Maylin Rodriguez-Paez, RN
If you’ve read our previous blog posts and magazine articles, you’re probably well-aware of the fact that excess sugar is not exactly good for you.
In fact, it's linked to a variety of health problems such as dyslipidemia and diabetes,1 heart disease,2 dementia,3 and even cancer.4
But rather than just rehash this information, we’re going to focus on how to kick your sugar habit for good today.
Why? Because if you want to be healthy, you need to kick sugar out of your diet.
Step One: Acknowledge “The Addiction”If you think you have a “sugar addiction,” you’re probably onto something. There’s evidence showing that this can be a real problem for certain people.
In lab studies, rats that binge on sugar show two key elements of addiction: craving and relapse. And when they’re denied sugar, they actually display withdrawal symptoms like anxiety.5
Why? Because sugar produces profound changes in their brains, similar to what happens when they’re given drugs like cocaine and morphine.5 And it’s not much different for humans either.
Research shows that people who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely to have a “sweet tooth.” In fact, eating sugar may cause the release of endorphins and dopamine,6 which may also happen during drug abuse.
Overall, the biological pathways of “sugar addiction” involve similar receptors and brain regions as for drug addiction. So it’s no wonder that slice of cake makes you feel good and keeps you coming back for more.
Step 2: Get Rid of Obvious and Hidden Sources of SugarIf you’re going to remove sugar from your diet, you need to do it wholeheartedly. Take a good look at all of your food labels at home and look for hidden sources of sugar. Even your so called “health foods” may contain plenty of it.
Here is a list of some common "hidden sugar" offenders to avoid:
|Whole grain bread||Whole grain cereals|
|Whole wheat breads||Mixed drinks|
|Marinades||Store bought sauces (Asian, tomato, BBQ, etc.)|
|Plain yogurt||Trail mix|
|Dried fruits||Granola bars|
|Protein bars||Protein drinks|
|Frozen dinners||Health drinks|
And don’t forget the “white offenders” too (white bread, white pasta, potatoes, white rice, etc.). They may not have added sugars, but they’re just as addictive. Avoid these as well!
Step 3: Know sugar by its different namesIn a semi-clever attempt to disguise sugar, food manufacturers use fancy names on their food labels to mask it. Surprised?
For this reason, you should be familiar with (and avoid) these as well:
|Sorghum syrup||Carob syrup|
|Refiner’s syrup||Corn syrup solids|
|Brown rice syrup||Maltodextrin|
By the way, if you want to make it easier for yourself, avoid all prepackaged foods and simply don’t eat out at restaurants. This way you’ll be able to fully control what goes into your food and ultimately your body.
Step 4: Get Nutritional SupportKicking the sugar habit is tough. When starting out, you may very well feel moody, tired, and just plain miserable.
This is because you’re lacking the neurotransmitter boosts you’re used to getting from sugary foods. The solution is to balance your brain chemistry to help even out your moods and cravings.
Saffron extracts and L-tryptophan, for example, help to balance neurotransmitters. Saffron appears to boost, and L-tryptophan supports the production of serotonin,7, 8 a feel-good chemical that increases when you eat sugary foods.
Saffron also boosts dopamine7 and has even been shown to decrease carb cravings.9
And lastly, you don’t have to do this cold turkey. Cut back on your guilty pleasures, slowly. For example, rather than have one can of soda a day, drink half. And with time, you’ll feel repulsed by the sweetness of soda.
It may sound odd now, but give it a shot — you may just be surprised by how your body responds!
The Bottom LineIf you want to be healthy, you must kick sugar out of your diet as best as you can. And to do that you need to seriously familiarize yourself with the foods you eat.
Have you kicked sugar out of your diet entirely? If so, has your overall health improved? Please share in the comments!
- JAMA. 2010;303(15):1490-1497.
- Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Apr;65(4):1027-33.
- J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Aug;65(8):809-14.
- J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 Nov 21;104(22):1702-11.
- Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(1):20-39.
- J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 Jun;42(2):147-51.
- BMC Complement Altern Med. 2004 Sep 2;4:12.
- J Nutr. 2012 Dec;142(12):2236S-2244S.
- Nutraveris; 2006. Unpublished study.
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