There’s a wonderful story at the start of William Dufty’s bestselling book ‘Sugar Blues’, where he describes his first encounter with the biggest Hollywood star of the 1920s, Gloria Swanson.
William Dufty met Gloria Swanson at a lunchtime press conference held in a building on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Here’s what he remembers about their first encounter:
I unwrapped my sandwich, sprung the lid off my coffee jug, picked up a sugar cube. I was unpeeling it when I heard her commanding whisper: ‘That stuff is poison,’ she hissed. ‘I won’t have it in my house, let alone my body…’
I dropped the sugar cube. I notice the space in front of Miss Swanson was bare of clutter. She wasn’t having any of our picnic. She had brought her own – a piece of tree-ripened, unsprayed something. She offered me some. I had never tasted anything better in my life. I told her so.
‘It haunted me for days,’ he wrote. ‘Whenever I reached for those sugar tongs, I would draw back and think of her injunction.’
He’d been addicted to sugar since he was a child so changing the habit wasn’t easy. But he did it. Within five months he had dropped all his excess weight, from 205 pounds (93 Kg) down to 135 pounds (61 Kg), and all his chronic health problems melted away too. In his own words, ‘I ended up with a new body, a new head, a new life.’ He also eventually ended up with a new wife, marrying the illustrious Gloria Swanson some years later.
Giving up sugar
I first read William Dufty’s book in 1987 and immediately gave up sugar myself. Reading the book has that effect. It wakes you up to how we’ve all been duped into thinking that sugar is a harmless treat, when in fact it’s a toxic substance that is a major factor in obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses, and which pours massive profits into the coffers of multinational corporations who don’t give a hoot about our health. Any time sugar starts straying back into my diet, I read the book again and I’m back to zero sugar in a matter of days.
At first, it takes a fair amount of willpower to give up sugar, but after the addiction has gone, which most people find takes only two to four weeks, living sugar-free settles into a balanced way of life. When I see something sweet on a supermarket shelf now, I sometimes fondly remember the taste. But then I remember the agenda of the giant sugar industry behind it and the after-effects I would feel in my body if I ate it, and I happily walk away.
The truth about sugar
What most people don’t realize about sugar is that it has a very dark history. Its cultivation lay at the heart of the development of the slave trade, and the lucrative income from sugar taxes was the main reason governments turned a blind eye to the issue for so long. Nowadays, the blind eye is being turned to the issue of everyone’s health.
The fact is that sugar has no nutritional content. In fact, it actively leaches vitamins and minerals from the body. In an emergency situation, you will live longer if you eat nothing rather than eating sugar.
A woman who came to one of my workshops gave a memorable testimony to this. She told how she had been in a Nazi concentration camp and wisely didn’t eat the sugar cubes or candy bars that were handed out by well-meaning American rescuers. She survived. Those who ate them died in agony very quickly.
Another story I often heard repeated when I lived in Bali was about some nursing mothers whose breast milk had dried up because they had no food to eat during a period of national hardship. They hit upon the idea of feeding their babies sugar water and sadly, all their babies died. The babies who were fed plain water were emaciated, but most of them lived.
Hidden sugar
Sugar is now in so many foods, disguised in the form of corn syrup, rice syrup, molasses, barley malt, maltodextrin, and just about everything ending in -ose (fructose, glucose, sucrose, sucralose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, and so on). Even so-called healthy forms of sugar such as honey, maple syrup, agave, brown sugar, coconut sugar, and fruit juice concentrate affect the body in the same way. Honey, for example, has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar, so does not cause blood sugar levels to spike as quickly, but it has a lot more calories and affects our organs just as much as other sugars do.
If you check the labels on packets, you’ll find sugar is in foods you might not have suspected, such as bread, soups, sauces, salad dressings, health bars, yoghurts, baked beans, and most breakfast cereals. Sushi, on average, contains a tablespoon of sugar for each cup of rice, and sugar is commonly injected into processed meats. The list goes on and on. Even natural fruit is so much sweeter now than it used to be that we need to limit its consumption. Many nutritionists recommend only one or two pieces of fruit a week, or even none at all. And, of course, high levels of sugar are in all fruit juices, soft drinks, energy drinks, and alcohol.
To learn more about hidden sugar, there’s a very informative film featuring Hugh Jackman and Stephen Fry called That Sugar Film. Written, directed by, and starring Damon Gameau, it documents what happens when he starts eating so-called healthy foods that are laden with sugar after being sugar-free for three years. Here’s a preview of what it reveals:
I ate 40 tablespoons of sugar a day. This is what happened.
