Sugar

I used to think I was addicted to food. I was really just addicted to sugar.

It's not good for you. It's addictive. It might just be the most destructive part of your diet.

In my mind, I see refined sugar as poison. I was about to grab a cookie, and this I saw the skull and crossbones on it! In my mind, this is what I see when I see something with refined sugar:

A quick summary of why you need to cut it out of your diet:

What would happen if you stopped eating sugar?

1. Lose appetite for sugar

Every time you consume sugar, a hormone comes in there and pushes the sugars down, causing a low blood sugar situation that causes you to crave sugar.

2. Less hungry

It’s the sugar that keeps you hungry all the time. Giving up sugar can help stabilize blood sugars.

3. Less fatigue

Especially after eating a meal.

4. Lose excess water and fat

For the first week, you’re going to dump a lot of excess water and more fat.

5. Enhanced mood and improved cognitive function

More focus and concentration.

6. Skin looks better

Glowing skin with less acne.

7. Less stiffness

Less inflammation and less pain.

More benefits of quitting sugar: - Build new enzymes to run the body on fat fuel - Less inflammation in the arteries - Growing brain cells - Clean out a fatty liver - Better kidney function

My No. 1 Reason for my No Sugar mantra is INFLAMMATION.

When I'm 'on' sugar, I have persistent aches and pains that effect my quality of life. This year, I've noticed more back pain, shoulder pain, and foot pain. When I'm 'off' sugar, I notice these many of my aches and pains go away. With the exception of sugar, I live a very healthy lifestyle. I try to priority health over wealth. I eat well and I exercise regularly. I meditate 20 mins/day. I'm within a few pounds of my ideal weight of 148 lbs.. My main vice (in addition to occasionally drinking alcohol in excess) has historically been sugar. I just feel MUCH BETTER when I'm off it.

It's not just sugar that causes inflammation

The other reason I felt SO MUCH BETTER in Oct-2018 was because I eliminated most carbs from my diet.

Food & Mood

Food is medicine. What you take has a direct (although not always immediate) impact on both your physical and mental state. In that month of October when I cut out carbs (& refined sugar), I didn't only feel better physically, I felt better mentally. My mood and attitude were effective because my energy was higher.

I'm willing to bet many of you like me are sugar addicts. The good news is that once it's out of your system (usually within 3-4 days), your taste buds will change and you won't crave the sugary stuff. That being said, you'll need to always be diligent because they sneak it into almost everything!

It's easy to justify going to it when we are stressed out. But the short term payoff of the sugar buzz is offset by the crash that follows. Believe me - the energy and feeling you get from being without it is much better!

Need evidence?

Frozen Grapes

Smarter alternatives to popular sugar filled snacks.

Smoothies

On average, a medium smoothie contains between 30 and 80 grams of sugar.

Instead: Make your own with non-fat milk, half a banana, frozen berries and a sprinkle of omega-3-rich flaxseeds, then add a drop of vanilla extract to bring out the natural sweetness of the milk.

Have you heard about the Yonanas kitchen appliance? It turns fruit into soft-serve like treats. Typically, you add over-ripe frozen fruit like bananas, berries, or mango. It produces a smooth "ice-cream" Like treat.

Trail mix

Conventional wisdom suggests stashing trail mix in your car for a healthy snack on the go, but a quarter cup of a commercial variety can contain 16 or more grams of sugar.

Instead: Make your own mix and go heavy on the protein-rich nuts and seeds, lighter on the dried fruit (and nix the chocolate chips altogether).

Yogurt

A 118-milliliter serving of fruit-flavoured yogurt can contain 13 grams of sugar. If you top it with a quarter cup of store-bought granola, you’re downing another six grams.

Instead: Reach for plain Greek yogurt and add your own fresh fruit and nuts. (Greek yogurt offers more protein than the fruity varieties and only a third of the sugar per half-cup serving.)

Oatmeal

Flavored oatmeal packets may seem like a healthy strategy for busy mornings, but they can contain as many as 12 grams of sugar per serving. (Heaping on another tablespoon of brown sugar adds an extra 12 grams.)

