Several months ago, I read an item in the Daily News by Dr. Mark Hyman, author of “Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet,” that changed my life.
It stated that sugar, one of my favorite ingredients, was more addictive than cocaine or heroin, and that we were eating it more than ever.
“Americans are consuming 152 pounds of sugar a year — double what the Spanish eat,” the doctor, who called sugar the new tobacco, said.
So I got to thinking: could me and my husband do it? Could we give up the evil white powder that was keeping us chained to the plus-sized clothes in our closet.
We would take the challenge — “Didn’t we want to be free of the sugar curse?” We asked ourselves. “Yes we did.”
Didn’t we want to feel 10 years younger, have more energy, vitality, and not get out of breath tying our shoe laces,” Yes, yes, and more yes, we sang.
Knowing that this would not be an easy climb — lets face it, Bob and I would rather lose our eye teeth than give up cake, cookies, pasta, and bread — we plotted our strategies carefully.
We bought the book.
The campaign would commence, we agreed, while Bri was studying in Italy for the summer. Why subject our innocent child to the ugliness of her parents detoxing and going cold turkey?
Additionally, we agreed, it would be more successful if one or both were on vacation, thereby alleviating the pressure of preparing lunches and breakfasts.
The next step was to go through our food stash and rid the pantry of all that harbored the poisonous substance. We were astounded to discover how much sugar was hidden in almost every food item there.
Aside from the obvious sweet traps of cereals, cakes, pies, and cookies, there were hidden sugars in everything that is processed, from canned goods to convenience foods and even to foods that are supposed to be good for you.
The fridge also contained a minefield of hidden dangers including sucrose, lactose, fructose, and glucose.
The demon drug was everywhere.
Dr. Hyman was correct when he said The $1-trillion industrial food system is the biggest drug dealer around.
The day came. Veggies prepped, detox shakes stocked, meal plans prepared and vitamin supplements marked and allotted.
On Day One I thought, “Hey this is a breeze. I can do this.”
Day Two was a bit harder to smile through, but I survived.
By Day Three, I was ready to whip out the tanto (short knife) and commit seppuku (harakiri).
This detox was harder than I thought, and by Day Four I was ready to sell my soul for a can of Cheese Whiz and a sleeve of Oreos.
But I remained strong, and so did Bob —- we gave each other the support to continue and when one of us wavered and wanted to dive into a pint of Häagen-Dazs®, the other was there to pull the spoon. By Day Five we each experienced a turn around and actually felt free of the sugar shackles that held us prisoner.
Not for Nuthin,™ but I am happy to report, It’s day 11 and we survived. A bit battle weary, but still alive.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
