You also know this feeling: you sit down in the evening to watch TV and after a while, you catch something in the fridge or in the snack drawer? You chase your beloved, and it's never enough for her! How to prevent this once and for all?
You are probably well acquainted with the feeling of wanting to eat something sweet. You have an appetite, but you cannot eat regularly due to work.
It's an addiction
Sugar triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions in the brain, just like drugs such as nicotine and cocaine. No one is born with this addiction, but it is created by the gradual consumption of sweet products, which then awaken the taste.
Researchers tried to give sugar to laboratory rats. They alternated between regular, more dietary food and sweets. When they ate low-calorie food with high sugar content, the rats became apathetic, anxious, and even showed classic withdrawal symptoms. Without sugar, they experienced stress, which ceased when they received their diet again.
Whether rats or humans, in this case, it's all the same: sugar addiction has become the strongest and most dangerous addiction of the 21st century.
Excessive sugar consumption leads to increased blood pressure, increases the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. The body becomes overly acidic, sugar deprives it of vitamins, proteins, and minerals, especially calcium, which can cause cavities and osteoporosis in women. It is involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease and gastrointestinal diseases. And most importantly: it causes overweight and obesity.
You need to get rid of the addiction
The human body needs sugar to meet its metabolic needs. But it should be obtained, for example, from fruits or quality grains and legumes. The recommended amount is about 25 g of sugar per day.
Nowadays, it is very difficult to maintain this quantity because a can of cola or a chocolate bar is enough to reach it. And it's not about hidden sugars, which you will find in sauces, dressings, pastries, alcohol, etc.
How to enjoy the missing sweet taste if you completely exclude sugar? Just understand that besides fruits, which should not be eaten too much, vegetables also contain a large amount of sugar.
To get rid of this 'sugar addiction', it is necessary to limit its consumption. Do not eat so many processed foods, avoid semi-finished products, sweets, and sugary sodas. But do not try to set up a regime overnight. Follow the steps. To cleanse taste receptors loaded with sugar and feel other flavours, it takes from three weeks to a month.
Solution? It's simple...
If you feel that you are eating too much sugar, try to find more suitable sources than classic white beet sugar. But keep in mind that it is still simple sugar. That is, a source of energy that is quickly absorbed, which in many cases is not suitable.
Alternatives:
Honey: contains a number of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.
Various types of syrups (agave, maple, rice): it is important to distinguish which simple sugars are contained in it because each is processed differently in the body.
Stevia: it is a sweetening herb but contains minimal calories and does not affect blood sugar levels.
Interesting: white sugar contains nothing but sugars beneficial to the body. For example, fruits contain, besides simple sugars, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances.
But not always and for everyone
But you can also gain weight from natural sweeteners. For example, honey and maple syrup are high in calories and are still sugar. However, it is not necessary to completely exclude these carbohydrates from your diet, it is important to simply monitor their quantity.
However, if you use stevia for sweetening, you do not need to worry about gaining weight because its caloric content is insignificant.
And what about artificial sweeteners? 'If the situation does not directly require it, artificial sweeteners are not recommended,' says the expert. So how to keep the sweet taste in your diet so that people do not desire 'healthy' consumption of natural sugar instead of white?
Avoid sweet tastes
According to the dietitian, it is recommended to monitor the glycaemic index of foods to prevent cravings for sweets. Tables can be easily found on the Internet and in a number of available publications. They are worth studying because the biggest culprits include, besides pronounced sweets, French fries or baked potatoes.
And the higher the GI, the faster the sweet taste reappears after eating. On the one hand, foods with a lower GI release carbohydrates more slowly, which does not cause excessive fluctuations in blood sugar levels, and, in addition, you feel more satiated after consuming them. This is a very important aspect for maintaining body weight.
Beware of fruits
People often forget about the large amount of sugar when consuming fruits, especially summer sugar, which mainly consists of water. Fruit contains a simple sugar called fructose, which can significantly fluctuate blood sugar levels.
Pay special attention to bananas, grapes, or overripe fruits. It is much better for the body to focus on complex sugars in terms of long-term energy use. Yes, in combination with fruits, but complex and simple sugars should be present in food in a ratio of approximately two-thirds to one in favour of complex.
So-called polysaccharides mainly provide you with legumes, vegetables, especially root vegetables, potatoes, cereals, and fruits.
When there are too many fruits
Fruit is perfect for snacks (especially in the morning) because it can never satiate for long. Its abundance can bring you another problem – it makes you digest food.
Due to the high sugar content in the intestines, it ferments significantly. For example, if fresh fruits combined with dairy products do not suit you, do not combine them and find another way to enjoy them in proportional amounts.
And how much is a proportional amount? Fruits – two to three servings a day. It is usually recommended 150 g of fruit, for example, one large apple. For vegetables, up to five servings a day or 450 g is recommended. This amount includes, for example, vegetable soups, stewed or baked vegetables.
Interesting: vegetables also contain carbohydrates, but not as much. But an amazing source of sugar is, for example, corn. Sweet root vegetables contain more sugar and, therefore, more energy. In addition, it can provide us with the sweet taste that you would otherwise miss in food if you did not use white sugar.