Instead: Take the 10 minutes required to cook your own quick oats and add a quarter cup of diced apple and a dash of cinnamon. (Here are eight oatmeal recipes you need to try.)

Salad dressing

Grabbing a salad for lunch may seem like a savvy dietary choice, but it’s important to know that some bottled dressings, such as French and raspberry vinaigrette, often have four or more grams of sugar per two-tablespoon serving.

Instead: Opt for a drizzle of oil and vinegar over your salad. Pick up one of these foods to get a healthy, natural energy boost.

Tips to kick the sugar (and flour) habit

“Healthier” sweeteners are no better for you

“All sugar provides energy in the form of calories but it doesn’t add a significant amount of other nutrients, Sugar is sugar, so it’s best used in moderation no matter what form it takes.”

Incognito sugar

Stick to fruit and berries - they are nature's sweetener!

Top tips for reducing intake of added and free sugars

Understand added vs natural sugar

Learn the difference between added sugars and those naturally-occurring in whole foods. Added and free sugars are ingredients added to food or drink products by the manufacturer, cook or consumer. Free sugars also include juices (and concentrates), honey, and syrups. Intake of added and free sugars should be limited. Naturally-occurring (a.k.a. intrinsic) sugars are found in whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy. They are bundled up with other nutrients such as water, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, which are beneficial to health and a normal part of a healthy diet.

How much sugar intake is considered healthy? 6 teaspoons (25 grams) per day.

How much sugar is in the typical donut? 10-15 grams.

30 Foods That Have More Sugar Than a Donut | Eat This Not That

Reading product labels, check the ingredients list for the many names for added sugars, as well as the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) for total sugar content. Remember that 4.2 grams of sugar is 1 teaspoon, and we aim to limit added sugar intake to 6 teaspoons (25 grams) per day. More broadly, food products considered ‘low sugar’ are those that contain 5 grams or less of total sugar per 100 grams.

Shop from the supermarket perimeter

Whole foods are generally found in the supermarket perimeter and should comprise the majority of your daily diet. This includes fresh produce, such as vegetables, fruit, seafood, eggs, dairy, and meat. Supplement with whole food pantry staples and freezer items such as nuts, seeds, beans, tinned fish, good quality olive oil, and frozen veg. By doing this, you’ll limit – or even avoid – ultra-processed foods, added sugars, and other products and ingredients that aren’t great for health and devoid of beneficial nutrients.

Eat mostly real, whole food

If the majority of what you consume each day is real, whole food, you are already eating a low sugar diet. There is little room left for the heavily processed, sugar-laden stuff! Have fun in the kitchen by playing with ways to make food flavourful sans added sugars. But if you occasionally have something packaged, highly processed, or loaded with added sugar, do not be hard on yourself. Enjoy it in the moment and eat something more nourishing for your next meal.

Enjoy fibre, healthy fats, and protein

Eating healthy helps curb cravings. The longer you go without eating, the more difficult it will be to avoid succumbing to the sugar monster.

Include whole food sources high in fiber and healthy fat, and get quality protein at each meal. Avocados, almonds, eggs are all excellent choices. You will stay fuller for longer and more more sustained energy. This reduces the likelihood of reaching for a sugary fix for a quick pick-me-up later on.

Occasional processed and sugary food is okay

Our bodies are incredibly resilient. Remember this when you find yourself having some added sugar. While some feel better off not having any at all, for most, a little won’t break the health bank! Listen to your body and find your balance. If you feel like dessert when out with friends or a biccie at the occasional workplace afternoon tea, enjoy the moment for what it is. More important is keeping added sugar from creeping into your diet insidiously each day.

Avoid sugary drinks

The quickest and easiest way to cut down on added and free sugars is kicking the sugary drinks. Replace a bubbly soft drink with plain soda water infused with fresh citrus slices or berries with fresh herbs or spices such as basil or cinnamon. And if you really want a juice, enjoy one that is freshly pressed and watered down.

Unwind

Stress-eating is common, and often we reach for sugary foods for a mood boost. Instead, undertake a stress-relieving activity that suits you, such as a guided meditation, deep breathing, a stroll, a yoga class, or having a cup of tea with a mate who makes you feel good.

