Check For Sugar In Canned Foods
Canned foods can be a useful and inexpensive addition to your diet, but they can also contain a lot of added sugar.
Fruits and vegetables contain naturally occurring sugars. However, these arent usually an issue since they dont affect your blood sugar the same way added sugar does.
Avoid canned foods that are packed in syrup or have sugar on the ingredient list. Fruit is sweet enough, so go for versions labeled packed in water or no added sugar.
If you buy canned fruits or vegetables that do have added sugar, you can remove some of it by rinsing them in water before you eat them.
Benefits And Cautions With Slashing Sugar
Detoxing from sugar can help you lose weight quickly. We had over 80 testers from all over the country, and they lost anywhere between 5 to 20 pounds during the 31 days, depending on their weight or sugar addiction, Alpert said. Many also noticed that a lot of the weight was lost from their midsection. Belts got looser!
Participants also reported brighter eyes, clearer skin and fewer dark circles. They also had more energy and fewer mood swings.
Stay Relaxed And Well
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Increased Focus And Mental Clarity
The first 2 weeks felt like I was bit hazy. I had a few nights of poor sleep and some long days at work during this time, but this felt different to the usual feelings of tiredness. After about 2 weeks something changed. I snapped out of my haze and suddenly felt more focused with more mental clarity than Ive had in a long time. Im guessing I went through a bit of a sugar detox.
Shake Up Your Hydration
To make your detox more tolerable be sure to focus on hydration. In order to avoid sugar withdrawal headaches, be sure to stay hydrated with water throughout the day!
Try adding some new flavors to your water . Cucumber and herbs taste refreshing in water.
Related: How To Make Fruit and Herb Infused Water
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How Long Does It Take To Withdraw From Sugar
You’ve decided it’s time to learn how to give up sugar, so what can you expect? Sugar is known to be addictive and to have similar effects on the brain as some recreational drugs, says Adrienne. When you cut it from your diet, you’re likely to crave it more. You’ll possibly also experience low mood and anxiety as dopamine levels reduce, as well as disrupted sleep , headaches and fatigue , she explains.
These feelings should only last a few days, she adds reassuringly. But they may last longer depending upon how much sugar you currently consume.
Although withdrawing from sugar does not provoke the same unpleasant symptoms as stopping caffeine says Suzie, if you eat a lot of the white stuff youre likely to feel its absence. Certainly for the first few days, people may suffer from very strong sugar cravings . Plus, they may notice energy levels flagging as the body adjusts, explains Suzie. However, tastebuds may change within one to two weeks and sugar cravings can disappear.
Choose Healthier More Real Sources Of Sugar
Like I mentioned before, sugar exists in whole foods, like beans, vegetables, and fruits. Sugar provides us with energy and is not a bad thing if consumed in moderation from whole foods and within a well-balanced diet. There are several healthier alternatives to adding sweeteners to your food. They are the following:
- Coconut Palm Sugar this sugar is actually sap from the coconut palm which is heated and evaporated which reduces it to granules. Coconut sugar is nutritious and has a low score on the glycemic index . Coconut sugar tastes similar to brown sugar, but slightly richer. .
- Raw Honey is simply honey that has not been filtered or pasteurized so it includes beeswax, royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis . Raw honey is pretty awesome. Its used by many cultures as a remedy for ailments, including ulcers, digestion problems, and as an antibiotic. Raw honey contains antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes. Make sure to look for raw in the name, as processed honey has no such health benefits. A honey simply labelled as un-pasteurized is likely filtered, but hasnt been heated. It would not be considered raw because it has been filtered and had the royal jelly, beeswax, bee pollen, and propolis removed. .
While these three better-for-you sugars do contain many more health benefits than processed sugar, I want to stress they are all stillsugar. Therefore, make sure you consume them in moderation.
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Enjoy A Healthy Filling Breakfast
What Is The Healthiest Sugar Substitute
Here are 5 natural sweeteners that could be healthier alternatives to refined sugar.
