I am a recovering sugar addict

Halloween candy has been in the stores now for weeks. And I kinda hate it. I like to give my children healthy treats. And we have major problems when my little Goblins spot the candy in the store and beg for it. Every. Single. Time. Until we leave.

As a society, we feed sugar to our children in an effort to appease them, to get them to be calm, or to distract them so we can get things accomplished. Sometimes we use it to reward them. But sugar is an addictive substance. And as any parent can attest, the sugar addiction is real. Our children go crazy for it. They throw tantrums, hit, steal, and perform all manner of bad behavior to get it. They are literally tiny drug addicts. 

Adults are no exception. We use sugar to increase our energy and productivity, usually replacing a healthy meal or snack full of nutrients with empty calories. And we’re just as prone to being hangry as our kids are once we’ve missed one too many real meals.

The experts agree. Sugar is addictive. Not only is it addictive, it causes immediate long-term health issues. Heart disease, endocrine system damage, diabetes, obesity; all can be linked back to sugar. These issues are expensive to treat. In most cases, treatment only manages the symptoms. It does not provide a cure. Even the Mayo Clinic has articles on how destructive sugar is for our bodies. And, in the US at least, 80% of our foods contain sugar. It is added to even the most basic items, such as bread and yogurt.

But after just two weeks of not eating sugar, the body can recover. Much like the cycle of drug abuse, prevention is the cure. The answer to reducing  related health issues is to limit the amount of sugar people are eating.

I love the fact that Norway has a sugar tax. In fact, they’ve had it for almost 100 years, increasing it recently on the worst offenders such as soft drinks, candy and chocolate.

Sugar is just as harmful as tobacco or illegal drugs. And like they would for any other addictive substance, Norway has instituted a hefty tax in order to deter citizens from consuming it.

It’s difficult to change a habit once the addiction is there. It seems that having a tax on the sweetest items would make it easier to reach for something healthy when shopping, rather than choosing the junk food. At the very least, it forces you to think about your choice if you must spend more to get that sugar fix.  And the tax money is being spent to supplement the sugar-related health costs.

So for me, I see it as a positive thing. The tax prevents me from spending too much on sugar. Which, let’s be honest, we all do without even thinking about it. It regulates the amount of sugar I bring into my home. And I, for one, could use the reminder.

What did I learn from this?

Replace refined sugars with natural ones, such as fruit. Retrain our palates so we aren’t craving the sickly sweet taste of sugar, but instead crave richer flavors that include bitter and salty.