The Sweet Spot (What’s the deal with sugar?!)

When someone tells you to cut sugar out of your diet, what is your first reaction? 

Don’t be shy – no judgment - just take note of exactly what your first response or feeling is.

For me, it's comparable to how a sharp stick in the eye might feel. They say “when you know better, do better”, but I do know better. In fact I have a lot of knowledge on how sugar can negatively impact our health from a physiological standpoint, yet I simply cannot get on board with cutting it out. The thought of never having a blueberry lemon scone with clotted cream and jam, or not stopping at the country corner store after a balmy Ontario summer day for a big, fat ice cream cone, or enjoying an icy cold aperol spritz, seaside in Italy, is horrific! 

Can you relate?

So what is the actual deal with sugar and why does it hold such a tight grip over us? I’ve been asking myself this in preparation to write an article on how ‘god awful bad sugar is’. In my own reflections, maybe I do  do a little better.  I avoid processed, refined sugar and high fructose corn syrups.  I mostly bake with the more “natural” forms of sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, dates, and organic cane sugar, and make homemade treats for the family so that it’s my hand and choice in how much sugar pours into our food, but if I’m being honest, I still have way more sugar in my life than I know is good for me. So, where do I go from here? Well, deep into the frightening depths of the food industry and sugars negative health implications. 

Don’t worry, my approach here will be a gentler, more moderate way to loosen sugar's grip – we’ll call this the sweet spot.  Here is what I have distilled down to be information worth knowing or at least worth building awareness and curiosity around.

First, a brief history on how sugar has come to be and more interestingly, how it has claimed the hearts and the dopamine receptors of the modern day human.

Sugar originated in the tropical regions of Southeast Asia over 2,000 years ago, derived from the sugarcane plant. It was initially used in small amounts for medicinal purposes and also as a “fodder” crop to fatten up pigs, interestingly enough. By around 500 AD, the process of extracting and crystallizing sugar from sugarcane became more refined in India. As taste buds and traders caught wind of this growing commodity, the first sugar plantations were established in the Arab world and then on to Europe, where it became a luxury item among the aristocracy. Europeans soon after decided it would be a good idea to seek out those colonies that could produce sugarcane on a larger scale.  In the 16th and 17th centuries, sugar plantations were established in the Caribbean, Brazil, and the southern U.S. Colonies, relying heavily on the transatlantic slave trade for labor. This dark and disturbing aspect of sugars history made it more accessible and led to its increasing use in European diets. In the 19th century during the industrial revolution, along with so many advances, sugar was soaring, and the development of beet sugar provided more sources and so further lowered the prices of this food.

Over the last 50 years, sugar has exploded, becoming a common ingredient in most all processed foods. WHY? Because it is an inexpensive ingredient that enhances flavor, acts as a natural preservative, creates texture and structure in baked goods, is the main food source for fermented foods like bread and alcohol, promotes browning and caramelization in foods giving a unique flavoring and coloring to foods, and consumers loooooooove sugar-laden foods and sweets, further driving up the supply and demand.

Most foods that come in a package, can or jar contain sugar, and not just contain sugar, but it’s often within the first 5 ingredients listed. Let’s take a look at a varied selection of these food products:

If you’re more visual, have a look at the below graphic to understand how much sugar is getting dumped into every day foods:

When you start to read the ingredient lists of store bought foods, you will see just how ubiquitous sugar is with our food industry. It is literally added to everything from toothpaste to mayo to red curry pastes, dressings, crackers, granola, “health” drinks, and the list goes on and on.

If we just avoid packaged and processed foods and drinks and make most of our food in our own kitchen with our own hands, we are most definitely adding to our overall health. So, what about the “health minded” person who pays a little more (or a lot more depending on where you live) for the natural sweeteners for baking, gets the smoothie at the cafe, stocks their fridge with a variety of fair trade, dark chocolate bars of which 1 - 2 squares is had every night, buys the sugar-free condiments or makes them, crafts all sorts of delicious treats from bliss balls to chocolate covered ice cream bars to cookies, muffins, and granola? That’s me, by the way.