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Identify The Main Culprit
We all have one type of food or drink that is probably the most major of all the culprits of our continued dependency on processed sugar. Maybe you are a sweet coffee drinker. Maybe you love your Dr. Pepper. Maybe you sneak a candy bar every day at 2:30pm to get you through the afternoon at work. Its likely this one culprit that scares you about letting go of processed sugar and quitting for good. Its also likely this one culprit that is holding you back from reaching your health-related goals.
Each change you make during this process of quitting processed sugars will help you with the next change. Attacking this main culprit head-on will certainly work to help you remove the need for sweets within the rest of your diet. Start looking at that treat as your ball and chain to sugar. Get rid of it and youll be soooo much better off I promise.
Can I Go A Month Without Sugar
The good news is that even if you’re not a true sugar addict, by eliminating sugar from your diet, you can quickly lose unwanted pounds, feel better and have a more radiant appearance. There is no one person who wouldn’t benefit by eliminating added sugars from their diets, Lustig said. Children can benefit, too.
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Also Beware Of Naturopaths
Some definitions: “dietitian” is the only term that is subject to professional requirements. Anyone can be a nutritionist. “Naturopath” is what nutritionists call themselves when they want to sound a bit more new-age than they already do. The middle term attracts the most scepticism, based on the presumption that just because your field isn’t professionally accredited, you do not know anything and you can’t process information. People make it about journalists quite a lot as well this presumption is mistaken.
That said, I interviewed lifestyle guru Carole Caplin once, and she asked me to do something the next day, and I said: “Unfortunately, tonight I’m going to get completely drunk, so I most probably won’t want to do Pilates/circuit training/zumba tomorrow.” She fixed me with a beady eye and said: “I try not to eat too much chocolate, but sometimes I go mad. The other day, I ate something like eight squares of Green & Black’s. And afterwards I felt terrible, I had a headache, the shivers, I couldn’t get out of bed. Whereas if I’d only had two squares, I’m sure my body would have coped with it.”
Here’s the thing: I’m not convinced that really happened. I think she was using chocolate as a metaphor for booze, in an attempt to find some joint language that we would both understand.
Beware Of Artificial Sweeteners
Many people turn to artificial sweeteners when trying to avoid excess sugar in their diets. While many consider these type of zero calorie sweeteners safe or guilt-free, theyre not helping you one bit. No, they dont contain calories, but they also dont contain any nutritional value so your body wants more and more of them, thinking the sweetness will provide you, at least, with energy, which it never does so youre left craving more and more sweets. You are still used to highly sweetened food and this is what you need to move away from. Artificial sweeteners can also increase your cravings for sugar and carbs and they can deplete your bodys store of chromium, which is a crucial nutrient in blood-sugar metabolism. Theres a reason why diet soda is highly correlated to weight gain and obesity.
For all you Stevia lovers out there, the same goes for Stevia. Forget the notion that natural sweeteners that contain zero calories are actually good for you. Yes, the stevia plant contains green leaves that are naturally very sweet and calorie-free. However, the extracts and powders you can purchase in the grocery store have very little to do with the original plant. Stevia, as an extract, is highly processed and only contributes to your continued dependency on needing more and more sweets.
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Snack On Lots Of Fruit
Complacency Can Sneak Up On You
In week six, Sarah suggests reintroducing a little sweetness. I made some lower-sugar chocolates and stuffed down three in quick succession. The next day when faced with leftovers, the internal debate began. Shall I? Shan’t I? It made me realise how refreshing it had been not to think like this. Being strict was starting to prove the easier option. At least it was black and white.
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Exercise At The Time Of Day When You Usually Crave Sugar
Some people crave sugar in the morning, while others yearn for it in the late afternoon. Then there are some who would do anything for sugar in the evening. It may sound unconventional, but it’s helpful to plan your workouts around the time when you crave sugar the most. I changed my schedule and started going to the gym in the late afternoon, around 4 p.m., as that’s the time of day when I would toss back anything sweet I could find.