Keep hydrated

If the body isn’t adequately hydrated, we can feel hungry, foggy-headed, or low in energy. This increases the likelihood of eating more food or reaching for foods and drinks high in added sugars for a quick boost. Instead, grab your (reusable) water bottle and enjoy some H2O!

Be kind to yourself

If you do have a little more of the sweet stuff than intended, ditch the guilt (the stress around this can be just as damaging as the not-so-great food choice) and, as mentioned above, make the next food choice a nourishing one!

Let’s be sugar smart

Overall, we want to reacquaint ourselves with the subtle sweetness found in whole foods, such as sweet potato, fruit, and spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. But if you are going to use a sweetener, use sparingly and choose one that is minimally processed.

We aren’t here to tell you how to stop eating added sugar or to cut out sugar completely (though that is okay if having no free or added sugar works for you, or eating a diet free of added sugars is prescribed for a medical reason). For most, know that a little is fine.

The aim is to increase awareness of where added sugar hides and reduce intake overall. Why? It is the excess consumption of added and free sugars, along with the processed and packaged foods it often comes in, that contributes to poor health.

For your health, keep an eye out for added and free sugars, limit intake to 6 teaspoons (25g) per day. And above all, be kind to yourself!

Further Reading/Watching

I Quit Sugar: Your Complete 8-Week Detox Program and Cookbook

There are tons of videos on YouTube about the harmful effect of sugar and thousands of articles. Knowing what we don't know will hopefully cause us to pause before putting something in our mouth that is literally killing us.

Recommended Blood Test

If you are over 45, you should get your blood sugar levels checked. An A1C blood test that measures what % of red blood cells have sugarcoated hemoglobin. The higher the %, the higher your blood sugar. You should be under 5.7.

How to spot — and avoid — added sugar

A typical 12-ounce soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar (40 grams) and 150 calories

It's not just in sweetened drinks. Sugar is added to cereal, pasta sauce, and even crackers.

We all know that too much sugar is bad for health, but even the detectives among us may not realize how often sugar shows up on the dining table. It's the added sugar that's problematic. Not the natural sugar in fruit, which has fiber to slow absorption, but added sugar—such as honey, molasses, and corn syrup.

Why it's bad for you

Sugar is added to many types of foods, and eating too much of the sweet stuff—even when it seems to come from a natural source—is a risk for weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and even dementia. A diet heavy in added sugar is linked to a risk of dying from heart disease even if you're not overweight.

Why does added sugar cause so much trouble? It's digested immediately and rapidly absorbed, and this causes an upswing in your blood sugar levels. "That challenges your pancreas to pump out more insulin. If the pancreas can't keep up with that demand, blood sugar levels rise, which can lead to more problems with insulin secretion, and ultimately to diabetes."

Sugar also raises inflammation throughout the body, increases triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood), and boosts the levels of dopamine in the brain. "Dopamine gives you a high, and that's why the more sugar you eat, the more you think you want."

Where it's hiding

Added sugar is obviously in candy, cake, soda, and fruit drinks. But it's also in foods that aren't considered sweets, including salad dressings, crackers, yogurt, bread, spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup, and breakfast cereals.

You can find added sugar by looking at the ingredients in a product. Look for words ending in "ose," such as fructose, dextrose, and maltose, and look for syrups and juices.

You won't find added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label, since the listing for sugar includes both natural and added sugars.

What you should do?

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that women limit added sugar intake to 24 grams (the equivalent of 6 teaspoons) per day, and total sugar (natural and added) to about 48 grams per day. It recommends that men limit added sugars to 36 grams (the equivalent of 9 teaspoons) per day, and total sugar to about 72 grams per day.

look for places in your diet where you can cut back on added sugar. Are you eating a lot of cereals with added sugar? Maybe you like juices. Start eliminating those types of foods, and increase your intake of fiber.

One last tip: sweeten foods yourself. You'll probably add less sugar than a manufacturer would. 

The many names of added sugars

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