In the UK, multiple tooth extractions resulting from extreme tooth decay are now the main reason why children are admitted to hospital, and according to Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England, the cost of treating obesity has risen to more than the national spending on the police, fire, and judiciary combined. The situation is completely out of control. Jamie Oliver’s successful campaign for a UK tax on sugar drinks was a step in the right direction but a drop in the ocean of educational change that’s needed.
Why we like sugar
To appreciate why so many people are hooked on sugar, it’s necessary to understand that it is not just chemically addictive. It also affects us at a subtle body level. The rush that comes from consuming sugar is not as intense as the high that comes from taking drugs such as heroin or cocaine, but it has some similarities. We crave sugar because it creates a thrill that can be felt in the blood stream and brain within minutes, and it mimics some of the natural feelings of well-being that accompany high spiritual states of consciousness. However, as with drugs, it’s a false high that is always followed by a crash, making us want to consume more to experience the thrill again.
You may be interested to know that this roller-coaster effect is one of the main reasons why it’s a prerequisite for the professional space clearing practitioners Richard and I train that they eliminate sugar from their diet. If their blood sugar is constantly surging up and down, it will seriously skew their perception and they will not be able to accurately feel, interpret, and work with energies in buildings. And if they rely on false highs to get them through the day, they will not be able to access the high-level spiritual platform from which an authentic space clearing ceremony is conducted. Excessive sweetness in the blood also puts them more at risk for picking up entities in the buildings they clear because it’s very common for entities to be attracted to sugar.
How to quit sugar
As the title of this article suggests, sugar is a form of clutter in the body, and the key to quitting it is the same as for clearing clutter. It begins with a fundamental change of standpoint.
In the same way that many people become motivated to clear out the junk in their home when they realize it’s a liability rather than an asset, so it becomes very much easier to reduce your sugar intake or eliminate it completely when you see how you’ve been conned into wanting it. You may have grown up with it, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep consuming it. You may like it, but your taste buds can be re-educated. You may think you need it, but when you get past the craving, you won’t feel that way anymore.
The bottom line is, if your life isn’t sweet enough, eating sugar won’t fix that. In fact, it will eventually add to your woes in the form of brain fog, lethargy or health issues in one form or another.
In our impatient, fast-paced, quick-fix, instant gratification world, it’s easy to see why so many people seek the easily available satisfaction of sugar. But in the same way that sugar offers only empty calories, so the main psychological ailment of modern times is an empty and meaningless life. There are other factors involved, of course, but there’s a clear connection between the two.
Copyright © Clear Space Living Ltd 2017, updated 2023
Related article
Snacking between meals is a form of clutter in your diet
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I can recommend some other books on sugar for inspiration:
Taube, Gary: The case against sugar (Tracks the history of sugar and the movement of the product across the world. Effects on the body.)
Lustig, Robert: Fat Chance: Beating the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity and and disease.
Hardman, Blair and David A. Kessler MD: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite (This was interesting because contemporary processed food is specifically designed to create hunger. Book refers to things like ‘mouth feel’. Food is made to melt in your mouth; it doesn’t even have to be chewed!).
Thank you for this article, Karen and also to the comments and responses. This is very time appropriate – for me – information. We think we know it all, but often that extra nudge is what we need.
Hello Karen,
Your articles are always very interesting. I really enjoy reading them. You say you have given up sugar, but it is also in many healthy foods, so what exactly do you eat, may I ask?
Kind regards from someone who wants to give up sugar too.
Karen
To help you with this, here’s a link to an article written by someone who followed Sarah Wilson’s ‘I Quit Sugar’ programme.
Hi Karen
You mention your practitioners are more likely to pick up entities if they consume sugar as entities like sweetness. Are you able to set why this is, and also, what happens to a practitioner if they pick up an entity – what are the symptoms? I find this very interesting! Thanks.
Hi Kate – There is no quick answer I can provide to your question because it requires a lot of background knowledge that I would have to provide first. I will be including information about this in the new space clearing book I am writing and if you would like to read up on this topic in more depth, the best book I have ever found is Entities: Parasites of the Body of Energy by Samuel Sagan. The link I have provided takes you to my online store, but if you live in the US it will be more cost-effective to purchase it directly from the Clairvision School.
Thanks Karen!
Hi Karen,
I was reading through your post again and have an addition to my comment:
I just remembered how many times I was being offered and had to refuse “a little treat for the children” when I went shopping with them: at the drugstore, at the fish-monger, at the shoe store (even when we did not buy anything) just to name a few. A lot of times the sales person did not even ask me if it was ok, but handed the candy directly to my children! (How can you be so inconsiderate!)
