209 thoughts on “Sugar: The Artificial Sweetener… and My Addiction”

1. I am dealing with sugar addiction at the moment and it is really refreshing to read that the cravings can take a long time to subside. I stopped drinking alcohol years ago and have no desire whatsoever to drink it ever again – in fact, I’m repulsed by it. I have a feeling that one day I will feel the same way about sugar.

2. It is true, sugar is basically everywhere we look and it has become so normal to eat it that we do not consider that it actually has no value in nourishing the body because our body does not use it, it only has to discard it which is extra (unnecessary) work.

3. I love how you call the sweetness within the most satisfying sweetness of all. It took me a while to allow feeling this inner sweetness but when I do I cannot deny I am naturally sweet.

4. I have to say the same thing – I did not realise how addicted I was to sugar until I cut it out. But there is something in me that still craves it every now and then – and reading this blog really exposes how I have been living – areas of disregard and a lack of appreciation that make me feel it is OK to have a day off. When really it isn’t and I get totally smashed by it.

5. I have found that many people who find life stressful, and live in anxiousness use sugar as a way of coping with life, it becomes a never ending cycle, however when we reduce our sugar and allow ourselves to feel the anxiousness in our body we get to feel what makes us run on anxiousness and can change our choices so anxiousness has less of a hold on us.

6. Making self loving choices and choosing to nourish ourselves are important steps in helping us let go of the need for sugar, ‘the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less.’

7. Nourishing a body that belongs to the universe is a full commitment and deeply honouring way of consistently living that is in respect to the all and complete decency to yourself. If for one moment I do not honour this quality of living artificial sweeteners can be substituted.

8. Sugar has become the food of addiction, with sugar being an added ingredient in many products, in order to sweeten the taste. It is also the food of choice for an instant pick me up, maybe we need to consider how we are living if we are relying on sugar to help get us through the day.

9. Sugar is a very addictive substance, and yes it is a substitute for something we are not giving ourselves, ‘I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost.’ It is important to nominate what sugar is giving you, or numbing you from feeling.

10. What you expose here is huge. We think sugar is harmless, but it is a drug. And like you I know I only want it when I am not connected to myself. It is a telling sign that I am missing me.

11. Its been my experience that when I am content, I don’t feel the need to treat myself with sugar. There is a fullness from within. I am making it a priority to work on staying with that content feeling rather than reaching for the sugar that does not deal with the underlying disharmony, but only masks it and keeps you in the cycle of addiction.

12. I totally agree that sugar is “the ‘hidden drug” and because it is hidden it is so much easier to ignore how much we are consuming. We wouldn’t eat 8 -10 teaspoons of processed sugar in one go but some will drink a bottle of a well-known ‘fizzy drink’ containing that much sugar in just a few minutes. With apparently over 50 different names for sugar it is no wonder that it is so easy for food and drink producers to hide this poisonous substance from the eyes of an often unsuspecting public, who teaspoon by teaspoon become addicted.

13. You used to go to the petrol station to buy petrol, now you are swamped with chocolates and lollies galore to tempt you and then the cashier offers you a special promotion of 2 for the price of 1. Sugar is everywhere and we are constantly being fed… pun intended, with quick fixes of sugar to boost our energy levels and to take us further away from our true selves.

14. Oh dear, back here again! I am getting a bit bored of my attraction to sugar. I am realising that unless we address the energy we are living in we will continue to mask the patterns of behaviuur that lead to the coping mechanisms. Unpeeling the layers and being prepared to see what has become familiar, how abusive and how far it keeps us from stillness and from that settled feeling we can get just before we go to sleep, unpeeling those layers and choosing more awarenss is one of the most powerful tools to show that it is not about denying or banning anything, it is about choosing to value your service in life and honouring what supports you in that service.

15. Wow I really relate to sugar being the substitute for loosing our inner sweetness and then replacing this with a hardness or drive. I am looking at eliminating sugar from my diet at the moment – and it is hard. There are times I just want to go to the extreme. But I have to keep bringing it back to why am I wanting it and what am I not wanting to feel. There is a reading in everything.

16. I recall many years ago going off all sugar (which didn’t last) The surprising thing that I noticed was the withdrawal. I was highly emotional for about 3 weeks, which was/is not me. Even though I ended up returning to my previous diet, I was forever aware of the effect that sugar had. I don’t think we – certainly me – appreciate how we use food and how we know how to use food and it is rarely to nourish our body. We can never address what we eat with diet alone, we absolutely need to address the underlying reasons why we make these choices. For mind over matter – as often prescribed – simply does not work.

17. It seems as though we can abstain from sugar but as soon as a small amount is added to the diet, the urge to have more is there again, and it will increase until we figure out why we wanted it in the first place.

18. I have noticed when ever I crave sugar its because I’m very tired, feeling anxious or want to avoid feeling something. It is so interesting. And then there is the association with a treat. I’ve worked hard so therefore I deserve a reward. As another commenter said above, there is always so much more behind the act.

19. Great blog that is quite exposing. I have cut out sugar from my diet and very rarely eat sweet things. I never realised how sweet onions were! But occasionally I go for something sweet and I usually shove it in my mouth before I’ve had time to think. Because of that I’m not sure I’ve really delved to the depths of why I want something sweet because I know how my body react to sweet things and it is quite clear my body does not want it. I have come to the awareness it is not about will power. If I am strong in that regard and simply don’t eat it, I may not get to the root of why I want it in the first place.

20. I’ve come to the stage where I know sugar no longer supports my body and having spent a few days cutting it down, I really feel the difference. Of course there is a pull to have it – but I was having a chat with someone today who said that when he says no to sugar because he knows it isn’t supportive – the feeling of that is so much bigger than having something sweet. And I can relate to that. I can see how when I am
    not connected to myself or honoring myself – sugar is an easy win – but the really sweetness is within.

21. “the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less” this is such an indictment of what can occur when you self honour. The choices that then follow become more honouring and self loving, this then flows onto all areas of life, especially our food choices.

22. I love how sugar is described as an “artificial sweetener” in this article. In today’s world there are many sweeteners that are called artificial. But when it is looked upon as offered here, with our sweetness within being the sweetness we crave, using anything to substitute this that we miss is artificial. What a truly revelatory understanding, there for who so ever is ready to claim as their truth too. Which is what is needed if the choice to quit sugar is made and committed to.

23. Yes Fumiyo and the other great trick is; everything in moderation, so a little sugar won’t do any harm, a few wines during the week wont do any harm, the week-ends are for late nights and parties…. and so this, everything in moderation is a sure fire way to stay in comfort, indulgence and stubborn where we go round and round in circles going nowhere and not evolving. Going sugar free was a huge, huge step forward for me that has greatly supported me to take many more such steps that today I am enjoying a healthy, light and vital body and have so much more energy.

24. It’s amazing how we are led to believe a bit of sugar is good for us – like, it gives us instant energy, it makes us happy etc. and we do not see that as a sign of addiction, and we hardly ever question our way of using food as a reward – I certainly didn’t, I thought it was my entitlement as life equaled struggle and I had every right to be rewarded for getting through it! It is a great trick that it is in fact sugar itself that dulls and disconnects us from the very sweetness we so crave to be reunited with.

25. Thank you Jacqueline. I’ve just started a sugar detox and it’s left me with no doubt that sugar is a drug… and it’s a drug I’ve been addicted to for a very long time. Your blog reminds me to focus on the sweetness I can feel in my body rather than the cravings that pop into my head.

26. ‘The sugar rush is designed to keep us fast and racy so we do not pause to feel the depth of the true stillness that is otherwise there..’ Spot on Liane – and with the stillness comes our connection to divinity, which allows us access to Universal Wisdom. Why drown that out with sweet stuff?! Note to self – Universe is WAY more cool than sweet sensory stimulation.

    1. Very cute and very true. Until we reacquire our taste for truth, we will hunger for all that seeks to replace this.

27. Sugar is a great way of racing the nervous system to then not understand or observe life. For me, eating sugar takes me out of stillness and connection with my body and I then live life from my thoughts, which turn very unstable. Why do I do this? As a detraction from what I’m feeling and what is being offered to me by way of Divine energy. Crazy… I know.

28. This blog is a big stop for me Jacqueline as despite greatly reducing my intake of refined sugar for several years my life is still one big sugar rush if I’m really honest with myself. I use fruit like candy to pep myself up and in large quantities too. As I read that the cravings took two years to stop I admired your resolve and wondered how on earth you managed it. Then I saw ‘breast cancer’ and that brought me to a stop. Of course something so major would make change a huge priority but do I really want to wait until it comes to that? No. Thank you so much for sharing.