Though I'm not necessarily loading up on refined sugar, I’M STILL EATING SUGAR. How my body processes sugar compared to the next person is most definitely going to vary based on our bio individuality (our digestion, metabolism, lifestyle habits and exercise patterns, etc.), but in general, here is a synopsis of sugars effects on us, brought to you by Chat GPT:

Sugar and your brain

Imagine your brain as a happy little town where dopamine is like the friendly mailman delivering lots of positive messages—that’s what makes you feel good. When you eat sugar, especially sweet treats, it's like giving your brain a little high-five, causing a surge of dopamine. This signals to your brain, "Yay, that was awesome!" which is why sugar can feel so satisfying and even addictive, like your brain chasing that happy rush.

Now, when it comes to refined sugar—think of it as the supercharged candy version—it's like a rapid-fire celebration for your brain, causing a quick spike in dopamine. But just like a fireworks display, it fizzles out fast, leaving you craving more to get that same happy feeling again. Over time, your brain’s dopamine receptors can become a bit less responsive, so you might need more sugar to get that same boost, which isn’t exactly a healthy cycle.

Sugar and your metabolic health

Think of your body as a busy factory, constantly working to keep everything running smoothly. Sugar — especially the refined kind — is like putting a lot of quick fuel into the system all at once. When you eat it, your body quickly turns that sugar into glucose, which your cells love because it's their favorite energy source.

But here’s the catch: that sudden rush of sugar is like pouring a whole lot of fuel into the factory at once. Your pancreas has to work overtime to produce insulin, the helper hormone that takes that sugar from your blood and sends it where it needs to go. If this happens too often, it’s like the factory’s machinery gets overloaded and starts to wear out faster. Over time, your body may become less responsive to insulin, leading to problems like insulin resistance or even type 2 diabetes — which is just a fancy way of saying your body’s sugar management system isn’t working as well as it should.

As I understand it, refined sugar and natural sugar are similar in their effect but at very different speeds and velocities, so the slow and steady, more balanced choice would be that of naturally derived sugars like those from fruits, dates, honey or maple syrup.

For any of you weight watchers out there, I have asked our dear friend CHAT to give us the story on sugar and excess fat because it’s worth understanding this, not just for vanity, but for the sake of your wellbeing:

Sugar and weight-gain

Imagine your body as a smart storage system. When you eat more sugar than your body needs for energy, that excess gets stored — mostly as fat. It’s like your body's way of saving up for a rainy day!

Refined sugar, being quick to spike your blood sugar levels, gives you a burst of energy but often leaves you feeling hungry again soon after. This can lead to eating more than you actually need, piling on extra calories that your body stores as fat. Plus, that quick sugar rush can cause your insulin to do extra work, which over time might make your body more prone to storing fat rather than burning it for energy.

I think we get the picture here, but NOW WHAT?

Leave it to me to find a reasonable solution - it's a ‘going cold turkey without going cold turkey’ approach. A SUGAR CLEANSE, multiple times per year. I personally love this method of reducing sugar because it isn’t so extreme and restrictive (ie.’ I'm never having sugar again’), yet it allows me to feel, for a set period of time, the effects of little to no processed sugar. It re-attunes my palette and effectively breaks the neuro wiring towards needing a sweet fix. It is a slow and steady approach to reducing the need and use of sugar in my everyday life.

If this sounds like a good path for you too, then you’re in luck! On June 30th, Lindsay and I will be offering 21 Days Sugar + Alcohol Free with KYN. This is a free community offering for one and all ready to commit to a reset, commit to better health, and those of you who want to greatly loosen the grip of sugar on you (and maybe your families) and your life.

If you are moving through your own health challenges with digestion, skin conditions, inflammation, high blood pressure, pre diabetes or type 2 diabetes, I highly recommend you try this out to see what a difference low to no sugar can have on you. If you have none of these conditions and feel great, I still highly recommend you try this for the experience of it. We don’t know how good we can feel, until we know.

Are you ready? Sign up here to be a part of this supportive event - we are with you in the trenches so we can rise up together feeling more empowered and in charge of our health. It would be the sweetest gift to have you join us.