A Love-Hate Relationship with Sugar

There’s something magical about sugar.
The moment it hits your tongue, it’s like your brain lights up. Sweet, creamy, sometimes citrusy, other times deep and caramelized. It’s comforting. It’s nostalgic. It brings back birthday cakes, holiday pies, a mother’s warm kitchen, or late-night ice cream runs with friends. Sugar makes us feel something—and that feeling, for me, is both bliss and betrayal.

It’s satisfying in the moment.
It tames cravings like no other.
It’s delicious, not just in taste, but in texture, aroma, and mouthfeel.

The crunch of a crème brûlée shell, the melt of a warm chocolate chip cookie, or the sticky swipe of honey on toast—it’s pure indulgence. Sugar doesn’t just sweeten food. It elevates it. It adds depth, balance, and a kind of emotional richness that taps into our most primal pleasures.

But then… there’s the aftermath.

It always leaves you wanting more. You’re rarely satisfied.
It’s hard to stop. One bite turns into three. Three into ten.
You crash. Hard. Brain fog, fatigue, and regret set in.
Skin suffers, breakouts, inflammation, eczema, neurodermatitis flare-ups.
Hormones swing out of control, especially for women: mood swings, PMS, anxiety, even depression.
It messes with your gut, your sleep, your focus.
It’s addictive. And we’re not just throwing that word around—it literally hijacks your brain like a drug.
For those with blood sugar concerns, it’s even more dangerous: a fast route to insulin resistance, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes.
And when combined with ultra-processed foods, sugar can increase inflammation tenfold.

It feels like betrayal, because while your taste buds celebrate, your body pays the price.

What counts as sugar?

We often think of sugar as just “white sugar,” but it shows up in many forms—some sneakier than others:

Cane Sugar
Brown Sugar
Coconut Sugar
Agave Nectar
Honey
Molasses
Date Syrup
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrates
Even “natural” sugars like melon syrup or maple

All of them cause a spike in blood glucose, some faster than others. And while a few have minor benefits (like trace minerals in molasses or antioxidants in honey), the glycemic impact is still real—and often high.

So what are the alternatives?

The market’s answer to our sugar addiction has been sugar substitutes—but not all substitutes are created equal.

Sugar alcohols are the "-tols": erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol. While they may be low-calorie or low-glycemic, they often come with digestive issues:

Bloating
Gas
Diarrhea
Stomach cramps

A recent 2023 study published in Nature Medicine raised heart health concerns, especially around erythritol and its potential link to increased clotting and cardiovascular events.

Even sucralose, saccharin, and acesulfame potassium have been associated with gut microbiome disruption and long-term metabolic effects. And let’s not even talk about that chemical aftertaste.

So where does that leave us? What are the trade-offs? We have to decide for ourselves!

Use sugar? Delicious, but damaging.
Use sugar alcohols? Gentler on blood sugar, but hard on the gut (and taste buds).
Cut everything out? Not sustainable.

It’s a lose-lose for most. Until I personally found something that changed my perspective.

Allulose Sweetener is a rare sugar found naturally in figs, raisins, and jackfruit, and now extracted and purified for broader use.

But what makes it special?

Zero glycemic impact
Zero insulin spike
No gut disruption
No strange aftertaste

It tastes like sugar. It feels like sugar. But it behaves nothing like sugar in your body.

Here’s what current science says:

Weight and Fat Loss: Study
Metabolic Health: Study
Gut Safety: Study
Neuroprotection: Insight
Blood Sugar Support: Study
Comprehensive Review: Study

And so far there has been not a single study that has shown bad signs / red flags.

Allulose has changed my relationship with sweets. I no longer feel like I’m sacrificing pleasure for health, or vice versa.

Why is it so hard to find sugar free groceries in stores?

Because added sugar is everywhere. Not just in desserts, but in:

Ketchup
Pasta sauce
Granola bars
Bread
Yogurt
“Healthy” cereals
Plant milks
Frozen meals

and the list goes on…

Walk through a grocery aisle and check the labels. Out of ten items you pick up, maybe two or three are truly free of added sugars or fake sweeteners. It’s exhausting.

My love for sugar will probably never go away. But I’ve learned how to outsmart it. To work with my cravings, not against them. To indulge with intention, and to choose sweeteners that respect my body, not wreck it.

Allulose has helped me strike a balance: joy and nourishment.
And while we still need more studies and longer-term research, what we do know is promising, and for now, it’s the cleanest tool I’ve found in the fight for better blood sugar, mental clarity, and hormone stability.

To learn more about Allulose sweetness please have a look at the linked research articles and decide for yourself if you want to give it a try.

Allulose sweetener is available in Target, on Amazon, Walmart (RX sugar) and comes in a crystal and syrup form.