    1. HI Leonne, several years on I am still sugar free, but I do remember clearly how I felt back then, that it would be impossible to give up sugar, and yes you are right, I got a huge wake-up call ( and blessing) with the cancer that greatly initiated the call to choose to live differently. That said, for the last 6 months I have a new job which requires me to work till 10 and as a care worker I am in and out of people’s house where in every single house there is a variety of ‘goodies’ to choose from of the sugary kind! And all of a sudden I am tempted, yes I have been tempted, because I started my day at 7 am, the day has been full and I’m up past my bedtime, which is around 8 and 9pm and so I felt so strongly the need for a sugar boost. I could have easily succumbed many times but have not, and the reason I have not given in is because I have built up a solid momentum of 5 or 6 years of eating a sugar free diet. It is that momentum
       that has been my saving grace!

29. The supermarket is like a drug store – crazy but true… All I need to do is go down the ‘health food’ isle if I want a ‘fix’ and there is PLENTY of options. All refined sugar free but still dripping in honey, maple and other natural sweet syrups. I have felt stillness in my body and know that these sweet treats race me just as much.

    1. So true Rachael. I use fruit in exactly the same way too. Even the greengrocer is a drug store for me. Our bodies will always tell the true story when it comes to which foods really support health and wellbeing.

30. I can picture your body smile Jacqueline, how it’s now got it’s true natural sweetness and no longer needs the artificial sugar which used to fill that gap. Your writing reminds me that it takes time to retrain ourselves and our bodies out of the bad habits we’ve developed over time and to stick with – what I feel is so important is if we understand why we reach for those things like sugar we can start to truly address the underlying ways we live and so then letting go sugar can become easier. Sugar is merely a symptom of what may be ailing us (that we miss ourselves), and until we address that we can’t truly address what is going on with the sugar. Slow and steady it is then.

31. It’s easy to see the sugar in sweets, chocolate fudge or mints, but another conversation when you start to see it in carrots or beetroot. Even though it still has a stimulating effect, there’s a part of us that is surprised when someone points out the facts. We like to turn a ‘blind eye’ but our ignorance shows how attached we are to the effect sugar has in our lives. So everything you share Jacqueline is so right, but why on earth do we go for sugar in the first place? What lives underneath our desire for these sweet treats? This is the important topic to talk about.

32. Jacqueline great expose on the evil that controls the sugar industry and how we can when honouring our bodies take ourselves this addictive and poisonous substance.

    1. Poisonous and addictive is right… I’ve heard alcohol and cigarettes be labeled as the ‘gateway drug’, meaning that once you start on those you’re sure to seek more. To me, sugar is the gateway substance that begins to take us away from the present moment and the body. From here, our choices are no longer in line with the well-being of the body.

33. “. . . we have become so hooked on sugar, it’s the ‘hidden drug’, an addiction we use to get through the day, take the edge off life – to sweeten things up.” This hidden drug addiction is still increasing in our society and therefore your awesome blog is so much needed!!!!

34. It makes sense that we replace or substitute things, when I was a kid I naturally played with friends, laughed and muck around. This silliness was a joy in my everyday, when I got older and that was no longer such a prevalent part of my life, I went out drinking at night to try and recapture the fun I had as a child. The big difference was how terrible I felt the next day. Artificial substitute’s usually have side affects, where is the joy and energy we are born with, is ours and actually revitalizes us, rather than drains us

35. YES they do indeed Lucy, this incredible power of making small self-loving choices in life is not to be underestimated as over time they become massive changes which supports us in our evolution and going deeper in connecting with the intelligence that our bodies hold within guiding us in our next steps.

36. “….the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less.” When I made the link between my craving for sugar after lunch – and connected it with my boarding school days, when we were allowed 4 sweets from our tin, which was my connection with home and love, I realised what was playing out. It has taken me a while to combat the desire tho. However the more I love and appreciate myself – the sweetness in me – the desire has reduced in me too.

37. I like the phrase… “sweetner of life”. Its how I have used sugar, especially as a way to reward myself or to make a difficult day a bit sweeter. I still have moments now when I feel I need that bit extra as life is not enough of itself… that I have not been enough that day. And that is the revealing part – when I use the sugar to pep me up, it discounts the opportunity to look at what happened in the day and what I can learn for tomorrow.

    1. Yes, sugar was my ‘sweetner of life’…. thankfully these days sugar no longer has a hold on me which is huge and to be appreciated if I consider that i thought it would be impossible to give it up fully back then.

38. “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost.” This is so true for me even knowing this I still struggle with my sugar addiction when I am not completely present with myself.

39. I agree sugar is a real hidden ingredient, over the last few years I have been reading the ingredients on food labels when I go shopping and have been surprised by the content of sugar, salt and milk, and over the last year even though people are more aware of the health benefits of eating less sugar, food manufacturers are not listening.

40. Jacqueline these words stood out for me ‘For instance, I used sugar as a treat and a way to reward myself – ‘ Because I have also used sugar as a reward, if I did something well I would reward myself, at the time it seemed a harmless treat, yet sugar is really damaging and in truth if I was really doing well, I wouldn’t need a pick me up like sugar, so I also have to look at the real reason I wanted sugar in the first place.

41. Sugar is everywhere to deform the real taste of everything and to help us to avoid feeling ourselves and others (hence to deform life).

42. thank you Jacqueline… As I was reading your article, I was reflecting upon my first time in a supermarket in the USA… Gosh everything was sweetened, even the bread… It was absolutely pernicious… No surprise that there are now 125 million Americans have a condition called Pre- diabetes… Which simply means that if they don’t change their behaviour they will wind up with type II diabetes. This addiction runs deep in our societies, and needs to be as Jacqueline is doing exposed on many levels.

43. Several years later after writing this blog, I am still sugar free which is a consistent choice I continue to make. However, sugar still tries to sneakily call me. For example, when I am really tired ( when my body is clearing or releasing) or there is something I do not wish to feel, sugar is to be found everywhere trying to tempt me. For example, in the supermarket, walking down the street, I will pass a bakers shop full of rich colourful cakes of many shapes and sizes, including my old favourite carrot cake which seems to have the loudest whistle…… I could succumb and give in so easily as my tongue remembers the sweet delights. It simply comes down to choice…. and what supports me the most is the momentum I have already built of consistently saying NO to sugar ( the poisonous stuff) and walk on by….. It is my constant consistency that provides the space to impulse with: a few seconds of delight ( actually poison) is simply not worth it!

44. Thank you Jacqueline for a clear exposure of the addictive qualities of sugar that so many have succumbed to. As I have gradually weaned myself off a sugar addiction I am finding a richness in foods that I had not tasted before.

45. Sugar is without a doubt addictive, anyone who doesn’t agree could try not eating it for a month, and then rethink that thought.

46. Jacqueline, I love that last line, your body smiling from within, with it’s own natural sweetness. Our bodies are super wise and we often ignore them and create all sorts of distractions to stop us feeling how we truly are and what is truly going on with us, and often sugar has a huge part in that, it’s a great way to numb, and yes it give a temporary ‘high’ but the crash after is pretty awful and as you say here, it’s far away from the natural rhythm of who we are and how we can live. I love how honest you’ve been that it takes time to address that sugar addiction and that actually it’s not the sugar at all really, that’s the end point for a way of living that leaves us empty, lost and craving stimulation and letting go sugar involves addressing that, seeing how and why we use it, and giving ourselves the time and space to let it go.

47. Jacqueline, I am so glad to be reading your journey with sugar and calling it for what it is. An addiction, a substitute for loosing my connection with myself and my sweetness. Being left with the after taste of the bitterness of life. It is one of the hardest addictions to give up I am finding. It takes days for the sugar to be gone form the body, but as soon as I eat just a hint of sugar, the cycle starts again and calls for more and more. For me, one way that sugar comes disguised as an innocent beautiful piece of fruit.

48. “The more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less” – this is so interesting, and makes me look at why we like sweet things and the way we live. Where I live, some fruits are graded by how sweet they are and the sweeter they are the more popular and expensive; the department stores compete with each other on what sweets they have exclusively available, and it is not rare to find many people waiting in queues for hours to buy them – people are after sweetness big time.

49. We are a society addicted to sugar and most are blind to the very obvious facts about sugar, it is time for humanity to see the harm that sugar is causing as diabetes is becoming more common in our children and adults not to mention the obesity rates that are rising rapidly due to the high consumption of sugar.

50. I have to agree with you Jacqueline, sugar is everywhere in the processed food we can buy at the supermarket nowadays. And it is interesting to look at the reason why it is there in such copious amounts, while in fact our bodies do not need any of these added sugars because it will be naturally healthy with the amount of sugar it gets by eating our normal diet in fresh prepared foods. Could it be that humanity is addicted to the sugar rush we get to keep us going and to not allowing us to feel that we are exhausted and have depleted our body in doing so by the way we are conducting our lives?

