You may not be aware of it, but you are addicted to sugar. Even if you don’t have a huge sweet tooth, you’d be surprised to learn just how much sugar your system consumes daily through various foods and drinks. It’s not just about sweet stuff you get from desserts and pastries, you can get sugar even from the (seemingly) healthiest food sources. Some surprising sources of added sugar are bread (even whole grain), salad dressing, yoghurt, pasta sauce, sauces, canned and frozen fruit, and nut butters.
Sugar addiction, though, is very real and has debilitating consequences, both physically and mentally. Cravings, irritability, mood swings, flu-like symptoms, aches, fatigue and general malaise are just some of the motions one can go through upon completely quitting sugar. Some studies have even observed that sugar withdrawal and impulsive behaviour are linked.
According to experts, sugar can act like a drug in the body and building a dependence will lead to strong symptoms when the withdrawal begins. Like drugs, sugar can spike the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which can bring about feelings of pleasure. Eventually, the brain becomes tolerant and needs increased dosage to attain a “sugar high.” If you feel like you’ve become much too reliant on sugar to feel good, there are some practical ways to combat this along with speaking to a doctor.
Go cold turkey
First, you need to learn how to quit sugar. Like any addiction, there’s no better way of quitting than by quitting completely. Simply reducing one’s sugar intake risks bending the rules. This doesn’t have to mean forever, though. Start out with three full days of no sugar and see how it goes from there. The first three days are usually the most grueling when it comes to eradicating an addiction. Also, be aware of hidden sources of sugar, like fruit and dairy. Other sweet sources that don’t appear to be sugar, but really are, include: corn syrup, maltose, fructose, dextrose, molasses, agave, brown rice syrup, cane sugar, cane syrup, and evaporated cane juice. Also, be aware of eating out at restaurants. You will need to be very selective as to what you order.
Combat cravings
Prepare for urges by stocking up on foods that can fight off your need for sugar. Spicy, savoury food can actually help with this. Load up your dishes with herbs and spices as well as onion, garlic and lime. Vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom are great, flavourful additions to any drink or dish. These bright and bold flavours can ease your body’s worries that all that it’s consuming is bland, terrible food. Keep yourself energised through healthy fats, such as avocado and nuts. Lean protein like eggs, turkey and legumes will also aid in preventing the rise of blood sugar levels, which leads to those sugar cravings.
Switch to natural sugars
Slowly but surely, you can incorporate sweet stuff into your diet, but this time you should stick to natural sugars. A serving or two of an apple or banana can help you ease back into the swing of things. If you previously enjoyed flavoured yoghurt with bits of fruit in them, go for plain full-fat yoghurt instead. Avoid artificial or chemical sweeteners like Splenda, because you’d simply crave more afterwards. Eventually, the withdrawal symptoms should ease and your body will get used to natural sugar only.
This method is also helpful for adults who are picky eaters. It’s not as helpful or as honest as genuinely getting picky eaters to try out new, healthy foods, but it could be good way to get things started. Sneak vegetables and other healthy foods into favourite dishes, such as making a vegetable puree and adding into other foods.
Since BMI overlooks bone and muscle mass, athletes will sometimes find themselves to be regarded as overweight. Athletes, who usually have a lot of muscle mass, are also commonly healthy and fit. BMI doesn’t distinguish this, though, and cannot be applied to fit individuals and athletes.