The holiday season is here! What a wonderful time with a flurry of family, friends and gatherings. But, with the holidays come stress. I want to show you how to feel “happier” now and throughout the year.

Do you feel like your life is a whirlwind of ups and downs? Are your emotions about as stable as a roller coaster ride?

The solution to your woes might not be as complicated as you’d imagine.

In fact, there’s a simple way to:

• Stabilize your mood
• Fight off depression and other mental illnesses
• Balance your hormones
• Help you feel more focused and stay on your A-game

It’s not a magic pill or anything crazy—instead just going back to how humans ate for hundreds of thousands of years.

Sugar and Depression

By simply eliminating sugar from your diet, you can experience the peace of mind for which you long. BDNF is an important hormone that influences brain function. Sugar consumption suppresses this hormone, which is already low in people with depression and other mental health problems. In countries with higher rates of depression, there’s typically higher levels of sugar consumption as well.

Sugar and Memory

Too much sugar makes it harder to remember things and potentially causes permanent memory problems.

Sugar and Mood Swings

The endless ups and downs of mood swings are caused by a hormonal imbalance, which sugar exacerbates. Many people rely on sugar as a main energy source and become slaves to fluctuating blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar results in emotional lows while high blood sugar creates a sense of well-being— which is inevitably followed by a drop. And the cycle continually repeats itself.

When you get off the sugar, the roller coaster stops. Your blood sugar levels stabilize, and your body begins to come back into balance. Life becomes peaceful again. The trivial things don’t bother you as much, and you become more resilient to life’s inevitable surprises.

Knowing what sugar does to your body makes it so much easier to make wise food choices. You no longer must depend on sheer determination (which is fleeting at best) when you smell Grandma’s apple pie. Now you can enjoy a small piece with confidence and resist eating half the pie because you know the harmful effects aren’t worth the momentary pleasure.

In Health and Happiness,

Amy Ramsey