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As of earlier this year, what’s become even more popular than our obsession with low-fat diets (at least according to Google Trends) is our infatuation with quitting sugar. And while I’ve seen enough nutritionists, herbalists, and health coaches in my time to know low-fat diets are complete BS, there seems to be some merit to the idea of cutting out sugar.
The woman who made me question my sugar-eating habits is New York Times best-selling author, Instagram sensation, and activist Sarah Wilson. Like a lot of wellness influencers, Wilson became an industry name after treating an illness by adjusting her lifestyle naturally. She suffered from an autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) and was told by nutritionists to quit eating sugar to help alleviate her symptoms. She writes that she was a “covert addict,” convincing herself that because she ate “healthy sugars,” she wouldn’t be affected. “[I would eat] honey in my chai tea, dark chocolate every afternoon, and sweet treats after dinner,” Wilson writes on her website (sound familiar!"), adding, “But I soon learned, sugar is sugar, whether it comes from a beehive or a sugar cane field.” After cutting out all sugar, Wilson lost weight, no longer experiences 3 p.m. slumps in energy, and reports being able to manage her disease much better?she’s still sugar-free even five years later. She’s since released an ei...