Sugar makes the world go round

I found out why I have a hard time getting up in the morning. I know part of it is that I stay up too late, but when I go to bed earlier I am often as slow as before. So this could be another reason:

I eat too much sugar before bed. Over the years I've tried skipping that gigantic bowl of ice cream after dinner. But I get the biggest craving for it. We always got the kids when they were little to change into their pajamas by offering them a snack after they changed. It was their "jammie snack."

Years later, I figure I crave it because I need it. I was talking to a doctor recently who said she thought evening eating was just a habit. She's switched to graham crackers and milk.

I go through sugary phases. Lately it's chocolate ice cream or its various forms, such as Ben and Jerry's chocolate brownie sundae.

Of course there is a line of thinking that you shouldn't have any sugar at all, especially when cancer is involved.

I read a little piece in the March issue of "Runner's World" saying the culprit is too many carbohyrdrates in your last meal at night.

"If you skipped dinner or ate fast-digesting foods like rice, bread or sugar desserts, your glycogen levels will be depleted, making it even harder to muster the energy to get up.

"Prep for an early-morning run the night before. Eat slow-digesting carbs like broccoli, beans and lentils," the unnamed columnist writes. Set your coffee-maker to brew before you wake (you need to get as much sleep as possible). Also turn off your computer and TV at least 30 minutes before bed.

I told Katie we were having broccoli and lentils for dessert. (The other possibility is to skip dessert. Ouch!) I went to the store seeking lentils.

I couldn't find them, so I bought a bag of Oreos.

Sugar and cancer: Is there really a connection?

It's well after dark on Halloween, and, as usual, we haven't gotten many trick-or-treaters, because we live on a busy road. As usual, I bought a couple of bags of candy (Snickers and Tootsie Rolls), and, as usual, I began eating them a few days ago.

I have a really big sweet tooth. I go through phases. A couple of months ago it was Peanut M&Ms (thanks Ellen and Mike). A while ago it was dark chocolate, which I know is actually good for you, but I lost my taste for it. Lately I've been into double-stuffed Oreos (thanks a lot Deb) and Nestles Crunch bars. (Are we still boycotting Nestles? Ooops. I just looked it up and found out that the boycott, due to Nestle's marketing campaign of baby formula around the world to the detriment of breast-feeding, was dropped but is now reinstated.)

Every now and then some new study or publication comes out to remind me that refined sugar is bad for me, and that I really should quit. For me it's not about weight, because I've always been thin, except for when I gained my Freshman Fifteen thanks to the boxes of soft chewy Freihoffer chocolate chip cookies that seemed to be a staple in every dorm room at Vassar.

Once I read that the only way to quit sugar is cold turkey, and that when you do it, and are freed from the sugar lows that follow the highs, you feel great.

But it is a hard habit to break, and right now I don't feel up to it. Sugar is one of my main comfort foods; I don't usually pull out the "after all I've been through" excuse, but it's an excuse I make for myself, as in, "After all I've been through, I deserve to eat sweets if I want to."

Plus, I balance the unhealthful part of my diet with many "good" foods.

I was reminded of the topic by the recent publication of David Servan-Schreiber's book "Anticancer". The author, a doctor and survivor of a brain tumor, ties refined sugar to increased cancer risk. Mike Hamel summarizes the book well on his blog, Cells Behaving Badly.

A google search for "sugar and cancer" turns up pages and pages of entries suggesting a link between the two. An article on the The American Cancer Society website points out that it is not, however, a matter of direct cause and effect: "Sugar increases calorie intake without providing any of the nutrients that reduce cancer risk. By promoting obesity and elevating insulin levels, high sugar intake may indirectly increase cancer risk. White (refined) sugar is no different from brown (unrefined) sugar or honey with regard to their effects on body weight or insulin. Limiting foods such as cakes, candy, cookies, sweetened cereals, and high-sugar beverages such as soda can help reduce sugar intake."

I will continue to live by one of my late father's favorite mottos: "Everything in moderation."

That is, until I finish working my way through the rest of the Halloween candy.

In the meantime, I wonder what comfort foods other people like.