Freud had no idea this simple change could lift your spirits!

May, 2011 with Matt Laughlin

We can't really blame Freud for his ignorance.

Not only was he busy clarifying his monumental discovery of the unconscious mind, in his time the average sugar consumption was closer to 15 grams a day. Today the average American consumes 180 to 280 grams daily.

Hard to believe?

Consider that one serving of low-fat yogurt - a breakfast staple for many - has 31 grams of sugar. And we haven't even finished with breakfast yet!

So, it's no longer a secret that excessive sugar consumption isn't good for us.

And it is no longer a secret that sugar consumption can have a serious impact on one's mental and emotional wellbeing.

In fact, for a significant percentage of clients I work with as a psychotherapist and life coach, the most influential contributor to feeling poorly is their sugar consumption.

Left unaddressed, no amount of exploration of the unconscious or motivating life coaching can help someone overcome what in large part may be a physical problem.

Conduct an Amazon search on "sugar and addiction" or "sugar and depression" and you'll find a number of books written by qualified health professionals of various disciplines on this topic.

And then there are countless volumes in the domain of holistic health and medicine focused on the value of whole food nutrition, or various traditional diets and their clinical significance with regard to hormonal function and overall health and wellbeing.

But presuming you simply take it to be true - that sugar may significantly alter one's mood - what is the simplest way to get off it?

I am a big believer in simple.

And I usually only recommend what works, what I've experienced and/or what is simple for clients to implement in their lives.

Before my graduate studies in psychotherapy I completed over 2 years in a doctor of naturopathic medicine program at Bastyr University. I played around with all kinds of diets as holistic health students will do - Ayurvedic meals, whole foods, blood type diets, a water fast (that was a big mistake) and all kinds of other botanical and supplemental dietary interventions.

Frankly, for the purposes of getting off sugar completely and most easily I wouldn't recommend any of these or the dozens of diet books I am familiar with. Many are absolutely wonderful, but they would do little to serve as a simple reference and guide for people seeking to reduce their sugar consumption.

What I do recommend is Jorge Cruise's book, The Belly Fat Cure. This spiral bound gem provides a simple yet thorough way to reduce your sugar intake significantly while still enjoying many of the kinds of foods you like to consume. As Jorge is careful to point out, the book is not a diet book but more of a lifestyle guide. It has everything from a no-brainer-bachelor's guide for the week to more sophisticated options.

I first heard about Jorge's approach in an interview I conducted with Dr. Wayne Dyer, who in our time speaking together appeared more eager to talk about Jorge's book than his own latest best seller. Click here to read about how Dr. Dyer lost 17 lbs in one month following Jorge's guidelines. Like Dr. Dyer I gave Jorge's diet a try myself and lost close to 15 lbs in a month.

But because of my areas of expertise and scope of practice I don't necessarily recommend Jorge's book for people seeking to lose weight (though that is the central focus). I recommend it for those willing and eager to stop eating sugar to see how in turn this influences their depressive moods. For many slender or even underweight clients struggling with depressive feelings, losing weight is not the issue.

My observations...

I observe a few things happen whenever clients give Jorge's approach a go.

1.) Irritability, anxiousness, and depressive moods may subside or go away entirely. In other words, erratic feelings are no longer a barrier to living a meaningful life or addressing the areas of life clients seek to transform.

2.) Many clients lose weight. They appear more vibrant and healthy. The self-confidence that reemerges from this alone is touching to witness.

3.) Health conscious, slim and fitness oriented individuals often benefit immensely from giving this approach a try. Their weight may not change much, but their mood and spirits often soar. Many food-conscious individuals are oblivious to how much sugar they actually consume each day.

With all such recommendations, they come with a caveat - to consult with your primary care provider before making such changes. Also, many holistically oriented physicians, functional medicine doctors, and nutritionists are adept at assessing and treating mood related conditions as they relate to hormonal function and dietary habits. A consultation with such a qualified professional could also be of tremendous value.

But if you already have a sense about how to eat fairly well and/or simply want to safely and significantly reduce sugar in your diet for a period to see how much your feelings/moods may be influenced by sugar... a simple option is to look into Jorge Cruise's Belly Fat Cure.

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