HOW TO WEAN OFF SUGAR!
The topic for this blog post is a conversation I have with nearly all my patients - it’s about the harmful effects of refined sugar, the excess sugar that nearly everybody is eating and the absolute need to wean yourself off sugar if you want to preserve or regain your health.
Most patients tell me they eat a healthy diet and don’t eat sugar when they first come to see me. When I ask them what they eat for breakfast, they proudly reply, “muesli with fruits, low fat milk, and sourdough bread.” No wonder they are fatigued, brain fogged and wondering why they can’t lose weight! That’s way too high in sugar and will upset their blood sugar for the rest of the day (and possibly the night too)!
Many people don’t seem to realise that even if they don’t put sugar in their tea or coffee, they can still be consuming too much sugar as a hidden ingredient in processed foods, baked goods, drinks, condiments and alcohol. Include high fructose corn syrup as a harmful sugar.
The British Medical Journal has stated that “Sugar is as dangerous as tobacco [and] should be classified as a hard drug, for it is harmful and addictive.” (Loefler (2005) No Sweet Surrender: British Medical Journal. Sugar is one of the most pernicious and worst addictions because it gives a quick burst of energy in the short term, and like other addictions, masks feelings of anxiety, stress and fatigue. It’s a hidden ingredient in most processed foods and we eat too much of it. It’s a socially acceptable addiction. It’s very cheap, everybody is addicted and encourages everyone else to be addicted. We reward ourselves with sweets and chocolate, when this is in fact abuse. The average child eats more sugar in one day than our ancestors ate in two years. This is akin to putting aircraft fuel in a lawnmower. It makes the machine go, but tears it apart in the process.
Some people feel it is normal to gain weight with age. It is not normal. You should weigh the same in your later years as you did in your early twenties. Many people (including doctors and healthcare practitioners) think that if diabetes is in your family, it is inevitable that you’ll get it and there is nothing you can do about it. This is not true!
If you are not enjoying your optimum health and are suffering from fatigue, anxiety, depression, low motivation and a chronic condition of any kind, the first thing to do is to see how much sugar you are eating. One way is to make a list of the sugar in foods and drinks on your kitchen shelves or in your fridge. Include drinks and alcohol.
Most people know that sugar is “bad” for them but do nothing about it. This may come from a lack of knowledge about the damage that sugar causes to the body. Here are a few things that should be known about sugar:
Sugar ‘masks’ unpleasant feelings and symptoms, but pay-back time comes later.
Sugar spikes insulin which puts on weight. Reducing calories will not work sustainably if they still contain sugar.
Sugar, not fat, triggers fatty liver and its consequences.
Sugar makes the immune system go to sleep, allowing latent infections to bloom, producing unwanted symptoms.
Sugar suppresses normal appetite.
Sugar has a disastrous effect on mood and brain.
Sugar narrows the gap between energy demand and delivery, resulting in fatigue after the initial sugar rush.
Sugar shortens life-span and reduces quality of life by triggering chronic disease.
Sugar damages tissues, including arteries. Sugar and unhealthy trans fats produce french fried arteries.
So, what do you do if you are shocked by the amount of hidden sugars you are eating? Recognise that weaning off sugar is the starting point to prevent all diseases and improve existing quality of life and longevity. Don’t do it because your doctor tells you to. Do it because you care about yourself and because there are others who depend on and care about you. You may want to look or feel better or simply be more active. Whatever the motivation, it must come from you.
Some people can go ‘cold turkey.’ Others need to take it in small bite-sized steps. Here are a few tips to help you do that:
Set goals and targets. If you fail, get back on track and keep a food diary.
Start with eliminating any added sugar you add to tea, coffee, cereals etc. Reduce amount over a 3 day period to a stop.
Next tackle drinks (includes fruit juices, alcohol, flavoured, fizzy drinks): Reduce over a longer period like two weeks, by gradually cutting the amount and using smaller glasses. Replace with water and herb teas. Your taste for water should gradually return.
Next reduce breads/starches: I recommend that all my patients stop eating gluten 100% and replace with gluten free or homemade nut/seed based breads.
If you are used to eating 4 slices of toast and one egg, shift the balance to 2 eggs and 2 slices etc. Don’t have two starches at the same meal i.e. potatoes and rice. Raise the amount of vegetables.
Reduce your fruits so you are having more vegetables than fruits. Fruit and vegetables are not interchangeable. Many people think they are eating well by eating tons of fruit. They are eating tons of sugar!
Make your own dressings and sauces using ingredients like olive oil, mustard, garlic, salt and apple cider vinegar - Most commercial sauces are high in hidden sugars.
Don’t fast and don’t skip breakfast! This will make you feel more tired, upset your blood sugars and encourage your body to retain fat because of a perceived deprivation!
Don’t snack. Have three good meals with enough healthy fats and adequate protein to help eliminate the need for snacking.
Don’t swap sugar for another form of sweetener. You need to break your addiction to sugar lighting up areas of your brain and you won’t do this by using sugar substitutes.
Recognise that your taste buds will change for the better as you wean off sugar and that you don’t have to give in to every craving!
Use Vitamin C and chromium to help ease sugar withdrawal symptoms.
The rewards that patients have told me they have gained after getting over the first hurdle of weaning off sugar include: feeling calmer and happier, less stressed and anxious, gradual slimming down, face looks less puffy and more chiselled, look better with others complementing on their looks, better energy, better overall wellbeing.
If you would like help weaning off sugar or would like to address the root causes of your condition, rather than simply suppressing symptoms, please contact the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment. Please note that an Enquiry Call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this a clinical approach you wish to pursue.