51. ‘I chucked my food down, like my body was a dustbin’…I just love your honesty Jacqueline as the quality of nutrition we nourish ourselves with is fed by so much more than just what we put on our plate.

    1. Absolutely agree Suse, I no longer chuck down my food, however, if I have left it too long to eat and find myself starving ( is there really any such thing?) I have observed that I eat a little too quickly, when I clock this I stop and start again and really slow everything down!

52. Wow this is the perfect blog for me to read this morning, even though I no longer feel drawn to surgery foods I know the way I eat can be detrimental. I often rush my food thinking ahead and not being present, your blog is a great reminder and prompt to really taste and enjoy every mouthful. Thank you Jacqueline.

53. Dear Jacqueline,
    I have just re read your blog and some of the comments. All indicate just how addictive sugar is. It is wonderful that this is now recognized in the wider community. However, to really make in roads on how accepted sugar has become we need to share our experiences, as you have done. And never hold back on sharing it more in our daily lives. As it is such true life experiences that will support others to connect to how much sugar controls the way people are and the food choices made.

54. I agree Jacqueline, sugar is a poison, an addictive poison at that. Funny how we tend to think we are rewarding ourself when we indulge in a so called treat. . . it is a bit like having a cigarette to have a breather! It simply does not make sense.

55. I can relate to having a sugar addiction and saw sugar as a type of guilty reward when I felt I needed or deserved it. Grocery shopping almost always included a stop in the confectionery aisle. On top of that was the fact that sugar was hidden in so many foods I purchased. No wonder there is such a demand for sugar in our diets when often people don’t even know they are consuming it! I can now say that I am on top of the sugar trap and it’s been a few years since I felt the strong pull for something sweet to help me get through whatever was happening at that moment. This turnaround didn’t happen overnight but as I changed my lifestyle to one of noticing and caring more about my body, the less I wanted to consume sugar. The map to doing this has been offered through Universal Medicine and presentations from Serge Benhayon and basically comes down to the choices I make each day for how I want to live my life.

56. I love coming back to your blog Jacqueline and being reminded to connect to the sweetness within;
    “That is, there is no longer an addiction to feed with sugar and its ‘artificial sweetness’. Now my body is smiling without it… smiling from inside with my own ‘true sweetness”; gorgeous.

57. Thank you for highlighting the addictive nature of this substance and how we use it to numb, dull, and disregard as well as to celebrate and reward ourselves. That this substance is not only legal but also sanctioned to be ubiquitous – and covertly so in many foodstuffs – is a complete travesty when statistics about diabetes and cancer to name but two ‘plagues’ of the modern era specifically cite sugar as a prime factor in their causation.

58. Your blog highlights where the craving for sweetness comes from. It is a lack of disconnection to our innerselves that then creates the emptiness that we seek to fill with a form of sweetness that is always less than the true sweetness within and hence leaving us forever craving and unfulfilled

59. I love this blog. I watch people at work consume enormous amounts of sugar and then see the state that it put them into. People are aware of what sugar is doing to them but the need to find some sweetness in life is so huge that it overtakes everything. Jacqueline, you provided us with the answer when you said that you were missing the connection you had with yourself and your natural innate sweetness and that is why you were addicted to sugar. The answer then to sugar addiction is to re-connect to that sweetness that is naturally within us all, we know it as kids, now we need to know it as adults.

60. I can so relate to what you have expressed here; sugar addiction is a powerful force;
    “Sugar is still tempting but I no longer consider myself a sugar addict: the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less. In total it took two years for the cravings to stop”.
    Gorgeous Jacqueline I can feel you smiling from within and I am smiling from within with you.

61. I read this blog feeling as though I could relate to every word, feeling glad someone else understands this ‘sugar addiction’ thing….I related to the painful and uncomfortable periods (I’m in the middle of one now) and the drive….and then I got to the part where you say you had breast cancer. Boom, it hit me like a tonne of (very loving) bricks. I am headed for major illness if I do not choose to arrest my need for this artificial sweetener. Sugar is no longer something I can ‘get away with’.

62. Its true Jacqueline, sugar is the artificial replacement we seek when we lose our connection to our inner sweetness, our own inner essence that makes us uniquely us.

63. Even though this blog is talking about sugar we can easily relate this back to any vice in our life we use to numb the emptiness we feel. We can be caught in such a momentum that only an inspiration, challenge or big STOP Event can break the cycle.

    Thank you for sharing.

64. I find I have more clarity and energy when I have no sugar (even fruit) in my diet. If I eat something sweet it starts this cycle where I want it more and more – it is very addictive and I can feel foggy for a few hours after the initial rush, it is not worth the few minutes pleasure in my mouth.

    1. My experience is similar Anna and I certainly don’t miss the mood swings that accompanied my sugar intake.

65. Sugar and Fun – this is a really strong association to break. Just a few days ago I was speaking to a mother on Christmas morning and she made light of the candy cane and chocolate her four year old was eating, a quasi admission that it was not a great choice and she justified it by ‘but it’s Christmas and it’s Fun’ even though as we spoke the child was already starting to race around and the mother was needing to discipline and direct the child to settle down and be less ‘silly’. I know I have the same association – sweet foods are fun and this has drawn me back to it again and again. This is despite being educated about the effects of all kinds of sweeteners (including fruit), having detoxed from it many times(!), endured withdrawal symptoms, and come out the other side to enjoy the stability of being sweet food free. Despite having improved health without sugar and my whole life running more smoothly I still found it really difficult to not be tempted by the taste of sweetness and the lure that a few moments of sweetness = fun, even though many not fun moments follow that. Perhaps like any drug addiction the craving for the ‘hit’ defies all logic, over rides past experiences and the drive is not different – to numb the pain. Jacqueline, from my firsthand experience I would say you are spot on – when we look to our sweet foods to offer us something such as ‘fun’ we also deny we are missing something within and that we are actually miserable without our inner connection.

66. I grew up being told sugar was a reward and that it is such a shame that I couldn’t tolerate it. I think there was a corner of me that still believed that, but the feeling in my body is so awful and the steadiness of the stillness is so divine that I now see it as a gift to not be able to tolerate sugar.

67. Thank you Jacqueline, I thought I was over sugar but it just keeps sneaking back in. I think it is hidden in foods that I am just not prepared to see it in and then it lowers my sensitivity to it. There is definitely a new level of dedication needed to seeing what is distracting me and why I choose not to pay that close attention to detail. Thank you for supporting me as I do my research

68. While reading this blog Jacqueline I thought that I was not addicted to sugar but yes to comfort food such as bread, yogurt, cheese. In reality I do crave sugary food from time to time but because it is only occasionally I remain in the comfort zone whereby I think a little won’t hurt. Well yes it does. Granted I have made big changes to my diet but I can go deeper and not allow myself to be complacent. So why do I still feel I need sugar from time to time? Plenty to explore for me.

    1. I love that you have brought this up Patricia; ‘a little won’t hurt’, and the other one is, everything in moderation…. these little sneaky beliefs are a great set up that keep us in our comfort. Truth is every little bit not only harms our body, but every little bit keep us wanting more, why? Because it is so ‘sweet’ and so addictive and widely and easily available….

69. I cut out refined sugar from my diet a long time ago but am finding I still often look for sweet things which can also be found in other foods… What I’ve become aware of is that I generally look for these when I am tired or wanting to avoid doing something (what better distraction than to eat!), and this is something I am still working on…. What has been a great reminder for me today with this blog is that it’s not only the food, but also the quality in which we eat it, and to that I would add, its also about the quality we prepare it with…!

70. I like how you point out just how sweet we naturally are, and how our addiction to sugar is related to this sweetness that we miss. I was a HUGE sugar fan, and this only rears it’s head now when I am missing the sweet feeling of myself.

    1. I totally agree, I only ever crave or want sugar when I am already feeling a lack within myself and so not feeling my sweetness. This usually happens when I let something get to me and by doing so stop feeling what is actually going on. The sugar is then a momentary relief from feeling this pain or angst but it does not resolve the matter. Slowly and at times subtly a small amount of sugar can suddenly end up being lots and all sense of reality at this stage has completely gone out of the window. It is fascinating how we can use things even though we know the longer term consequences but play that off wanting the immediate fix and yet we still call ourselves intelligent.

71. Jacqueline I love how you have made the link between the sweetness within you that you chose to replace with the sweet taste of sugar. I have often seen that in many people and realised that until we connect to the “essence of sweetness” it is very difficult to eliminate a ‘drug’ which gives us a kick and nothing else in return.

