“Sweet Lies”: How Sugar Is Silently Sabotaging Our Minds and Our Youth

🍬“Sweet Lies”: How Sugar Is Silently Sabotaging Our Minds and Our Youth

In the Gye-Nyame Journey, we constantly talk about reclaiming control of our lives—our thoughts, our time, our energy. But one of the biggest saboteurs of that control might be sitting right in your pantry, masked behind a thousand names.

That saboteur is sugar.

The Hidden Chains of Sugar

Sugar is more than just a sweetener—it's an addictive substance that hijacks the brain’s reward system. Studies have shown that sugar can be more addictive than cocaine in animal tests. It lights up the same neural pathways and leaves the body craving more. When we talk about freedom, health, and liberation, we cannot ignore this powerful substance that’s quietly shaping our moods, our waistlines, and our willpower.

Eliminating or drastically reducing sugar is like breaking invisible chains. You think clearer. Your energy levels stabilize. Your mood improves. You sleep better. Your skin glows. And most importantly, you begin to reclaim control over your body and mind—both tools required for warriors, nationbuilders, and healers.

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🧠 Sugar, Students & Struggle

Now here’s where it gets personal.

As someone who works with youth daily, I’ve noticed a hard truth: many of our students who struggle with behavior, focus, and emotional regulation are also consuming massive amounts of sugar—sometimes without even realizing it.

Their day may begin with cereal (sugar), fruit juice (more sugar), a pack of “fruit” snacks (even more sugar), and maybe a soda or energy drink (a sugar bomb). By the time they step into the classroom, they’re on a sugar rollercoaster—with highs of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and then the dreaded crash of fatigue and irritability.

This is not a character flaw—it’s chemistry.

And when we, as elders, teachers, and mentors, fail to recognize this, we discipline when we should be detoxing.

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🔍 Finding the Hidden Sugars

You may think you’re avoiding sugar because you don’t eat candy or drink soda. But sugar is a master of disguise. To spot it, you need to become a label detective.

Here’s a powerful tool: look for ingredients that end in “-ose”. These are often hidden sugars. Keep an eye out for:

• Glucose
  
  

• Fructose
  
  

• Sucrose
  
  

• Dextrose
  
  

• Maltose
  
  

• Lactose
  
  

• High-Fructose Corn Syrup (the king of trouble)
  
  

Even foods marketed as “healthy” (like granola bars, protein shakes, or yogurt) can be loaded with sweeteners.

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🛠 How to Start Detoxing Sugar (and Help Our Youth Do the Same)

We don’t need perfection—we need intention. Here are steps to start eliminating excess sugar from your life and community:

1. Start with water – Replace sugary drinks with water, herbal tea, or fruit-infused water. Even this one step is powerful.
   
   

2. Read every label – If sugar (or any “-ose”) is one of the first three ingredients, put it back.
   
   

3. Swap for whole foods – Choose whole fruits over juices or fruit snacks. The fiber in whole fruits slows down sugar absorption.
   
   

4. Educate our youth – Have conversations about what’s in their snacks. Let them be label detectives too. Empowerment starts young.
   
   

5. Create sugar-free zones – Classrooms, community spaces, or even one meal a day that is intentionally sugar-free.
   
   

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🍯 Closing Thought: “A Spoonful of Poison Doesn’t Taste Bitter… Until It’s Too Late”

We can’t afford to keep feeding our children substances that keep them unfocused, irritable, and stuck in a cycle of highs and crashes—especially when we’re trying to build a strong, conscious, and liberated generation.

So today, as part of your personal and communal self-mastery practice, ask yourself:

“What sweetness is blocking my strength?”

And then take one step toward reclaiming your mind and your health.