This post is part of a 12-week journey through the lies that keep me eating. Please click below to read the other posts in the series or subscribe by email to receive next week’s update straight in your email inbox.
I’m guessing that you aren’t living in a bubble over there. Which means that you already know that life is full of pain. Babies die in their mothers arms. Drunk drivers crash over guard rails taking entire families. Little girls cry themselves to sleep. Honestly, it can be hard to breathe sometimes. The brokenness weighs heavy on my heart and all I want to do is eat. One bite of cake and somehow it seems that the world is right again.
It’s such a lie. Food can never make me happy. In fact, it’s unlikely that anything will ever make me happy. Oh, there is temporary excitement in a new car or that long-awaited promotion, but happiness is fleeting. Happiness is simply a feeling based on positive circumstances and we all know that circumstances often change in an instant.
Dr. Annette Nay explains it this way. Processed sugars cause a rise in the insulin level which also raises the endorphins level, a natural mood upper in the brain. These sugars cause the body to have a high which results in a lift in mood. However, the high is followed by a low. In addition, continuous use of sugar begins to reduce the amounts of endorphins in your body resulting in depression. In fact, long term use of excess sugar has even been linked to severe depression and bipolar disorder.
Food for the Brain takes this a step further claiming that “eating lots of sugar is going to give you sudden peaks and troughs in the amount of glucose in your blood; symptoms that this is going on include fatigue, irritability, dizziness, insomnia, excessive sweating (especially at night), poor concentration and forgetfulness, excessive thirst, depression and crying spells, digestive disturbances and blurred vision.”
So technically, continual consumption of sugar can make you UNHAPPY. So much for snuggling up with that hunk of chocolate cake when the world taunts me. I know. I’m just as disappointed as you are.
Still not convinced that you should kick that sugar habit? Just look at this list of risks from Natural News:
* Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)
* Sugar feeds cancer
* Sugar increases cholesterol
* Sugar can weaken eyesight
* Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
* Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
* Sugar causes food allergies
* Sugar contributes to diabetes
* Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
* Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
* Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
* Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
* Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
* Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
* Sugar contributes to osteoporosis
There are even some doctors and medical experts that take it a step farther claiming that sugar is toxic. Is Sugar Toxic? is a fantastic article and video link that will really get you thinking about this possibility.
So it turns out that food can not make me happy. *Sigh*
I know it’s disappointing, but the good news is that we are not all doomed to a life of misery. We don’t need happiness. We’ve got something so much better: JOY. Joy is a promise and a privilege for all believers because it comes from an unchanging God. It doesn’t count on food or circumstances. Joy is a gift from God. It fills us, so that by God’s power! And that Joy… is our strength (Neh. 8:10)!
Friends, did you catch that? We don’t need food to fix our happy. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the strength and power to be filled with joy. Who needs sugar?
Action points:
- Tell us one thing you did well this week.
- Read more about the effects of sugar on your body and make a plan for your family.
- Download the free printable below and stick it on the fridge.
Click below to download a printable version. 
Looking for other ideas? This series is part of a Get healthy & Fit Series hosted by 19 bloggers. You will find fitness tips, ideas, and various eat plans. Click below to see what everyone else is up to!
Kim Sorgius
Kim is just a girl, crazy in love with Jesus. She's a single mother of 4, a passionate homeschooler and life-long student. After teaching 8 years in public school, she traded her M.A. in Early Childhood for sippy cups and homeschool co-ops. Kim is the owner and editor of The Homeschool Village and Not Consumed where she encourages others to rest victoriously in the hands of God, rather than allowing life's difficult circumstances to consume.
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Well, I drank only pepsi on the weekend and went to the gym 3x +1 jogging session. I would like to add a rule for me: not eating while cooking! Thank you!
This is exactly what I am working on this week. I KNOW this stuff is bad for me, and I feel the difference when I eat it vs when I stay away from it.
My prayer this week- God, help me be kind to my body, and give it what it needs.
(And I am convinced that, for me, my body desperately needs a sugar fast.)
Great post. Sugar , that is not consumed moderately can ,become the enemy. This is something I am passionate about. I find it odd that sugar can taste so sweet and good and yet also be addictive. Like sin…it may taste good for a while, but it will come back to bite you. It’s not a surprise to find an increase of all types of sugars in food. If it’s addictive, the consumers will by more and more( who making the money here)
I was thinking on this days ago. Psalms 34:8 ” taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (NIV). When we take refuge in him as it relates to all things including our appetites we can really experience true goodness. he satisfies like no other. I am not saying we must never have any sugar, but I do believe we must look at the way we eat and reflect on why we feel we need to eat a certain way.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve become super convicted over my flippancy on the sugar issue. I’ve known for so long that it was a problem, but simply didn’t want to admit it. I knew that it created highs and lows, but really had no idea how serious it was.
This past week, I cut sugar drastically. And this coming week…I pray that I will finally make my peace with the ugly stuff! A complete fast is certainly in order to help my family right now.
We are cutting out a lot of processed foods right now. Especially stuff containing HFCS! I am sure I could even cut out more sugar but we are taking baby steps.
This past week I successfully cooked meals from home and enjoyed it. {Normally I have not enjoyed cooking.} My budget thanks me and my family’s tummies thank me as well.
Thank you for the great printable!
Many blessings,
Jennifer
{www.agelementary.blogspot.com}
I knew sugar has never been on the list of healthy foods to eat….but seeing the negative effects listed together really is eye opening. Thanks for sharing!
I experimented with more new recipes that use real food as ingredients. Cocoa cookie dough balls with dates and raisins for sweetener (girls loved them!), marinara with crushed tomatoes and herbs but no salt/oil/sugar (yummy), ice “cream” with cocoa, banana, cherries, flaxseed meal (1 girl loved it! I didn’t). I feel so much more even tempered and more energetic with little to no added sugar. One of my next experiments will be dairy/salt/oil-free goldfish crackers.
Our family finished week 3 off Couch to 5k…. may considered repeating it this week. It was tough for me!! My birthday was Friday…and NO BIRTHDAY CAKE!! But did indulge in ice cream yesterday…YIKES!! Am slowing getting off the sugar train. I am down to 1 glass of sweet tea per day. Which is the only thing I drank before…beginning to be able to drink more water daily.
Thanks for this series! Really enjoy the posts and the comments. I know I am not the only one struggling to do better!!
I struggle with this sooo much! I suffer from depression and food is definitely my outlet. It’s like the only time I’m “happy” is when I’m eating…even though that is so disgusting and messed up to even say
It’s a hard hard thing to overcome. I need to read more about your challenge 
Well said! Drastically reducing sugar has been one of the best health decisions I ever made.
HI! I stopped over from TimeWarpWife link up. When I saw your link, I immediately gravitated toward it because food has been an issue for me pretty much all my life….only it was the opposite of you. The shunning of food was supposed to make me happy….hence a near lifelong journey with anorexia at one stage or another. Fortunately, the Lord has walked me through the worst of it and continues to walk with me. Thanks for a great article on the health risks of sugar. I love it and eat too much of it unfortunately.
Good thing for the week, down 2.4 lbs and haven’t been able to work out like I wanted which is encouraging. I am the worst one in our family about sugar, so my plan this week is to decrease the sugar in my coffee by 1 tsp or 1 tbl depending on cup size. Right now for my small coffee cups I use 3 regular spoonfuls of sugar and for my big cups, I use 3 large spoonfuls of sugar. I have decreased my sugar, but have NO COKES since the first of the year!!!!