Sugar...ah Honey, Honey

Have you ever eaten a chocolate dessert and just felt good all over? I call it "happy face". There's something sweet about sweets. In addition to the feel-good-feeling, they make you feel less stressed and re-energize you in the middle of a lethargic afternoon. This, in turn, makes us crave them tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after. And when that quick energy burst doesn't last as long as the time before, we need another "fix" and increase our consumption of sweets. Sounds like a drug addiction. Yes, sweets can be over-powering. If we aren't careful, we may lose all control and find ourselves 2, 3, 10 years from now overweight, or suffering from diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

When my kids were babies and starting to eat baby food, my doctor advised me to give them vegetables first. This way, he said, they would develop a taste for veges that wouldn't be superseded by a taste for "sweet". I fear that through the years I have become addicted to sweets and am using these words of advice to help me conquer this addiction. Fill up on veges first. Then, there will be no room, and hopefully no desire, for dessert. For some, I know, moderation is the key; but those with addictions need rehab, discipline, and natural sweets like honey and fresh fruit to satisfy the cravings.