72. Another feeling into why sugar seems so hard to kick is it’s consistent and insidious availability, like you say Jacqueline, it’s everywhere! When I am feeling out and go to the supermarket I get completely overwhelmed with the choice of how I can check out further and what I can buy that has not so obvious sugar in it – sneaky foods like potato chips, corn products, coconut water or pretty much anything in the ‘health food’ section. It’s like I can go into a frenzy of indulging in thought, even though I may not buy anything, I will indulge in the thoughts and let them rule me as I walk around the isles. The thought frenzy is fuelled by this sense of ‘I can have anything I want, it’s legal and I have the money to buy it’, it’s all there just sitting on the shelves looking at me, I don’t need ID or to be a certain age to get it and get off on it. Now that’s addictive behaviour if I’ve ever heard it!

73. I feel like crying after reading this again Jacqueline as it is very exposing to why I am STILL caught in a self made cycle of sugar abuse. Cigarette’s and other drugs fell away quite seamlessly after I started making more loving choices for myself, but sugar is proving to be the most difficult and stubborn. You have offered really clear awareness of why that may be, I am missing the sweetness of me. Also I feel that I am not enjoying simply being me and living my days, there is a bitterness to life which is purely perspective and looking out of eyes that are choosing not to see the beauty and magic all around me. I feel like I could write about this subject for some time and I may start doing this recording daily to support in freeing myself from the sickly sweet hold of sugar.

    1. Love your honesty Rachel Evans, honesty is great medicine which greatly supports us to kick our bad habits and to boot it dosen’t cost anything! Like you share, for me coffee and alcohol were easy and just dropped away, but oh boy I never thought I would be able to give up sugar, such was my dependency….In my own process of going sugar free, I observed and noted when I would succumb to sugar ; which was always when I was tired and emotional. So I made sure I got quality sleep (going to bed early and when I was tired) which greatly reduced my reactions and emotions and I made sure I never went hungry, I ate 3 solid meals a day. And the other thing was I did not bash myself when I did give in to sugar back then. I just back tracked, observed and learned and then adjusted what I needed to adjust. But I was determined due to health reasons, which I see now was an extra bonus and motivater.

       1. The self bashing is a good one to be aware of and avoid. Simply backtrack and see where it came in, then simply adjust what needs to be adjusted.

74. Dear Jacqueline,
    I to felt the fast pace and constant drive of living with sugar being the drug of choice to sweeten my life. I can also feel the steadiness and stillness of living without sugar in my body and I much prefer the later. Sugar is truly scary in how it is so over used in our world. There are so many foods that contain sugar of some sort. Now is a prime time for companies that produce processed foods to step up and begin to process foods without sugar and salt. Yes each of us is responsible for our own choices and for what foods we choose to consume, but this could be supported by food companies. Support that could change the lives of many people, literally. Stopping sugar has greatly changed mine.

    1. It is Leigh very scary the over use of sugar in our world but thankfully sugar is getting more and more exposed in the media of its harming effects on our precious bodies….I don’t see any support coming from the food companies as yet, but they too have a responsibility and perhaps that day is coming that it will not be so easy to avoid responsibility!

75. And something else to consider Brendan – Is the rush from sugar actually feeding the overwhelming speed of modern day society?

76. In this present day sugar is definitely hidden in a multitude of sources in the foods we buy. Surely the sheer volume of sugar eaten today from an accumulation of all these sources has huge ramifications on our body and in not only feeding the waistlines of our people but also the escalating poor health statistics being predicted by the likes of WHO and other health organisations.

77. for years I never considered the effect that foods had on my body until I decided to go gluten & dairy free in 2012. I just ate lollies, sugar, chocolate, bread, pasta, soft drink, coffee, chocolate and the list is endless. I guess I wanted something that was stimulating and gave me an energy rush. Once I felt the difference in my body and how light I felt after having no Gluten and dairy for a month I was definitely doing it for good, no matter what! And I still had cravings for sweet things like honey and cakes etc but eventually I started to develop some stability in my mood and enjoyed the quality of stillness in my body so these foods I have stopped eating as well. Its amazing what can happen when we listen to our body and begin to change some things which don’t feel right to us. We are our best guide for sure.

    1. Yes Harryjwhite, I was the same, until I considered what I was eating when working with a nutritionist and doing a food diary. I started noticing patterns and reactions that I had previously skimmed over. I chose to be more discerning about what I ate and just became more and more aware. I could not go back now, my body just feels so much lighter as a result.

78. I can absolutely relate to this statement, “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost.” This is very powerful and true for me also. Thank you!

79. Out of all the things I have been addicted to sugar has to take the cake, in fact it is the cake – and I am yet to be free from the clutches that still bind me to it. After attempts and regular periods without it, inevitably the cycle continues to venture round again where the lure of that ‘reward’ and/or slice of comfort is taken, which includes, as you aptly describe Jessica, the side affect of ‘rush’ along side it. I question now what is the stronger addiction – the rush mode of moving through life to get things done in, or the sweet prize having done it all? Either way the call is for me to appreciate how solid I am in my stillness without it and truly taste the sweetness that that brings.

    1. Absolutely Giselle – what is it we are actually wanting and feel addicted to when having sugar? For me, I don’t like the rushing feeling but I do like the initial feeling of ‘oh life is lovely, I love these people, etc’. It’s very much a false and extremely short lived sense of emotional love for me, which when it wanes leaves me feeling completely dull and upset with myself for going there again. Of course the taste of sugar is totally the want too, but it does not seem worth it when that feeling of the drop comes along. In investing in this false sense of emotional love from sugar I am ultimately saying NO to the all encompassing and true love I am. Now the taste of artificial sweetness seems absolutely worthless in that face of that understanding! wow.

    2. Yes Giselle, that is so supportive as a reminder. I am so solid in my stillness without it and I will notice and appreciate the sweetness of that some more. Thank you for your comment.

80. Sugar overtakes my taste buds and they call out for more of the same – if I indulge this call then I lose my appetite for real food, and just want a quick fix. Until a naturopath asked me to describe what I eat in a day I had no idea that I was riding a sugar wave, with most of the sugar hidden.

    1. If I was to have any form of Sugar however small, the sheer sweetness overtakes my taste buds and they would also ask for more of the same, which would bring me back in the same loop of addiction as before and that is why I know for myself sugar is not going to be part of my diet ever again.

       1. I have found this too Jacqueline,
          I had a realisation one day where I ate something sweet, instantly on eating it my next thought was, “well you might as well have some more now, what can it hurt.”
          Needless to say this was very revealing of the hold sugar had on me and thankfully I saw the thought for what it was, a thought, that in no way had my body held in its best interest. For my body had begun to react quite significantly to any sugar.

       2. Me too! It overtakes and there is a clear choice to make because the pull is to repeat the behaviour. Sugar cannot be part of my way of living, it just feels so horrible in my body.

    2. ‘Sugar overtakes my taste buds and they call out for more of the same.’ This is a good point, sugar is highly addictive, I am so aware now that if I have one small bit for the next few days I will be craving it.

81. It’s so obvious when you look at it this way.
    The missing artificial link for missing sweetness.

82. Jacqueline, this blog was written for me!
    With great thanks and deep appreciation for your experience and realizations.

    1. Your very welcome Irena Haze. Super to hear this blog has supported.

83. My experience too Carmin….and worth a repeat; ‘ eliminating dairy, gluten and alcohol was a piece of cake (excuse the pun) compared to weaning myself from my sugar addiction’. Still I can confess, when I am really tired and I pass a cake shop, I will stop and look in the window and my tongue will remember the rich sweetness… the moment passes as I remember I am sugar free, and am never going back on the sugar roller coaster.

84. That is the realisation that comes Carola when you make the decision to cut out sugar, you don’t realise how addicted and dependent you are on sugar, and with this awareness I certainly realised that I would need to have strategies in place to support me dealing with the cravings that would come…. eg; never going hungry was super important.

85. I agree, I hadn’t noticed how reliant I was on sugar until I began to consider looking at why I felt to up and down, in terms of feeling racy or fatigued. When I looked at what I was eating, I suddenly became aware how sugar is hidden in so much that is out there to eat. Slowly letting go of sugar having a hold on me has been eye opening. I can feel the difference in my whole life. It feels like waking up to some degree, no more high’s and low’s and if the craving is there, I stop and ask myself why, am I getting anxious or am I really tired? Doing so supports me to feel well and connected with life.

    1. That makes sense. I have definitely noticed how up and down I feel after eating foods that contain sugar. There is a lack of consistency and this lends itself to reaching for that same food again. A bit of a self perpetuating cycle and one I am starting to notice more and more.

