Want to detox from the sugar high of the holidays?

How to decrease sugar intake and overcome a sugar addiction

The average American consumes 66 pounds of added sugar, per year, if eating the standard American diet; this translates into about 19.5 teaspoons every day. (1) Added sugar is found in processed and packaged foods and is added for a variety of reasons: It improves taste, balances spicy, bitter, and sour components of sauces and marinades, acts as a preservative, and makes certain foods more palatable so people will eat them. Sugar is added to many foods, not just the ones that are intentionally made to be sweet, so it’s easy to eat a decent amount of added sugar in one day without even touching the sweets. Then we have the holidays that are typically entertained around an assortment of sugary foods, drinks, and desserts. After a full month of holiday parties, events, and gifts filled with peppermint bark, Christmas cookies, chocolate truffles, and other rich desserts, you’ll find yourself starting the New Year with a raging sweet tooth, making the health goal you have set for the New Year that much challenging.

Sugars addictive nature has been well researched, and numerous studies are indicating that it’s addicting in the same way as other drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin. Documentation both in human and animal studies show that drugs of abuse and certain types of palatable foods like high sugar foods, cause a release of dopamine into the nucleus accumbens, which stimulates the brain’s pleasure or reward centers. Further, clinical studies using brain imagining show the same dopamine receptors lighting up in some obese people after ingesting palatable food as when alcoholics and drug addicts use alcohol or addictive drugs. (2,3) Could sugar be the most popular drug? It appears to be that way given the effects it has on the body, minus the short-term side effects. But what about the long-term side effects?
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The ingestion of sugar causes inflammation within the body, and when consumed in excess over an extended period, can lead to many chronic diseases, not to mention tooth decay. Some of the top health problems include increased risk for heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Some less common side effects that are not usually associated with sugar intake include mood swings, anxiety, depression, memory loss, and impaired learning. The effects of sugar are different for everyone. Some people are more sensitive to sugar than others, and in those highly sensitive individuals, significant behavioral changes manifest that can significantly impair their quality of life. In children, the effects that sugar can have can be seen more on the extreme side from tantrums to outbursts and other behavioral and learning problems. 

Improve sugar cravings and decrease sugar intake

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1. Get out of the habit of buying sweets every time you go to the grocery store. When you have sweets right at your fingertips, you are more likely to give in, especially when you start to be more conscious of your food choices. If you pick up a carton of ice cream with the thought that you will have it just a few times during the week, think again. If it’s taking up space in your freezer, it will be taking up space in your mind causing you to eat it every day until it’s gone.
2. Eat three meals a day and do not go longer than 5 hours between meals. Avoid the blood sugar roller coaster by eating three balanced meals that include a healthy fat, protein, and a complex carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates like sugar, white bread, corn, rice cakes, bagels, croissants, and most packaged cereals spike your blood sugar and cause it to drop quickly, causing you to crave more of the same to bring it back up.
3. Find other avenues to manage stress that don’t involve food. When we are feeling the effects from the hormones of stress, we often make poor choices. Comfort is often sought in pleasurable foods to numb the intensity of our emotions and give us a high. Think about your go-to for when you get stressed. Does it involve food? If so, then you’re likely not reaching for carrots and hummus. When you start making the connection that you feel drawn to food based on your emotions, then you can start implementing healthier behaviors that will allow you to avoid consuming unnecessary junk.
4. Avoid artificial sweeteners. Think switching out sugar for artificial sweeteners is the answer for your weight loss or avoiding diabetes? Think again. A handful of research studies have shown that the use of artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, can contribute to weight gain. They do not activate the food reward pathways like naturals sweeteners do and can lead to filling the sugar void at another time in the day. The intensity of sweetness is also far greater in artificial sweeteners than that of both refined and unrefined sugar; overtime and with continual use, the taste buds can develop a preference for this super sweet taste causing the taste of nutrient dense foods to be less appealing. (4)
5. Replace sweets with healthier alternatives. Foods that are mildly sweet or sour such as almond and peanut butter (with no added sugars or hydrogenated oils), coconut butter (not oil), raw cacao nibs, and fermented foods are all great options that will satisfy a sugar craving. Try a scoop of almond butter with ½ to 1 ounce of cacao nibs; you’ll also get a healthy dose of antioxidants to go along with it! Coconut butter contains natural sugars and healthy fats making it a surprisingly satisfying treat when you get the urge for something sweet, try a tablespoon melted over frozen or fresh fruit or eaten by itself. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha can surprisingly eliminate cravings, just make sure they are raw and not pasteurized so you can reap the benefits from the good bacteria. Now if you feel inclined to something sweeter, try fruit and be sure to include a variety, so you don’t get bored with the same ones. However, be sure to choose fresh or frozen fruit only because both canned and dried fruit often have added sugars.
6. Redirect your attention. Once you get the urge for something sweet, try to wait it out and occupy your attention elsewhere. Work on that project you started, clean your house, go for a walk, or call up a friend for a quick chat. You’ll find that after you do this a handful of times, you won’t be so quick to react to your craving.
7. Stay hydrated. The body often mistakes hunger for thirst when you do not drink enough water, and you become dehydrated. If it has been less than 4-5 hours after your last meal, and you get the urge to eat, try drinking one to two 8-ounce glasses of water, and see how you feel. You can often avoid processed snacks filled with refined sugars like energy bars and granola when you start doing this. Try adding lemon or lime for a flavor enhancer and make sure you are not drinking tap water filled with contaminants, heavy metals, and other chemicals.
8. Get adequate rest. When we don’t get enough rest, the body produces stress hormones, which makes you feel more exhausted, more prone to overreacting to small things, and lessens your ability to focus. It creates an internal environment that makes it challenging to think logically and choose healthier foods, causing you to crave foods with a high glycemic index like sugar and simple carbs to give you a rush of energy.
9. Read food labels. Get in the habit of reading every food label before you purchase it. Food manufacturers often sneak added sugars into their products to get you coming back for more. If a product that you routinely buy has sugar listed in the ingredients (and it doesn’t have to contain it to taste good), find a different brand that doesn’t contain it. Some common foods to be on the lookout include processed meats, salad dressings, sauces (including marinara sauce), nut butters, and crackers. Consuming small doses of refined sugar with every meal can add up and unconsciously primes your brain to crave larger doses later.

References

1. https://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/the-growing-concern-of-overconsumption.html#.Y2FYe3bMLSI
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322312008050
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/