Do you know what? I love Easter. It’s my favourite Bank Holiday weekend of the year. Spring is in the air (well most of the time), flowers are beginning to bloom and the kids are excited for the Easter Bunny to arrive with a few chocolate treats.

With that said, it’s also the Bank Holiday in which the majority of us overload on chocolate and wake up feeling groggy and tired. Listen, I’m not discounting myself here. I enjoy chocolate like the majority of you but I usually eat in moderation and have the dark variety apart from Easter. So I have woken today feeling less than my best and a little sluggish.

So why does chocolate make us feel that way ?

Well the simple answer is sugar. Sugar is one of the most addictive food sources around and is in most products you buy: bread? – Yes, crisps? – those too. What about a nice ready meal? – potentially more than a bar of chocolate. Sugar is converted to glucose which is your body’s preferred supply of energy. If you eat too much sugar then the supply of energy which is not needed is converted to fat. When I meet clients who advise that they don’t eat enough to be fat so really cannot understand why they are heavier than they wish to be then the first thing to look at is the simple carbohydrates in their diet. By reducing simple carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, pastries, chocolate, crisps etc) and replacing with complex carbohydrates (brown rice, wholemeal bread and reducing sugar) the weight begins to drop off.

One of the biggest myths around in my estimation is that fat makes you fat. Well no it doesn’t actually – sugar makes you fat. Let’s step away from the fat debate and talk about something equally as dangerous. Sugar fuels and causes many of the diseases which are prevalent in our society today. Diabetes, heart disease and chronic diseases such as cancer are all fuelled by sugar.

Don’t underestimate the power of sugar and the affect it has on you. You only have to look in the mirror this morning to see a puffy face, groggy head and lethargy to give you a wake up call.

If you want to kick the habit, instead of saying ‘my name is X and I am a sugar addict’, why don’t you give me a call to book an appointment and I can get you on the path to good health.

Happy, healthy Easter all.