86. It is interesting to note that now we have a documentary feature film exposing the amount of sugar we are exposed to. It is the same with salt. Eliminating these from the diet isn’t easy but what has been great is I now make my own sauces for curry’s rather than buying the premade curry pastes. There is so much joy in adding spices to taste which offers more flexibility to choose what the body needs. It was fascinating to then go out for dinner last night and taste how salty and sweet the curry’s where – I had never noticed this before. The side effects I feel this morning are very obvious but if I had have continued to use the packaged curry pastes from the supermarket I would never have noticed – the side effects would have been considered normal. Amazing!

87. Sugar – the little sweetener to life! Very sneaky little product and so addictive. A big one for us all Jacqueline. I feel very blessed that earlier in my life I realised I suffered from ‘Hypoglycaemia’. I would have sugar and love every moment it was in my mouth only to 10 minutes later want to sleep with exhaustion. This created a cycle of bringing in other products to give me a lift so that I didn’t have to look at what was really going on. Getting honest is what had to happen for me to clean suger out of my diet. I am now clearing out any ‘substitutes’ that have snuck in. Asking the question ‘ What is really going on here?’ when I feel the craving for something sweet has helped me to look more deeply. Great blog and opportunity to go deeper.

88. Thank you for this blog Jacqueline, reading how you used sugar as a substitute for your own inner sweetness was something I experienced today. Feeling out of sorts I craved something, two small apricots in this case. But what I felt after was not nice and certainly not sweet or rewarding but cold and my uneasy feelings did not go away. Why have we related these ‘treats’ as something that good for us when it only creates or supports our issues? The check-out and ‘treat ourselves’ mentality doesn’t work and often when I am craving foods it is because something on the inside is disturbed. What Universal Medicine has taught me is that inside issues require addressing from within and a connection to my inner-most to understand the right outside medicine – be it a walk, talk, tidy something or nap etc. This connection and knowing what to do to best care for myself is far sweeter and brings more understanding of my situation than any momentary apricot munching!

    1. I agree Leigh, when I am connected with myself and my body, I know what will best support me, whether that be a walk, a nap, to call a friend, to clean, because I can now hear the messages from my body now that I am not numbing it with sugar and all comfort foods…. and this feels amazing, to live this way, to be able to trust myself and to trust the wisdom of my body.

89. Thanks for sharing this Jacqueline, I’m sure its similar with many people attempting to overcome this insidious addiction. I have been working on overcoming this issue for years, its certainly no easy habit to break but wow how great do you feel without it! I actually feel a sense of joy that comes from within when I don’t eat sugar, I feel clear and free. Saying no to sugar is the way to go.

    1. Very true Katechorley, Sugar is not an easy habit to break, because we all grow up with Sugar, sweets, chocolate, ice-cream etc are all part of our childhood, so the time we reach adult hood Sugar is a normal and truly ingrained habit….. In the beginning when I first was giving up Sugar, I thought it would be impossible, which was the reason I did not rush the process. I was very patient with myself and because I did not give up, I also got to feel what would truly support me in my process of going Sugar free, for example; making sure I had quality sleep which positively impacted my food choices next day.

90. The Sugar Addiction could be the title of a horror novel, only this is not fiction its biographical. Humanity is mostly in the grip of a sugar plague its damaging effects only now being bought to our awareness. There is even a deeper level of awareness you have written about Jacqueline that takes it beyond being a health choice to reveal the real reason we need introduce a false ‘sweetness’ rather that connect with our own ‘natural sweetness’
    that we crave.

91. I totally agree Jacqueline – Sugar is absolutely everywhere. When an item in the shops says ‘healthy’ I expect it to be just that – but so often in the small print there it is again sugar, either as a coded number or as fructose or as in a lot of cases honey etc. I’ve found the only reliable source of no sugar is to cook from scratch myself. Sugar is so damaging to our bodies. It is very evident in children also. It was not until I started to eliminate most sugars from my diet (it does still creep in occasionally) that I noticed the profound effect it has on my body.

92. Thank you Jacqueline, for the true sweetness that you so lovingly expressed. No artificial sweetness needed.

93. Its amazing to taste how naturally sweet foods that don’t have sugar added really are, that is after cutting out those foods packed full of sugar. This has been a great reminder for me to take more time when I eat, recognising that when I hurry through my meal I’m left looking for more after it, which only ever takes away from how nourishing the meal was, thank you Jacqueline.

    1. So true Rachael, sugary or salty foods only ever give me the same response of wanting more, revealing they hold nothing for me. Yet a meal I cook for myself that has neither salt, sugar or anything else without true substance, or that my body isn’t asking for, truly nourishes me when I take the time to taste and be with each mouthful.

94. Sugar totally is a ‘Sweet Poison’, and it is really interesting learning what happens on a physiological level when sugar enters the body, and understanding the addictive nature of it. Learning this, combined to how you have described… ” I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost” is super supportive, as a way of seeing the big picture of how we can get hooked on sugar. A great article to read, thank you!

    1. Thank you Johannebrown17. Indeed it was very exposing and a great insight when I discovered the root cause of my addiction – everything made sense, like finding the main part to complete the jigsaw – and when you see the bigger picture or all of the picture, it becomes so much easier to ‘make a different choice’….. and then when we commit to that choice – ie of going sugar free, so much support comes your way.

95. This is such a huge topic because sugar has infiltrated our diets in such a massive way that most don’t even realise. Like you said, until we stop eating it, we don’t actually realise how addicted we are. This sweet poison is no less than a drug and even more insidious. ‘Reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all’ – I agree wholeheartedly Jacqueline.

    1. That is the point Sara, until you stop eating it, you do not realise you are addicted and it is not so easy to cut this sweet poison out of your diet considering how many years we have been consuming it – ie since childhood! Why will the many question Sugar, it is cheap, it accessible, it is ‘normal’ and yes it is a daily quick fix and subsitute for what you are truly missing – yourself. The other point is, I never dreamed of giving up Sugar until I got ill….! That says everything.

96. Thank you emmadanchin, and very wise.. true power comes when we honor ourselves first and yes indeed underpins our choices. Maybe time to write your blog, the more written about the harming effects of Sugar in our body the better!

97. My relationship with sugar has been exposed, for many years I did not consider myself a ‘sweet’ person and yet when I stopped drinking alcohol, I began craving cakes and sweets, I replaced the sugar in alcohol with another form which was more obvious…this really made me stop and consider how much sugar was part of my life. I could feel how racy, heady and nervous I felt after sugar, it did not support me and so slowly I stopped. I still crave it some times but this is a strong message for me now to consider how I have been living and to look at any issues in my life coming up, rather than resort to a relief or comfort, i.e sugar.

98. “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost”
    I can relate to what you have said here Jacqueline; it is so lovely to feel that you now appreciate your own inner sweetness, beauty, playfulness and divinity.
    Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom.

99. Jacqueline you raise a super-important issue that I can totally relate to as I was a sweet tooth from childhood, and used it to bring sweetness to my life too. I haven’t eaten white sugar for many years, and dropped my habit of eating sweet biscuits and cakes and icecream for a sugar hit. However I substituted these things with honey, and somehow overlooked the fact that it too is a sugar when consumed as a sweetener for life. As part of the process of removing this artificial sweetness from life there’s been a feeling of emptiness and an urge to fill it with food that makes me feel heavy – thus revealing a need to reconnect with the inner sweetness of me that I disconnected to at a very early age. Removing the artificial sweeteners means I have to feel that which I’ve been avoiding, and this in turn reduces the urge to eat.

    1. Yes hartanne60, when we reconnect with our own inner sweetness, we do not need the artificial kind, it is a process and does not happen over night, so it is important to be lovingly self supportive and gentle as that which we have been avoiding feeling comes up to be felt and cleared.

100. Gosh, that is beautiful… You really made me STOP and FEEL…. Thank you deeply for your words on that topic. I’m still immensely dealing with that. But facing it as something that is artificially brought in by me because I do not honor it’s natural presence from within – that turns a key…

     1. I still tend to eat sugar whenever I come to point of no longer willing to deal with the tension around me. That mainly happens when I work. Hardly when I’m on my own. So increasing awareness, sensing more of the tension – makes the craving for sugar more creeping in. So it is in the end a way of dealing better with tension, staying observant.

101. I love this revelation that sugar is in fact an artificial sweetener despite the fact that it is sold as natural. Why do we need to add so much sugar to our food when there is plenty of it naturally occurring in fruits and other foods? The only possible explanation is that it is a drug that we are all hooked on from a young age because we have left our own inner sweetness behind.

