The reasons to give up sugar, or at least reduce your intake are endless. While doing so isn’t always so easy, the benefits are worth it, as added sugar has been proven to have negative effects on your body.
The Good
- Cutting sugar can protect you against the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
- You’ll notice an overall alertness during the day.
- It will lighten your mood.
- It will reduce cravings.
- Your immune system will thank you.
The hard
Cutting added sugar from your diet may lead to a number of emotional and mental symptoms in the beginning.
- Anxiety. You may feel like you have less patience than usual and are on edge.
- Changes in sleep patterns. You might find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night this is mostly due to blood sugar levels.
- Cognitive issues. You may find it difficult to concentrate when you quit sugar. This can cause you to forget things and make it hard to focus on tasks, such as work or school.
- You will most likely suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, nausea, or dizziness.
All this might have you reaching for another chocolate! But keep the distance, fortunately it doesn’t get much worse and these symptoms are usually only in the initial phases of a detox withdrawal.
For some people, cutting all forms of added sugar from their diet is helpful. However, others may find this method too extreme. Fortunately, even making small changes to your sugar intake can significantly affect your overall health.
The How
STEP 1: Restock your grocery cupboard.
Read labels. Many foods and condiments have sneaky sources of added sugar. Identify where the added sugars are coming from in your diet. It’s often secretly lurking in peanut butter spreads, yogurt, crackers, bread, and other refined products. Swap them out for healthier choices made from whole foods.
STEP 2: Healthy hydrate
At the end of a day many unnecessary calories will be added to your RDA by drinks laden with sugar. Replace sweetened drinks with water. Add some mint or slices of lemon for zest and flavour. End the day with a hot cup of tea. Make your coffee creamy and sweet with a few drops of stevia and some warm oat milk instead of traditional sugar.
STEP 3: Load up on protein and fiber
Fill up on colourful, fresh foods and plenty of veggies, protein, fiber, and healthy fats like avocados. Ensuring you’re getting enough nutrition, vitamins, and minerals can help curb cravings. Rethink dessert. Greek yogurt with berries and unsweetened coconut. Eat something bitter, eating bitter foods may help prevent sugar cravings by acting on receptors in the brain that drive sugar intake. Snack on fresh fruit. Naturally sweet, fruit can help satisfy sugar cravings.
STEP 4: Move it
Short bouts of exercise, such as a brisk 15-minute walk, reduced cravings for sugary foods. A gentle walk will improve your mood by releasing endorphins. Exercise will help you manage your stress levels and maintain good sleep rhythms.
For a sugar detox aim for 5 days of absolutely no sugars and 30 days if you are aiming only to reduce your overall sugar intake. Remember to break a habit, one must replace it with another
behaviour.
Occasionally enjoying a sugary treat will not derail your efforts or overall health. It’s your overall diet quality that matters most. The average male consuming 2500 calories a day should ideally consume no more than 30 g of sugar per day and for a woman eating a diet of 2000 daily calories, sugar should be less than 25g. For a great step by step eating plan and easy to make sugarless recipes visit https://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2021/03/sugar-detox.html
Date Published: 15 June 2021
