Holistic nutrition experts insist that our diets be balanced and that we remove any ingredients that are known to be counter-productive or even harmful. Government nutrition experts however do little to point out the significant problems caused by our over reliance on sugar and how this rather simple and unassuming product can cause an addiction as bad as some of the items listed within restricted schedules.

Like any addictive substance, refined sugar has little or no value for your body. Quite the contrary, ingestion tends to draw on vitamins and minerals present within your bloodstream for processing. We can see quite an analogy between some of the most addictive and dangerous banned substances and our innocent act of eating or drinking sugar. Each has the consequence of creating an unnatural “high” and each can cause long-term organ damage over time.

When we add sugar to foods or drinks or rely on processed items that are heavily infused with simple sugars, then we are choosing that initial boost of energy and reward because of our “sweet tooth” with a subsequent crash and a conversion of the ingredients into stored fat. While some of the protected, scheduled drugs may be known to create problems for our major organs, an overreliance on simple sugar intake can lead to an excess of insulin production and the onset of diabetes. All that stored fat will invariably lead to obesity and all the problems that condition brings with it.

When sugar was first introduced to our diet it was touted as the purest form of food and one which required very little in the way of preparation. It is this very simplicity that has undoubtedly caused simple and refined sugars to become one of the scourges of our modern diet. Drugs often represent the easy way out within any situation and sugar represents an easy, every day, “acceptable” fix.

Holistic health solutions focus our attention on eating a balanced, natural diet, leading a healthy lifestyle, exercising and avoiding any kind of excess. Moderating our sugar intake ranks very highly on a list of concerns and requires us to realize that our sugar addiction can be very damaging indeed.

When people turn to sugar, they may well be anticipating that additional burst of energy and the ability to “get it together” and face the tasks ahead. What they do not understand is that the ingestion of sugar triggers a complex level of activity within us. The bloodstream becomes flooded with glucose from the sugars, which our body then realizes it must regulate. Insulin is released from your pancreas which in turn aims to convert this extra energy into fat reserves. This is in no doubt a fall back to the days when our bodies could not necessarily rely on regular forms of energy and fats would be reserved for those lean times.

You do not have to be a medical doctor to know that an illness such as diabetes must be avoided at all costs. Experts tell us that hypoglycemia is a precursor to diabetes and is caused in part due to constant flows of sugar intake and insulin release, causing your body to become resistant to insulin, which is essential for such balancing.

As part of a holistic health solution it is important for every one of us to regulate the amount of simple sugars that we absorb. We might think that we are eating a balanced diet, but we should be reading those labels to make sure that sugars are not masquerading within what might otherwise be seen as a “healthy” approach. It is recommended that you only absorb a maximum of 40g of simple sugar per day. This can be found within one can of soda!

Few seem to follow a holistic nutrition approach to their diets, constrained as we are by our hectic lifestyles, schedules and what appears to be an inability to prepare wholesome meals creatively. We are constantly opting for the easy solution and loading our bodies up with excess fats, too many calories and those ever so sweet sugars. We know that the sugar rush will be followed by a sugar crash, but we do it anyway.

Many of us are proud of the fact that we do not resort to alcohol, drug abuse or cigarettes to get us through life and consider that our diets are sensible and realistic. However, while we may not have any of the more traditional addictions or vices, we may well have a sugar addiction without really realizing it.

It is important to note that simple and refined sugars are really not necessary for our bodies to function. Naturally occurring complex sugars are found in many complex carbohydrates and whole foods and a good balanced diet will provide us with the necessary energy to function rather well. Unfortunately, simple sugars are found in a large cross-section of everyday food and drink, often added for taste value or to help with preservation.

If you find you cannot get through your morning or afternoon without a can of soda, or even many of them, you likely have a sugar dependence and perhaps even a sugar addiction. Many experts disagree as to what a sugar addiction in itself might be, whether it might be a fixation on the actual taste or on the short-term energy rush, often referred to as a sugar high. Others point to the main ingredient of white refined sugar as being almost identical to alcohol, with very little if any nutritional value and an empty caloric food, just like alcohol. Once again, like beer, wine or liquor, it relies on the depletion of your vitamin and mineral resources in order to be metabolized.

To be quite clear about sugar addiction, you need to develop an approach to holistic nutrition and understand that every element of your diet must be moderated. Too much sugar creates an overstimulation of the neuro-transmitters within your brain, leading to an over tolerance and the hardwiring of your receptors to expect more and more of the same.