     1. Spot on Andrew, sugar is a drug we are all hooked on, even those who believe they do not have an addiction because they hide behind the, ‘everything in moderation is okay for you’; not realising or asking why they need the little bit of sugar (every day, every other day, is still a dependancy) in the first place. We take the sugar drug to give ourselves a boost regardless of how often or little we consume it, what remains is still a dependancy.

102. Jacqueline, the way you cleared yourself of your addiction to sugar is inspiring. As with all addictions, even those we feel we have cleared, temptations are all around us and it is surprising how easy it is to make a slip, revert back to have just one taste of the forbidden fruit. It is always work in progress and you said ‘the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less’

103. Sugar is everywhere, even in toothpaste and it is a poor and very harmful substitute for the connection to ourselves that we are missing, more than anything on earth. Thank you for sharing how you beat the addiction.

     1. Sugar in toothpaste? Now that is ironic!

        1. Yes, especially so when some places (like where I live) they are introducing fluoride into the water supply to combat dental caries!

        2. specifically in children’s toothpaste, thats why they literally eat it!!!

104. HI Kristy, I have still to watch this movie, and do plan to. It is super though that the spotlight is on sugar now, not only through this movie, but in the media in general. The harms of sugar and its addictive nature are definitely being ‘outed,’ which will support so many people to cut or reduce this seemingly ‘white innocent substance’ from thier diet.

     1. What I love about your blog Jacqueline is that it does so much more than out sugar as being an addictive substance that can run our lives and ruin our bodies – you go deeper and have the beautiful honesty to reveal why it is you were reaching for sugar in the first place – to bring an artificial sweetness to quell the pain of missing the connection to yourself. This is the root of the sugar epidemic and it is important not to lose sight of this in all the “sugar is evil” rah rah that is becoming quite popular. Coke just brought out a new type of cola that is sweetened by stevia, but if we all just switch to stevia-sweetened products to replace refined sugar, are we actually that better off?

105. Oh this is delicious! You have offered great support here. Understanding why we need the sugar…. Because, let’s face it, that is what it feels like, means we can address the underlying reason we need the coping mechanism. This could be applied to alcohol, drugs, gym use or abuse, sex. Whatever it is we use to cope or distract. I now know I am not addicted to sugar. I am tempted by it when I am tired or as you so eloquently out it… When I am not prepared to feel my own true sweetness. Yummy.

106. When I was young, I used to have sugar all the time. Coke for drinking (not water in my house), cocoa and later coffee with four spoons of sugar. Plus chocolate, etc. It was about trying to create a sweetness in life that it just was not there. It was not just me though. My family played the same game. Our indulgence in sugar was directly proportional to the real lack of love in our family and to every one craving it in silence.

107. Awesome blog Jacqueline, even though I have let go of my need for sugar, I have this pattern of going for salty foods – which really stimulate you just as much as sugar does. Your blog has inspired me to address my cravings for salty food, as I know it doesn’t feel right for my body. Thank you!

     1. Hi Anna, yes I also went through a period of going for salty foods when I was giving up Sugar, (the corn chips which are full of salt) until one day, after eating a few corn chips, I did not feel so good afterwards, and there and then cut out salt from my diet which was a lot easier to do than cutting out Sugar. Well worth it as today I have so much more energy and clarity.

        1. Thats interesting how we are hooked with either salty or sugary food. I found it very easy to not eat sweet, but salty food like crisps, salami, etc. has always been my indulgence. Today any food that is not eaten to nurture me makes my mouth sore and I can even get blisters and sore parts that are really inflamed. What you describe about looking for the sweetness in life can be craved by any kind of food. It feels like anything can be turned into sugar (false sweetness) even just eating too much salad! What I found so shocking is that it is not only this dull and numbed feeling we have after eating it and the bloated stomach, etc., but it is already during that there is a lack of presence and that we still go for it. We all know how amazing it feels to only nourish our body, but we accept those situations that lead us into the abuse. This has been the biggest learning for me and I deeply appreciate the constant support from Serge Benhayon in reminding us who we truly are and connecting to our grandness and not to the abuse.

108. Thank you so deeply for sharing that blog. I have now felt in me how un-nourished I am, and how checked out it can be to eat certain food.

     1. I agree. Awesome revelations from this blog about my own food choices and why l choose them.

109. Thank you Jacqueline for your sugar addiction story. It was great reading your article, and totally agree, how sugar is in Everything… even in products we would never consider it to be in. It is amazing how the taste buds and palate change in the mouth once we start reducing and cutting out sugary foods… it’s like the sensitivity to pick up sugar in a food product becomes sharpened and you can really identify the sweetness in many foods. Then we have a choice to choose the sweetness we already are or take in the artificial sweetness!

     1. I agree Johannebrown17, and what I have found is that sensitivity is heightened in other foods like salt. Having even a little bit of salt stands out a mile and afterwards I need copious amounts of water which tells me salt is no good for my body.

     2. Hi Johannebrown17, yes sugar is in everything…. Sugar is so deeply embedded in our food chain that we do not realise the true extent of how much sugar we actually consume, i.e. the ‘hidden sugars’ and the serious impact this has on our bodies, along with the obvious sugary products we consume – equals tons of tons of sugar being sold and consumed; which means huge profits for the manufacturer of this poisonous substance that is being drip fed to us all as long as we choose to stay in comfort and ignorance.

     3. Caroline yesterday I made an assumption, placed a walnut in my mouth and found it was sweet. I checked the pack, it read ‘honey coated walnuts’ Crazy! The more sensitive we are, the more we experience sugar as an assault on the body.

110. Thank you Jacqueline for sharing how sugar affected your life and wellbeing. It is indeed astonishing to see the immense amount of sugar that is available in the supermarkets for us to consume and I can see that this is a reflection of where the majority of people are at. As you describe so clearly Jacqueline, sugar makes us racy and rushing through life and that is exactly what I see in society as well. People are rushing and in their rushing they are hard and unloving to themselves and others. How beautiful would life be if we did connect with the sweetness in ourselves, and from there do not need any sweetness from food anymore. Imagine how supermarkets would look then!

111. A timely read of a very sweet piece. I am in the midst of discovering my violent sugar addiction and just how ingrained these patterns and cravings are. It has been 2 weeks of serious sugar cut out (carbs included) and although I feel some clarity, my moods are all over the place and body is feeling poisoned and heavy. My mouth is offering flashbacks of what ice-cream or fast food used to taste like and I am have memories of my childhood pantry over loaded with treats and high sugar foods. A sugar junkie I have indeed been but now I choose the sweetness of me. Thank you for the further inspiration Jacqueline.

     1. Thank you for sharing Rachel, was lovely to read you are now choosing the sweetness of yourself and how easily you did that….. it is a lovely reminder that each and every one of us has the power of choice and/or making a different choice at any moment.

112. ‘…the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less.’
     This is an excellent way of expressing this feeling Jacqueline. Thank you for sharing your inner sweetness. ✨

113. Thanks Jacqueline, I found your sharing here very exposing as sugar is something I too am still coming to grips with in my life. You have me reflecting more on the ways in which I can support my body to come back to the sweetness within rather than reaching for the sweetness in the form of sugary “treats”. Lots to feel into.

114. Ha, I found myself trying to rush through and read it all quickly, only having to re-read and realising this is a sweet article.

115. I love the way you call sugar an ‘artificial sweetener’ because it is an ingredient that is so often touted as natural and therefore harmless. In its many forms and various guises, whether it is natural syrups, unrefined or various grades of nature’s honeys it can still have the same detrimental effect on our body, and the same capacity to cover up or substitute our own natural sweetness.

116. Sugar is one of the things in my diet that I feel really needs to change too. Coffee was pretty easy for me to give up because I could feel how dependent I was of the caffeine. Each morning I would wake up in a fog and one cup of coffee would make me feel ‘normal’. Two cups would give me a bit of a kick start to push me through my tasks for the day, and 3 cups would just get me wired. When I realized how much I needed coffee just to feel normal, I got scared and just gave it up. Sugar however, feels more subtle and as you say Jacqueline, it’s in everything and very hard to avoid. Even foods with carbohydrates have loads of sugar, because carbohydrates are really just complex sugars that break down a bit slower! So I have yet to totally kick sugar, but when I do, I will probably write a blog about it too, haha!

117. The best sweetness anyone can have! There is no artificial sweetener, cake, pastry or food that compares to the exquisite sweetness we feel when we get back in touch with the natural sweetness and joy within ourselves, in truth as you say Jacqueline this is what we are missing. Thank God for Serge Benhayon and Universal for bringing us all the tools that can help bring us back to our natural sweet selves.

     Your experience shows that change doesn’t happen overnight but what I have learnt through Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine is that through consistent loving dedication change can occur. Your experience with giving up sugar confirms just that.

