Were you aware that the average American consumes about 152 pounds of sugar a year. That breaks down to roughly 22 teaspoons a day for each person in America.
High sugar intake has been directly related to obesity, type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, ADHD, acne, heart disease, and infertility.
The sad truth is that sugar addiction is not an emotional disorder - sugar cravings are a biological disorder, fueled by the body’s hormones and neurotransmitters. This often leads to uncontrolled eating, which in turn gives cause to the reason why nearly 70 percent of Americans are considered overweight.
Other Negative Affects Besides Health Concerns
Aside from the toll sugar takes on your health, here are some other ways sugar affects you negatively:
- Sugar affects motivation by reducing dopamine, the motivation neurochemical in your brain.
- Sugar causes brain fog by spiking the hormone insulin, which gives you the rush after you eat sugar. The spike, then, leads to a crash as your insulin plummets.
- Consuming sugar only provides temporary satisfaction, which can lead to overeating as we try to satiate by eating more.
- High sugar consumption causes tooth decay.
Now that you have read some of the scary truths about sugar consumption, the best way to see for yourself the effect sugar is having on your body and mind is to try cutting it out for at least 14 days.
Breaking yourself away from your sugar addiction has a cycle of 14 days. First, your body will be screaming mad at you. But, when you make it past the first 3-5 days you will start to feel the benefits of your body being off sugar.
How To Detox Your Body From Sugar
Before you start a detox, it is a good idea to have a plan in place, because the cravings will be shockingly strong for the first few days. Here are some steps to follow to help get you ready:
Get in the Right Mindset Prepare yourself by making the decision to clear your body of sugar. This is important because you won’t have success if you don’t set your mind to it.
Eat a Healthy Diet Focus on eating healthy carbs, proteins, and especially healthy fats. Eating healthily will help you feel better as your body starts its detox.
Build New Routines It is hard to stop any addictive behavior cold turkey, so to soften the withdrawal it is best to approach your detox by gearing up with small changes to your routine, such as cutting cream and sugar from your morning coffee or cutting down on any beverages with sugar throughout the day.
Throw Out the Sugar Get rid of all the candies and sweets you have in your pantry. And be sure to read those ingredient lists! Added sugar can take on many names. There are at least 61!
Here are just a few:
-agave nectar
-sucrose
-high fructose corn syrup
- beet sugar
- maltose
-dextrose
-dextrin
-glucose
Low Glycemic Sugar Alternatives
Now, we are getting rid of our bodies from the added sugar. The added sugar is how companies get you hooked. It is the most addictive.
Ever heard of Oreos being just as, if not more, addictive than drugs? That's because of the added sugar they use.
Added sugar is the villain.
Natural occurring sugars in things such as fruit is ok in a small amount.
Just because we are detoxing our body from sugar doesn't mean we can't have a little sweetness. We just need to be smart about it. We need to have a different kind of sweet.
Here are better sugar alternatives to be on the lookout for:
- Erythritol
- Coconut Sugar
- Raw, unfiltered honey
- Pure maple syrup
- Stevia
-Naturally occurring sugars in fruits in small amounts
A rule of thumb I like to use when I'm looking at something new is when I look at the nutrition label, it has to have NO added sugars and 5 grams of natural sugar or less.
If it's fruit, I only buy fresh fruit so I'm not getting the juice and/or syrup from the cans.
If it doesn't fit this rule of thumb, I don't get it from the store. I didn't take it home with me so I'm not tempted to eat it.
Comments