If you find that you have been suffering from depression or mood swings, or that your family, friends or partner accuses you of being irrational and irritable, you should take a cold hard look at your sugar intake. It will be necessary to refer to the nutrition labels on all foods that you consume. You will become an expert in deciphering all those figures and should especially look for references to glucose, fructose, sucrose or lactose within. Holistic health solutions encourage you not to focus on snack diets or eating “on the fly,” but rather to assume control over your destiny.

We are constantly being told that we need to cut down on fats within our diet. Saturated fats are a major enemy and we must always check on cholesterol levels and focus on heart health. We also need to pay particular attention to our sugar addiction, as there is a very long list of potential health problems awaiting us if we do not.

In the last thirty years, the average caloric intake of most Americans has increased by between 150 and 300 per day. It is also true to say that the average American does not “trade” those calories for cardiovascular activities, and thus those calories are not serving any real purpose other than adding to the national obesity statistics.

Rather than take a holistic nutrition approach, we often opt to take the shortcut and go for foods that we know will give us a little “buzz” of activity, thus assuring ourselves that these particular types of food must be good for us. Little could be further from the truth, however and it’s no surprise that the American Heart Association has now set specific limits on the amount of sugar that they suggest we eat or drink per day.

The amount of fructose in our diet, which is widely used in processed foods, has more than doubled since the 1970s. It is estimated that we consume on average more than 22 teaspoons of sugar every day, with young people taking in considerably more, no doubt due to their penchant for those cans of soda drinks. It is apparent that sugar is a precursor to over eating, as its effect on the brain can trigger the body into thinking that it is undernourished and needs more food.

A restricted sugar diet should be part of holistic health solutions considered by everyone individually. It should not be necessary for politicians to suggest additional legislation to discourage us, as is being considered by the city of San Francisco for example, in the form of a “soda tax.”

Being overweight can contribute to many different health conditions and can place considerable strain on your heart and most of the major organs. Obesity is a national epidemic in the US, probably more so than in any other country in the world. It is also linked to a lack of productivity, depression and other illnesses.

The number one thing consumers should do to create a path toward a healthier existence is to start reading food labels. Be particularly careful when it comes to the amount of sugar added to processed foods and always pay attention to portion size. This can be very misleading and almost invariably, the size of the portion of food that ends up on your plate is much larger than the referenced portion size on the label!

Take an individual stance and cut back, as the national sugar addiction appears to be getting worse as each year goes by.

It has been determined that a high concentration of sugar in the blood is likely responsible for cross-linking and any foods that have such a high concentration, such as sodas, should be generally avoided.

Inflammation can also be caused when foods high in sugars, known as high glycemic level foods, are ingested. This process will also release a high proportion of free radicals into the body.

Total holistic health solutions suggest a balanced, if not defensive approach to nutrition as we age. Foods which are known to be problematic should naturally be avoided, but we tend to avoid taking an overall view of holistic nutrition and often take shortcuts due to our busy schedules. It is unfortunate that we often put good health far down the list of priorities, until we suffer an unfortunate wake-up call of some kind. We can deduce from this that we do not prioritize our lives correctly and should put good health and longevity right at the top of the list.

There are enough medical and scientific studies around to show us that the ingestion of saturated fats and high levels of cholesterol are significantly bad for our health and cause premature aging. Sugar may be one of the silent killers, as it is not regarded with such anticipation as those foods which are high in fat. The truth is that sugar has zero nutritional value and has been shown to cause a spike in appetites as well.

Further studies by dermatologists suggest that eating sugary foods can significantly contribute to the development of wrinkles. Once again it is found that when glucose enters the bloodstream it attaches to the proteins used by the body to keep our skin supple and affects their ability to perform. In such situations collagen and elastin are no longer able to help us in our battle against a weathered look.

Aging should be a natural process and we should not contribute to its acceleration. If we were to treat our bodies as a temple and take a much more educated look at what we eat or drink on a daily basis, then we would feel more productive and more able to take on the trials and tribulations that life presents to us each day. Many people preach that caloric restriction extends life expectancy by keeping the flow of insulin in check. Sugar addiction can cause insulin levels to become highly elevated and it follows that we will age before our time, unless we’re careful.