I am glad that my children have been “trained” by me from early on not to take this so they never actually complained when I handed it back. But it is not a nice feeling for a mother! And I must admit that I did not always say no. Sometimes I would let them take it “for later” (and hope that they would forget about it which they sometimes actually did!) and on a few occasions, I would allow them to eat it right away.
I wonder what it is like in other countries, but here in Germany it seems to become a habit.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for this post!
I have not eaten any refined sugar in any form (also no honey, maple sirup, dried fruits etc. ) only moderate amounts of fresh fruit for more than 18 years and I wish more people would do the same. It is doable, you live well without it and you don´t deprive yourself from anything!
I had three “sugarfree” pregnancies and was very observant with my first child. But when he was about two years old he was introduced to ice-cream by a relative. Well, time to let go of my overall control.
Today my children are 13, ten and six. They have birthday cakes, ice-cream, candy bars etc. Fast food restaurants and soft-drinks are still a no-go.; I wonder how long!
I can only hope and trust that the foundation I laid is solid, gave them a good start, and enables them to make healthy decisions.
Thank you Karen for this information.
We have now watched ‘That Sugar Film’ and were shocked, especially about the small aboriginal town that was losing people to sugar caused diseases. Also, the low income Americans losing their teeth because of sugar in lolly water drinks. Even babies are having mountain dew in their bottle.
We have been enjoying fruit bread for afternoon tea and were shocked to find that two slices contains eight (8) teaspoons of sugar; no wonder we’re gaining weight, just didn’t realize.
Peace, Gail
Australia
Hello Karen
Yes I am aware of sugar but didn’t realise honey and coconut palm sugar which is what I would substitute are also a problem. I will get a hold of the book. However what do you recommend to do for our children. Our meals are very limited and we don’t indulge in lollies, soft drinks, juices… We do at times have a cake, muffin. Anyway this is challenging as their friends have lollies and they ask and want these sweet treats. They find their ways to get the lollies from friends at schools or at playdates… it is hard to monitor and I rather none but excluding can also be a problem as then they do it behind your back. Perhaps if more parents avoided sugar this would filter down to our children too. x Cindy x (p.s. enjoy your return to Australia, we enjoy your books and newsletters).
It’s likely to take a generation or two for this situation to change but the escalating health costs of the obesity epidemic, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay are causing governments to finally have to admit sugar consumption is a problem. This has led to more public awareness about the issue, with articles appearing in the press. Education really is key, which is why reading the book ‘Sugar Blues’ is such a game-changer, and documentaries such as ‘That Sugar Film’ are essential (it’s been created in such a way that it is informative and entertaining for both adults and children).
I read about some scientific research recently that shows that babies’ tastes are highly influenced by what their mother eats during pregnancy, so hopefully there will come a time when mothers are advised not just to stop smoking and drinking during pregnancy but also to stop eating sugar.
The food industry also needs to be much more regulated to reduce the massive quantities of sugar that are added to food. In ‘That Sugar Book’, the author cites the example of zookeepers in Devon, UK, who had to stop feeding their monkeys bananas from the local supermarket because they were genetically engineered to have too high a sugar content, which was affecting the monkeys’ behaviour.
Thank you for putting me back on the tracks again. I read Duffy’s book also inthe eighties and lived sugarfree for years. But lost it somehow , I do not eat loads of the stuff, but still: eating a bit of sugar on a regular basis is just as bad. I ‘ll start right away, no sweet desert tonight nor in weeeeeks to come!!!
It’s the right time of year to start this, after carnival and until easter (by then we’ll have killed the habit)
Thank you for this post, Karen. I was introduced to Dufty’s book in 1971 and it has impacted my life ever since. I don’t eat added sugar in any form and also don’t eat tropical fruits or super sweet fruits like grapes. I am so grateful for you bringing this information to your followers. Most people have no awareness of how damaging sugar is on so many levels, so many are truly suffering both emotionally and physically. Since you helped so many people with improving their lives, I hope readers will take this advice to heart and give it a try. It is life-changing.
Hi, Karen.
Would you recommend quitting sugar (as much as possible – if I could…) before I do space clearing my own house? Thank you.
PS: I was shocked to discover that some cat food contains sugar! No wonder many cats lose their teeth when they are older.
Hi Yoko
I explain in this article how sugar affects the skills of space clearing practitioners, but it is not necessary for anyone simply wishing to space clear their own home to give up sugar. This is only needed at professional level.