Sugar is evil. I know no food should technically be completely prohibited but I think sugar should be the exception. Just think about it. It is like a drug. It is addictive. We get sugar highs. Need our sugar fix. We are chocoholics. We crave sweets.

During the holiday season, I told myself that I would have just one of my sister-in-law’s famous chocolate covered peanut butter balls. It didn’t happen. The decorated sugar cookies weren’t safe either. I didn’t have a hard time resisting my brother’s traditional Christmas cookies because they just didn’t taste the same. He finally admitted he used pancake mix instead of flour. They were in similar containers. Only a man who bakes cookies once a year would get the two mixed up.

The worst thing about sugar is the more you eat, the more you want. I am sure there is a technical, medical reason for why our bodies crave sweets but all I know is it is a slippery slope once you start consuming desserts, candies and soft drinks on a regular basis. You just don’t want to stop.

In “Lick the Sugar Habit” by Dr. Nancy Appleton, she lists 76 ways sugar can ruin your health. Number one on that list is, “Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.” Is it any wonder that we get sick around the holidays. Appleton goes on to say there is documented evidence that high sugar intake can be a contributing factor in many diseases including diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. If we listen to our bodies, we can feel the negative effects of sugar. I never hear someone say, “Boy, I feel great after eating that brownie.”

Sugar, or some form of it, is in so many things. The average American consumes 142 pounds of sugar a year. Processed foods are full of high fructose corn syrup which may be the worst sweetener for the human body. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to insulin resistance and obesity. Soft drinks made with high fructose corn syrup are the No. 1 source of calories in the United States.

Consuming just one soft drink a day for a year will cause 15 pounds of weight gain. Wow! Now, look at it in reverse. By eliminating just this one item from your diet, you could conceivably lose 15 pounds. Drinking calories seems to cause the greatest weight gain. Empty calories are stored immediately as fat.

Once you break the sugar habit, it is easier to resist the daily consumption of sweets. You may even find the things you ate or drank before are now too sweet for you. You may be able to detect the more subtle sweetness in foods you never thought were sweet before, such as some vegetables, grains and nuts. When you do use sweeteners, cane sugar and honey are better alternatives. Artificial sweeteners are not good choices because of their negative health effects and they also keep us needing and expecting that sweet taste.

We live at “Ground Zero” for diabetes. Our community needs to take a serious look at our individual and collective responsibility to make the necessary changes to reverse the current course we are on. Before putting out those delicious cookies, donuts and soft drinks at the next community or business gathering, we could try to offer healthier options. After all, would we serve addictive drugs at the church potluck or chamber of commerce event? Of course not.

So, maybe we can collectively make an effort to not serve the addictive and destructive foods that contribute to the decline in health for thousands of people in the Coastal Bend. A friend of mine recently attended a meeting where they offered water in glass pitchers with ice and slices of fresh lemons, oranges and limes. It was visually pleasing and the taste was refreshing and light. What a great idea! I have seen beautiful fruit and vegetable trays at events that were the main attraction.

We can change how we treat our bodies and make a difference in our health. But, it may be best not to rely on our own willpower to refrain from eating the tempting sugar-filled delights. If we keep those tasty sweet treats out of sight and out of our minds then we stand a chance of stopping the sugar demon from ravaging our bodies.