thanks

[hypnocmt]

candida is yeast. It is naturally found throughout your digestive tract. Normally it is held in check by other bacteria in your gut. When the balance between the two is thrown off, the candida can proliferate. It's waste products then build up and become overwhelming and even poisonous to your body. It is basically a whole body yeast infection. A candida overgrowth can mimic symptoms of the flu, arthritis and chronic fatigue...and more. (Thrush, recurring vaginal/anal/Penile yeast infections, etc) It often goes undiagnosed,or misdiagnosed by allopathic physicians. Due to the insane amounts of sugar that Americans eat, and antibiotic use, the percentages of people who suffer from varying degrees of Candida imbalances are outrageously high.


This is a very simplified explanation. If it resonates with you, there is much more info out there... :)

[Raspberry4]

I have a severe sugar addiction myself. What works for me is to "allow" myself to have a small serving of dessert everyday - something 'special' from Allissa's book, etc. I know I will be getting my 'dessert' which is much better for me than the standard desserts with real sugar. I am calmer about it and do not feel deprived. I also plan to supplement with acidophillus capsules because I know that candida just has to be lurking (I just got off of 4 weeks of pneumonia and 2 sets of antibiotics to get rid of it) so my cravings have been severe. Because I have an addiction I feel, for me, that I cannot cold cold turkey - it is too much to handle, so I "plan" a sweet snack everyday and it seems to help me. Good luck to you.

[Ertarox]

my immense food cravings left me 2 weeks ago, finally, after doing a RIFE machine for parasites and candida. After 20 years of suffering, and no matter how much juicing, fasting, and raw I did, THAT is what nipped it in the bud. Wild.

[Shoney]

don't think I have it, but it's worth looking into a little further to make sure.

The sugar cravings don't keep me from being raw, it's just that raw or cook I go for things that are sweet. When I first went raw I ate lots of dates, then got really sick of them! Now I can eat them again. I'm just afraid the cravings won't leave if I keep giving into the sweet tooth with fruit. My whole life I've never really been able to eat a lot of fruit because it always made me bloat - now I realize that my body was probably using the fruit to try and detox! Now to be able to eat all the fruit I want is kinda overwhelming. But I guess it's fair to say that an apple or a handful of dates is a lot better for me than standard candy. :)

I do love my salads and the rich cheddar sauce recipe, and I use a lot of vinegar, so maybe I shouldn't be too worried!

Thanks for the feedback! Transitioning can be a little weird at times . . .

[Damzlfly]

I used to have ridiculous sugar cravings. I mean RIDICULOUS!!! The only thing that curbed them, is a COMPLETE removal of all things sugary in your diet for 2 weeks. After day 2 I had the shakes...after day 4 I had a migraine so bad I wanted to chop off my head. After day 6, no more cravings. Even now, If I crave something sweet, a few dates or a piece of fruit will do the trick nicely. :D

[Stina]

So what's the RIFE?

[cassidy]

Right, what is it? It doesn't sound pleasent.