118. It is so true, sugar and “artificial sweetness” can never be a substitute for your inner sweetness. Inner sweetness does not come in a pack, doesn’t need to be added to things to make them more palatable, it simply is. Thank you for the reminder of what true sweetness really is!

119. Thank you for this much needed reminder about the role sugar plays in the functioning or dis-functioning of my body. The ‘reward’ of sugar has been the biggest hurdle for me. I have always self medicated with sugar to pat me on the back when I have gotten through something even slightly difficult, or because I did something I didn’t want to do (like a particular job at work) or the moment I feel a sadness wash over me. Sugar is always there as a comforter to numb my feelings.

     1. Yes Elodie, I can relate to all you say. I also find I turn to sugar as my best friend to comfort me through times when work doesn’t feel good or people are not getting along or I feel frustrated with myself for being a certain way or stuck in a pattern. Sugar makes it all better and tells me it’s ok. This comfort of course is temporary and leaves a raciness and dampness in my body.

120. After I read your blog, I really pondered your words and realised the extent I had used sugar to substitute my own sweetness. How I had shut down from it with the hardness of the working woman and getting through life.
     I now look at sugar not as something sweet, but as a reminder of what I am not.
     That craving is definitely leaving me and leaving me with being content with who I already am.
     Thanks for the simple reminder. I shared your blog with another just on Sunday who always went for the reward of something sweet at the end of the day. As I spoke the lights went on. How we get fooled by artificial… in all forms.

121. Gosh many people may never admit that they are addicted to sugar and that it was a substitute to their own sweetness, loveliness and playfulness.

122. Great observations and this would probably apply to most of us. Sweetening up what we have been missing from the numbing effect life can have on us . Replacing it with something outside us as a fix. How simple to begin the journey back to ourselves and reconnecting with that sweetness that we all knew as a young child.

123. This is a great article, thank you. I really know what you share here. In one year of excessive sugar consumtion I ruined my teeth so deeply, that very small amount of it hurts, when I eat something containing sugar. At that time I was completely exhausted and mind driven.

124. “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost. When you lose something, if you can’t find the original you take a substitute – and sugar was mine.” This is so true and sugar was definitely my substitute. Sugar is an addiction as the more you eat, the more you crave. When I chose to eliminate – well almost – sugar from my diet I rediscovered a sweetness in many foods that I had not tasted before. By using artificial sweeteners we lose our sense of taste of natural sweetness.

     1. Yes I agree Mary – I’ve now tasted food for its real true flavour particularly as I eat slower. Tasting sweetness. Taking in the aroma of the foods that I cook and the actual flavour of the finished food itself creates in me an awareness of the texture as well. Such a different picture to that of me as Jacqueline mentioned “chucking my food down as if it was a dustbin” in such a rush to get onto the next chore! and still feeling the need for more food.

125. Wow, what a wake up call you had! Sugar is a very easy addiction – people accept it and use it to get through. But you are right – it is not called what it truly is – an addiction. When it is looked at in this way, and that the sweetness is making up for a loss of connection to our own inner sweetness – it makes so much sense to me and certainly something I know I am working on myself… reading this is really inspiring and only helps me to see the cravings for what they are – addictions.

126. Your story is so inspiring Jacqueline. To free yourself from the tight grips of sugar addiction is no small thing. I love your clarity about why you were eating sugar and how you have returned to your own inner sweetness. Just beautiful.

127. I find it interesting the reason we go for sugar is because we have lost our own sweetness and so we go for the substitute instead. The thing that I find once we are in the fast lane, we get used to it and the sugar keeps that pace going, it also keeps us away from the fact that we angst for that sweetness we once had as a child. This is something sugar will never fulfil.

128. Thank you for sharing Jacqueline – just how you start: ‘I didn’t even know I had a sugar addiction until I tried to eliminate sugar from my diet’ rings true for myself and for so many people – sugar is such a normal and accepted part of our diet yet only a 100 years ago or so it was a scarce commodity and only really in the form of honey, now it is everywhere, and it is now being likened to having the same addictive qualities of cocaine – yes, shocking at first – but it does make sense, especially when you see how children respond to sugar and then when they are told that’s enough!

     1. Yes James that is the problem, Sugar is a normal and accepted part of our diet and deeply ingrained in our food chain, there is lots of hidden Sugar in our food. Great point James, sugar was a scare commodity only a 100 years ago, so we ate far less and now it is being compared to cocaine for the same addictive qualities…. which is great as the awareness of the affects of Sugar is growing.

        1. It is great Jacqueline that slowly people are waking up to the effects of sugar. But just like with Caffeine levels consumption continues to rise. This shows that even though people know these substances are harming for the body, we continue to consume them as we see the immediate benefit of the extra energy outweighing any potential side effects down the line. What we as a society need to look at and address is our levels of exhaustion and thus address the cause of the depletion in our bodies which causes us to seek stimulants (inc. sugar, coffee) in the first place.

129. After reading this I feel inspired- brilliant blog.

130. Once we start to look at sugar in our life, it is not an easy thing to just give up – it is a process, and takes time to let the body get over it, and to understand and realise why we ‘need’ it and for us to let go of that need. This is a really supportive blog for anyone else who may want to look at cutting out or cutting down the amount of sugar in their diet…

131. I used to have a teaspoon of sugar in my tea and probably had about five cups of tea a day. That’s not counting the sugar in the chocolates, biscuits and fruit etc. Now that I have chosen to not have sugar at all, when I have eaten it again, I feel a really strong buzz the next day and feel awful. I was also eating a lot of carbs and gluten to numb myself – to offset the sugar rush I was experiencing. Now I can only imagine how awful I was used to feeling and accepting it as being normal for me.

     1. Me too Jinya. I did not drink coffee, I only drank tea, so had about 5/6 cups a day with 2 teaspoons of Sugar, plus all the biscuits, cake, sweets etc, so heaps and heaps of Sugar. Like you, when I had stopped eating sugar and then ate some (because I was tired), within a few minutes I felt irritable and had a headache for several hours. It was a clear message from my body to stay clear from Sugar.

132. Jacqueline, I love your description of how you used sugar to keep you in a cycle of living in the fast lane. It is amazing how many stops our bodies give us, little and big tells that we need to slow down; the powerful affects of sugar are something that as a society we are now waking up to… only today I read an article on the harmful effects sugar has on the brain.

     1. There is much more awareness around the harmful effects of Sugar, and it is great to see Sugar in the spotlight and exposing Sugar for the addictive drug it is.

133. Ah, creamy, warm and sweet comfort food – the most delicious way to avoid your feelings and abdicate responsibility for your issues – been there, done that a thousand times, and it never once filled the feeling of emptiness. Thank you for sharing your realisation, Jacqueline, that if we free ourselves from our hurts there is a beautiful sweetness that re-emerges from within us.

     1. Beautiful Janet and very inspiring.

134. It is shocking how much sugar is added into food but also, being someone who no longer eats sugar, I know if I want something sweet it does not have be in the form of sugar – fruit, sweeter vegetables or nuts can now give me the same satisfaction. This means when these moments of craving arise I have the opportunity to ask myself ‘why do I want to eat this? It is a marker to show me how my body is really feeling. Thank you, Jacqueline for a beautifully expressed blog 🙂

135. Super blog Jacqueline. My mother, who has type 2 diabetes since her forties, used to give us children a few coins to go to the local bakery to buy ourselves sweets – there were rows of jars filled with colourful very tempting sweets – and we filled a paper bag each of these jewel like treats. This was a regular event and sugar and chocolates was a “normal” ingredient in our diet. It is a long time ago and now I still have some sugar in the form of honey or maple syrup but sugar has gone from my diet. Now thanks to the teachings of Universal Medicine I have reconnect to my own sweetness and I am enough.

136. “the more I honour myself and my body, reconnecting to the sweetness within – the most satisfying sweetness of all – my craving for sugar gets less and less.” Profound words Jacqueline and shows us how as a society we are so desperately missing our inner sweetness.

137. Thank you Jacqueline McFadden for a great blog. I was addicted to sugar at a very young age and sugar sandwiches was a daily treat for me. I was well known in my family throughout my childhood needing really sugary drinks and cakes to keep me going. Chocolate was a must and I could never imagine not having chocolate in my life.
     Thank God I met Serge Benhayon, as I learnt about me and the affects of sugar and what it was doing to my physiology without me being aware.
     I have been sugar free for 7 years and it sure feels good to wake up everyday with vitality levels that are even better than I had in my 20’s. I am now 52 and look and feel amazing everyday. I no longer need sugar to rush around or numb me.

138. A fantastic exposure of the addictive nature of sugar and how we use it to “get through” life. Just like alcohol, it’s an endless pit that can never be filled and the reason we always need more
     to try to fill this emptiness. We can use anything in the same way – like an overdone hobby, working too hard, or even burying ourselves in books to numb ourselves or check out of life.

