Not long ago, a close friend came to visit.
He’s ten years younger than me and he was recovering from prostate cancer surgery.
Sitting with him as he told me about his regrets hit me hard.
It made me think of my dad (prostate cancer), my brother (brain tumor), and my grandma (colon cancer). Cancer seems to run in my family, and I don’t want to look back one day wishing I’d done more.
In that moment, I choose once again to follow the path of least regret.
I can’t change my genes, but I can make my choices. So I decided to quit one of the biggest precursors of cancer - SUGAR!
Confession time: Yes, I used to be a sugar addict.
From the time I was four, I was given sweets by my grandma, when my sister and I refused the regular meal. I guess she meant well but boy, oh boy, she had no idea she planted the seeds of a very bad habit.
Chocolate, pastries, Christmas cookie galore, you name it — I loved them all. But when I cut sugar out completely three months ago, everything changed.
I sleep through the night — no more waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. My hay fever episodes are gone.
As a kid, I used to catch a cold almost every Christmas, and now I realize, it was likely due to too many sweets. And now, after I quit sugar, it seems like when everyone else is getting colds, I don’t catch one.
I feel clearer, sharper. And I look a little leaner too.
It was my partner Dean’s 70th birthday last week and, and allowed myself to have a piece of cake.
The cake was good, but I felt it was way too sweet, and I couldn’t sleep a wink that night.
Since I have not been eating sugar for the past three months, that cake was a reminder that sugar really does mess with the brain and metabolism.
Research suggests that cutting back on sugar might be the single best way to improve your health and extend your lifespan.
In fact, doctors at Harvard, UCLA, and the World Health Organization agree that reducing sugar not only cuts risks like obesity but also, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and fatty liver disease.
And the best part is, you’ll feel the changes in days and weeks, not months.
If sugar is so rotten for us, why is it often so hard to cut back?
One reason is our biology.
We evolved during a time when access to food was unpredictable, and in order for us to survive, nature made us crave calorie-rich food.
Back then, access to sugar was scarce — today it’s everywhere. Eating sugar triggers a similar addiction response as alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.
This is what all the Sugar Corporations know. They have lobbied governments to subsidize sugar crops and added and hid sugar in everything.
Today, roughly 74% of packaged foods in the U.S. contain added sugar, often under sneaky names like “fructose,” “dextrose,” or “fruit juice concentrate.”
The more sugar there is in food, the more we crave it.
I am saying this so you do not blame yourself. But awareness can help.
Here are six strategies that helped me eliminate sugar — and might work for you too.
1. Cut Added Sugar Completely
I cut out added sugar completely. No sodas, no desserts, no “just one cookie.” The only exception I give myself is one dessert a month.
I know, that sounds extreme — one dessert?! — especially if you, like me, have battled a sweet tooth since childhood.
But once you retrain your palate, you stop missing it. And there are plenty of healthier ways to satisfy your sweet tooth without undoing your progress.
2. Choose Whole Fruit, Not Juice
Fruit gets a bad rap, but when eaten whole it’s actually your ally. The fiber in berries, apples, or even bananas slows down sugar absorption so you don’t get the same blood-sugar spike you’d get from juice or candy.
One study even showed that diets rich in whole fruit can significantly lower your risk of diabetes. [1]
My go-tos are blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries — sweet, satisfying, and loaded with antioxidants.
Skip the juice (which is basically liquid sugar) and go for the whole fruit. Yes, that means no orange juice for breakfast.
3. Lean on Protein
Cravings often mean your body needs fuel, not sugar. That’s where protein comes in.
A protein meal, spoonful of almond butter, a handful of nuts, hummus with veggies, or even a clean sugar free protein shake fills you up and helps keep blood sugar steady.
4. Avoid Hidden Sugars
Sugar isn’t just in candy and cake. It sneaks into wine, dried fruit, white rice, flavored chips, and so-called “healthy” snack and protein bars.
These can spike your glucose just the same as soda. The only way to know for sure? Read labels. If you see names like fructose, maltose, or “fruit juice concentrate,” that’s sugar in disguise.
Here’s a list of 61 names for sugar that companies often use to sneak sugar into their products.
5. Use “Blinders” in Grocery Stores
When I walk past the junk food aisles, I literally don’t let myself see them — tunnel vision straight ahead. It’s like wearing mental blinders.
Another hack: stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, where you’ll find fresh produce, meats, and whole foods.
The inner aisles is where sugar hides.
6. Try the Superstition Trick
When my mom was trying to quit smoking, I told her: “Imagine every cigarette takes a day off a loved one’s life.”
That may sound intense — but it worked. You can use the same trick for sugar.
Imagine every soda or spoonful of sugar takes a week off your dog’s life. Would you still drink it?
It’s a little harsh, but sometimes we need that jolt to break free of sugar’s grip.
Today’s blog was about humans, not dogs. But let’s be honest: if we burn ourselves out with sugar, our pups pay the price.
They depend on us for their best life. So taking care of ourselves is one of the most loving things we can do for them!
Scientific Reference
1 Muraki, I., et al. Fruit consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three prospective longitudinal cohort studies. BMJ, vol. 347, 2013, p. f5001.