By moving your body and getting the blood flowing, you forget entirely about your sugar withdrawals. Plus, you naturally crave things that are better for your body post-workout.
Set Aside Any Sweetened Dips And Sauces
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Switch Out Traditional Desserts With Fruit
Simple Ways To Stop Eating Lots Of Sugar
Eating too much sugar may be devastating for your health.
Added sugar, which is the sugar found in sodas, sweets, and other processed foods, has been shown to contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and tooth decay .
Research suggests that most Americans eat anywhere from 5592 grams of added sugar daily, which is equivalent to 1322 teaspoons of table sugar each day representing about 1216% of daily calorie intake .
This is significantly more than the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation of getting less than 10% of your daily calories from added sugars .
The World Health Organization goes a step further, recommending less than 5% of calories from added sugar for optimal health .
However, it can be challenging to slash added sugars from your diet. This article lists 13 simple ways to stop eating so much sugar.
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Say Goodbye To Sugary Beverages
First and foremost, you must cut out the most unnecessary and easily-missed of all the forms of sugar: the liquid kind. Whether its sweetened waters, fizzy sodas or dessert-like coffee beverages, youre only causing your blood sugar levels to spike, which in turn just triggers your brain to crave MORE sugar.
Instead, opt for seltzer water, buy your own soda streamer, or choose unsweetened coffee.
From The Bottle And Can
Beverages are one of the biggest sources of added sugars in our diets.
Eliminate soda from your regular diet. Just get rid of it. If you must, drink diet soda. Ideally, though, you should get rid of diet soda, too.
That may sound extreme, but sweetened beverages are by far the biggest source of added sugar in the American diet 47 percent, according to the federal government. Soda along with sweetened sports drinks, energy drinks and iced teas is essentially flavored, liquefied sugar that pumps calories into your body without filling you up. Among all foods and beverages, says Kelly Brownell, an obesity expert and dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke, the science is most robust and most convincing on the link between soft drinks and negative health outcomes.
Get this: A single 16-ounce bottle of Coke has 52 grams of sugar. Thats more added sugar than most adults should consume in an entire day.
As for diet soda, researchers arent yet sure whether theyre damaging or harmless. Some scientists think diet soda is perfectly fine. Others, like the Yale cardiologist Dr. Harlan Krumholz, think it may be damaging. Dr. Krumholz recently announced that after years of pounding diet sodas, he was giving them up. There is reason to believe, he wrote, that the artificial sweeteners they contain lead to weight gain and metabolic abnormalities.
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Water From An Air Up Bottle
Its been reported that 16 million Brits want to reduce their sugar intake but are struggling due to a lack of alternatives, which is why we love the clever water bottles from Air Up. Using a specific technology called retronasal smell, Air Up bottles contain a scent pod that fools your brain into thinking you’re tasting a flavoured drink when you’re drinking water.
You can buy the reusable water bottles and recyclable flavour pods from the Air Up website . The Starter Se t, which includes one bottle and two scent pods, is priced from £29.95.
Can You Quit Sugar Cold Turkey
Knowing how to quit sugar is one thing but should you go cold turkey or take it slowly? Cutting down can be tough and going cold turkey rarely gets long-lasting results, warns Rob. ‘Psychology plays a huge role as mood, boredom and habit can drive your desire for the sweet stuff. A lack of sleep, skipping meals, hormones and visual temptation can also contribute to sugar cravings, he says.
But there are ways to manage this challenging period. Some people suffer blood sugar imbalances making them feel rather jittery. But this can be avoided by eating sufficient protein, advises Suzie.
If you find the thought of going cold turkey too extreme weaning yourself off slowly may suit you better. A useful approach is to make small changes to your diet. Reduce the sugar you add to coffee or tea, choose lower-sugar food products and switch sweet treats for healthy alternatives such as fresh fruit, suggests Rob.
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