139. An on-trend and honest account about sugar addiction, which is slowly being acknowledged more as the world opens up to the drug it really is. Thank you, Jacqueline.

140. You write about such a crucial issue which is of epidemic proportions in society. I continue to be outraged queuing up to buy my petrol, confronted with a sea of artificially bright coloured wrappers covering chocolate-coated sugar rushes on the shelves, now deemed ‘normal’ at twice the size of the bar I would have eaten as a child. And the indignation when I find that even poached fish or a lame beetroot salad at the supermarket have sugar featuring in their ‘healthy’ ingredients list; Sugar is everywhere and shamelessly so. But as you point out, it is what drives the need for the rush that is our cause for concern and consideration. – that losing of the connection to self. Without addressing this, we will continue to default to the sugar rush until the body creates that ‘stop’ moment through illness and disease for us to assess – if we so choose – what is really going on in the way we are living.

141. This is very powerful. I can feel from your livingness that you have made this commitment to be the true you through making the right food choices. I can totally relate to your illness being a wake up call to remind you that the body needs to be looked after, as I am currently experiencing a very similar bodily message. Thank you for sharing, such an inspiring blog!

142. Great blog, Jacqueline, the world needs to be discussing this because we can’t rely on the food manufacturers or the retailers themselves to change things. It is up to us as the customers to bring the awareness to them by making the supportive food choices for ourselves. Perhaps then, the focus will redirect from being about the profits made and become about the health of themselves and their customers. This isn’t on their radar yet, and won’t ever be unless we the customers put it there.

     1. I agree Doug, since “the customer is always right” then we have the power to change things and stop buying what harms us in terms of food. Then the food manufacturers and retailers will have to listen.

143. This is a brilliant blog Jacqueline and one that requires much exposure. What you have shared is an account of a very common and I would say epidemic level of sugar addiction that is going on. I remember being caught in the rushing busy life and then feeling a need for the pick-me-up so I could keep going. Such an exhausting way to run our body. Thank you for your inspirational sharing.

     1. I agree with you Beverley that this article deserves much wider exposure as it explains very simply and lovingly the harm of sugar on a far more deeper, fundamental level than just the physiology of the body. It is written in away that is very accessible to everyone.

144. Great blog Jacqueline. Thank you. Great to re-visit this blog. I also love the words “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost” this really resonated with me, it really struck a chord. I realised that this is how I had been using sugar and sweet foods in my life. I have hugely cut down but your words have supported me in looking deeper when the cravings do arise. Thank you.

145. Wow Jacqueline, you have really instigated a penny drop moment! I have never made the connection between sugar cravings and my lack of connection with my inner sweetness – it just makes perfect sense to me as I read your blog. Thank you! And eating fast on a more practical note leading to the body not feeling nourished and so craving sugar… I have been eating really well for a year or so now but still get the sugar cravings, especially after my meals and this would explain why! This may be the awareness I need to join you in rediscovering appreciating the yummy food I do take the time to lovingly prepare, and also say hello and get reacquainted with my own inner sweetness. Amazing thank you. 😄

146. Thankyou for your blog Jacqueline. At boarding school we were allowed to have 4 sweets per day after lunch – that was my connection with home – for 6 years. Many years later I connected my wanting something sweet after lunch with that time. More recently I was in a hotel and ate fruit for breakfast and an hour later I had a low blood sugar hypo which I recovered from by eating an avocado I had in my bag. I realise I too still have a sugar addiction, despite my no longer eating sweets, chocolate etc, as wanting fruit – something sweet – is still with me. Time to address the fact that I am really missing the “sweetness within” as you worded it – my hardness and busy-ness acting as a cover up ( but not really)!

147. I enjoyed reading your article Jacqueline, thank you for sharing. When I was young sugar was freely used… The dentist always gave me a lollipop after my treatments, we even dipped a babies’ dummy in sugar to stop them crying.
     As a child my mother wasn’t allowed sugar, so for us we had sweets everyday, which we loved! I didn’t like tomatoes, but would eat them sprinkled with sugar and on and on.. I have many examples of using sugar throughout my life to create ‘sweet moments’.

     Also as an adult I believed I needed to eat chocolate bars everyday to maintain my bodyweight. (as I was border-line anorexic). Eight years ago I met Serge Benhayon and started to attend Universal Medicine courses and presentations. When I began listerning to my body I could feel the effect sugary foods were having on my body and the quality of the energy I used to live my life. Now having a sugar free diet is simply a natural support to my overall well being. For the first time EVER my weight is steady and very healthy and that feels just amazing!

148. Beautiful post Jacqueline… Most of us have been addicted to sugar without even knowing it until we choose to restrict it from our diet. In 2012 I managed to withdraw from sugar, but during this year I have used sugar in the form of treats when dealing with a number of family issues – but the only good thing this time I was doing it from a conscious presence and I’m slowly weaning myself off it once again. Like some of the other bloggers I found the following lines regarding your use of sugar very inspirational… “A replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost”.

149. This is brilliant and very inspiring.

150. What an awesome post! The words “I used sugar as an ‘artificial sweetener’ in my life, a substitute or a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost”, hold true for me too. It was quite an insight when I realised I was using various foods to sweeten my life or to reward myself for getting through something challenging in the day or to give me the energy to keep on going well past what my body wanted to do. How great to see the siren call of ‘sugar’ (occurring both naturally in foods or added) for the addiction it is!

151. Something that really struck me from your blog Jacqueline was in your beautiful words: “a replacement for something I had been missing – my own inner sweetness; the beauty, playfulness and divinity I felt in me naturally as a small child, but had lost”.

     It occurred to me what enormous responsibility we have to children in standing up against giving them sugar, no matter how much they may crave it, along with our responsibility to be educated about the sources of sugar. After all, do we want to play a role in separating them from their natural inner sweetness?

     1. Great question Rod. I have also noticed that often when children are upset or grumpy, they are given sweets as a quick fix to placate them and make them more manageable. So we end up teaching the use of sugar can ‘replace’ our inner sweetness…

     2. Beautiful observation Rod. That line stood out for me as well, having become addicted to sugar at a very young age. Every word of Jacqueline’s resonated for me. Letting go of chocolate, and sweet creamy food is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do, and the most wonderful. I was addicted to both and it was a daily habit. How amazing that I have not had a piece of chocolate, (including liquorice bullets – an old favourite) or a custard tart (another old favourite)for more than7 years. The cravings have gone. You could balance a piece of extra dark chilli chocolate on my nose now and I would take it off and hand it back with a “no thanks”. Amazing!
        And thanks to Serge Behnhayon whose teachings allowed me to connect to the deep yearning for myself that I was filling with sweet goodies.

152. Awesome blog! I can so relate to the rushing everywhere and then needing the sugar to pick me up so that I can continue to rush… without ever stopping to really feel what was going on for me. I am sure many people will be able to relate… It really is like a drug that we are all taking without realising that we are addicted to it. There should be big WARNING labels on sugar packets… and if they did that, there would be warnings on most foods in the shopping aisle too.

     1. Too true Rosie

153. Thank you for your words Jacqueline. They’ve helped me to get more in touch with the relationship between the need for sugar, and the need to keep my body in crazy momentums of heightened nervous energy, rushing and more – all feeding a cycle of numbing myself from the true sweetness within, as I didn’t want to acknowledge I could truly live connected to this sweetness and loveliness – especially in a world where I felt so much was/is so very harsh…

     It’s amazing how taking ‘one thing’ in our lives, can open up our awareness of so much more, when we are truly willing to feel into what’s really going on for us, and what is behind such a need, prop, stimulant. So thank you for so honestly sharing your self-discovery with us all, and the self-care and nurturing you have brought to your life that has made such a true difference. Truly amazing.

154. The Gentle Breath Meditation is truly life changing when used as a daily tool to reconnect. It has supported people all over the world to reconnect to their inner sweetness. It is such a simple technique that has profound effects.

     1. I agree Toni the Gentle Breath Meditation is a truly amazing, simple and uncomplicated tool to reconnect to our bodies. Everybody can do it – the young and the elderly – and it doesn’t require any specialised skills.

     2. I agree Toni, the most simple meditation I ever did, without complicated positions, and only a couple of minutes – just breathing my own breath and I connect back to my body. This allows me to feel what is actually there to feel and to choose what is supporting for me at that point in time.

155. Jacqueline, this is such a great blog! I love the line “When you lose something, if you can’t find the original you take a substitute – and sugar was mine”. This is true for so many things. You have inspired me to reassess the role sugar plays in my life.

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