‘Sugar was my pimp’

“I am Karen Thomson. I am a sugar addict. If I start using I can’t stop.”

This is how Thomson introduced herself at Stop Sugarcoating the Truth, held at the Cheese Gourmet in Linden on Tuesday.

Thomson is the foudner of Harmony Eating and Lifestyle Program, the first sugar addiction treatment programme in the world.

“I was also addicted to cocaine and I was an alcoholic. And sugar is by the far the worst addiction to kick. I fight it every day.”

Thomson is the granddaughter of famous heart surgeon Chris Barnard. “Addiction runs in my family,” she said.

“When I was young I used sugar to soothe myself, and to change the way I feel. To me Coca Cola and flake represented love. I wasn’t good at verbalising my feelings and emotions, but sugar calmed me down. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have feelings. It’s the opposite, I have big feelings, my emotions feels like they’ll overwhelm and kill me.”

When she was fourteen she entered the world of modelling. “Of course, that’s where I picked up my other addictions. Cocaine and alcohol entered my life. On the outside my life looked amazing, I jet-setted to many different countries, but I was so empty. And I ended up very sad and alone.”

It became worse. “I was at rock bottom. I lost my will to live at the age of 24. And then I entered a clinic for drug and alcohol addiction. There I learnt I had an eating disorder.”

Thomson decided to assess how much sugar she was having. It was 26 teaspoons every day.

“Sugar was my pimp. My drug dealer was the garage. Now I choose not to buy my food where I buy my petrol.”

She tried to kick the sugar habit physically by initially following a high protein, low fat, low carb diet. She had to switch to Bunting though.“Emotionally I had to identify my triggers, and then find something proactive to do like go for a walk instead of feeding my needs with food.”

It took a long time, but along with her Tim Noakes-approved diet plan she succeeded. She now has to avoid sugar entirely, a whiff of the white stuff can make her relapse. “Look, this is not deprivation, it’s a choice,” she said with steely determination.

“I choose not to have sugar and carbs. It’s not a death sentence, it’s a wonderful new way of living.”

Sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine, and the human brain reacts to it the same way as it does to cocaine.

“I challenge you Johannesburg,” Thompson said, eyes twinkling, “Go on the 21 day sugar free challenge. It’s simple, no sugar for 21 days. See how it works for you.”