The form of vegetable processing also plays a role. Cooking or canning increases its glycaemic index. Therefore, most vegetables should be consumed fresh.
Sweets also affect the skin
Although this is a very individual issue, in general, it can be said that excess sugar overloads the body, affects blood vessels, and accelerates skin aging processes. Nutrition, whether right or wrong, affects not only your health from the inside but also your appearance. For example, poor-quality hair, nails, or skin appear.
Salt, sugar, alcohol, and various preservatives are the main enemies of the skin because they dry it out. For example, salt dehydrates not only the body but also the skin. And as is known, dry skin ages faster and forms more wrinkles.
Sugar, in turn, negatively affects collagen production, which, among other things, keeps the skin soft and hydrated. In this case, the combination of salt and sugar in some preserved products is crucial.
Even alcohol severely dehydrates the body. This also leads to dry and grey skin.
How to keep beautiful skin?
The basis of proper skin hydration is a drinking regime. Drink at least 2-3 litres of water a day. Healthy fats also combine with dry skin – nuts, first-pressed vegetable oils, avocados, and fatty fish.
In general, these are products with a high content of vitamin C, which is one of the main antioxidants in the body. It neutralises free radicals that damage cells and accelerate the aging process. Vitamin C also participates in collagen synthesis, which is important for skin elasticity, prevents wrinkle formation, and heals blood vessels (e.g., kiwi, oranges, and other citrus fruits, blueberries, rose hips, black currants, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, papaya).
The combination of B vitamins, beta-carotene, and zinc positively affects the skin. Products that slow down the aging process include tomatoes, cauliflower, seafood, sardines, and salmon.
The combination of B vitamins, beta-carotene, and zinc also positively affects the skin. For example, an ideal representative is asparagus, which is considered an elixir of youth.
Olive oil also protects cells from harmful free radicals and slows down the aging of the body.
Other anti-aging foods include tomatoes, cauliflower, cranberries, raspberries, natural yogurt, sour drinks, oatmeal, garlic, turmeric, ginger, sprouts and seeds, seafood, sardines, and salmon.
How to change your diet in 4 simple steps
Step one: ensure you have enough protein
The foundation of a healthy diet is protein, which should make up 10 to 30% of your total daily intake.
They are needed not only for the growth and regeneration of skin, hair, tendons, ligaments, and muscles but also for the proper production of enzymes, hormones, etc. Proper intake helps you feel full, and your craving for sweets is not interrupted.
How to do it: alternate between plant and animal proteins, eggs, yogurt, cheese, fish, meat, or legumes.
Step two: healthy fats are truly beneficial
While we need to give up fats in pursuit of the perfect figure, this does not benefit your body at all. Unsaturated fatty acids help lower cholesterol levels and thus reduce the risk of heart disease.
Moreover, they also have a satiating function and are richer for a longer period, helping with thermoregulation and allowing the body to absorb important vitamins A, D, E, and K. They should make up 30 to 35% of your total daily energy intake.
How to do it: for example, add foods like salmon, lean meat, avocado, olives, olive oil, almonds, or walnuts to your diet.
Step three: limit your intake of bad sugar
The body has long been supplied mainly by fats, proteins, and fibre. Sweets and simple carbohydrates provide quick energy, but then there is a rapid drop in blood sugar and the usual taste.
Therefore, you should focus on complex carbohydrates from vegetables, grains, and legumes, which provide a feeling of fullness.
Step four: drink plenty of water
An adequate drinking regime prevents unnecessary overeating and snacking between meals. Hunger and thirst are controlled by the same part of the brain. Therefore, it is quite possible that the brain perceives moderate dehydration as hunger.
Drink plain and mineral water, include green, herbal, and unsweetened rooibos tea. Do not sweeten drinks. Not even coffee.
How to replace sugar
On average, a person consumes up to 40 kg of sugar per year. How to eliminate it from the diet and what to replace it with?
- 1. Throw away all lemonades, alcohol, coffee with milk and sugar, and just drink water, fruit, or unscented green tea.
- 2. Give credit to desserts. If there is a strong desire to eat dessert, eat like the French, with cheese and fruit.
- 3. Increase your intake of protein, legumes, fruits, and vegetables to have more energy in the long run.
- 4. Pay attention to the labels on food and drinks. Manufacturers add sugar everywhere to "improve the taste" of their products. It is commonly used in instant soups or dressings.
How to enjoy the missing sweet taste if you completely eliminate sugar? Just understand that besides fruits, which you can't eat too much of, vegetables are particularly sweet by nature.
Most types of squash (and they have an absolutely minimal amount of calories) or stewed carrots in oil, or a carrot and apple salad perfectly replace sweeteners. Even parsley is naturally sweet.
Have you ever tried stewed root vegetable porridge in oil as a side dish to meat? You can easily add squash to it. For variety, you can prepare pumpkin porridge with carrots for breakfast instead of the usual sweet porridges – add, for example, berries (fresh or frozen), and you'll see how great you feel.
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