I’m taking a little detour from the basket for a moment.  This time I’m going to talk about that dirty little word sugar. As you see from the picture I’m about to eat my birthday cheesecake which happens to be loaded with sugar.  Sugar is a dirty word for me for different reasons than it is for most of you.  For most people sugar is about calories and diets.  For me sugar is about pain and nausea.  You see I’m sucrose intolerant.  Meaning my body lacks the enzyme sucrase to break down sucrose (table sugar).  When I was younger I used to get really sick whenever I ate even a little bit of sugar.  I still get sick just not as much as before.  I’m not going to go into detail about what happens to me believe me it’s not pleasant.

So why am I eating cheesecake?  Well just like a lot of you I have weaknesses.  Cheesecake is one of my weaknesses.  I don’t eat sugar all the time just occasionally and that is how it should be not just for me but for everyone.  I see immediate results when I eat sugar which makes it a little easier to avoid it.  However,  most won’t see the results in consuming sugar until much later when their body turns it into fat.  Our bodies do naturally need sugar to function but sugar in excess amounts can cause our bodies to store it.

So how should we avoid those constant sugar cravings?  My suggestion is to seek out those things that are naturally sweet.  Many of the fruits that I’ve been discussing in my recent posts are an excellent replacement for those sugar cravings.  I’m not saying we need to give up sugar altogether, it’s still okay to consume it occasionally, but there is always a healthier option that we should consider first. When the occasion does arise that you can consume some sugar, I say enjoy it while it last.