Carbohydrates and fats aren’t the only culprits causing a spike in your weight. The sugar you consume everyday is equally to blame. While moderate sugar consumption poses no health risk, the average person consumes high quantities of sugar – perhaps without even knowing it.
The popularity of foods containing added sugars, such as sodas, breakfast cereals, packaged drinks, salad dressings, flavored yogurts and candy, contributes significantly to sugar overload in the body. Another source of sugar is simple carbohydrates. Foods like honey, pure fruit juices, raisins, mangoes and bananas are rich in simple carbohydrates. We usually think of these as healthy, but the body quickly uses simple carbohydrates for energy, causing a spike in blood sugar that can have adverse health effects. An overconsumption of sugar also hampers the body’s nutritional intake.
Symptoms of a sugar overdose may include bouts of hyperactivity and consequent fatigue (as the sugar reserve crashes), yeast infections, depression, headaches, colds or sinus problems, mental disorientation and sleepiness. Chronic sugar overload may also increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease, and promote the progression of cancer, especially breast cancer.
Sugar Consumption & Weight Gain
When you consume a high amount of sugar, your body converts as much as it needs into energy and stores the rest away as body fat. Furthermore, added sugars do not metabolize like natural sugars. Instead, they travel to the intestine and alter the behavior of intestinal bacteria, which in turn raises blood sugar levels. This sugar, too, converts to fat. When you are addicted to sugar, your body goes into overdrive converting unwanted sugar to fat. Eventually, this fat begins to appear on your waist, hips, thighs and face.
Skip Moderation, Quit Completely
It is nearly impossible to break your dependence on sugar if you do not quit cold turkey. When trying to eliminate dietary sugar, many people experience the classic withdrawal symptoms of any addiction: sadness, headaches, queasiness, fatigue and cravings. In a sugar addiction, this usually happens after a meal is digested. You experience a sugar craving and your body tells your brain it’s hungry again. What would a sugar-addicted person do in such a scenario? Reach for something sweet, of course! As long as you satiate your “hunger†by eating that cookie, the sadness, headaches and sick feelings go away, and you feel instantly better. It is necessary to abstain from sugar completely to break this cycle. Practicing moderation is just a psychological cop-out that is not likely to work. If you can cope with the discomfort of withdrawals for a few days, you will be on your way to kicking the addiction and improving your health.
3-DAY SUGAR DETOX DIET
Day 1
- Breakfast: 1 cup of steel cut oats with berries and seeds or almonds – OR – 3 scrambled eggs
- Mid-morning snack: A small bowl of nuts
- Lunch: Chicken breast (poached) with a bowl of lightly cooked butternut squash, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, beans and almonds
- Dinner: Broiled fish with a bowl of green beans – OR- Salmon with stir-fried broccoli and mushrooms (enjoy both of these dishes for your meal if you are really hungry)
Day 2
- Breakfast: 1 cup of steel cut oats with berries and seeds or almonds – OR – 3 scrambled eggs with spinach (sautéed)
- Mid-morning snack: A small bowl of nuts
- Lunch: Grilled zucchini with red and yellow peppers and a dressing of lemon, vinegar and thyme – OR -A shredded green and red cabbage salad tossed with shredded carrots, drizzled with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and salt, and garnished with chopped parsley
- Dinner: Steamed green vegetables of your choice with a vegetable casserole and bean soup – OR – Baked cod with stir-fried bok choy and roasted Brussels sprouts and turnips
Day 3
- Breakfast: 1 cup of steel cut oats with berries and seeds or almonds – OR – A 3-egg omelette with shrimp and a sautéed kale, radish and walnut salad
- Mid-morning snack: A small bowl of nuts
- Lunch: Pan-roasted chicken thighs with rosemary, sage and lemon – OR – Oven-roasted chicken with onion, black olives, and thyme
- Dinner: Mushroom heads with a broth of garlic, onion, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaves- OR- Penne pasta (made of brown rice) with a mushroom, basil and tomato meat sauce
