Sugar has a prominent place on our Kitchen shelves & is used in preparing almost every dessert. Although most of us know the negative impacts of this white powdered gold, we seldom reduces its consumption. It is the most addictive food out there & found in almost every food right from pancakes, bread to Potatoes.
An average American consumes 150 lbs of sugar a year & there is no reason why an individual should consider consuming that much sugar. It is found not only in junk & processed foods, but also in healthy food (although the amount of sugar is pretty less, for instance the amount of sugar in sweet potato is less than that in doughnuts). It is important to note that hidden sugar piles up fast so you should budget less sugar in diet specifically if you are suffering from lifestyle disease or looking to shed weight & fat.
Sugar is inflammatory & consuming in excess can create a lot of health challenges such as cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, diabetes, unhealthy gut & various types of cancers. It can also contribute to tooth decay, obesity, impact brain function & even accelerate your ageing. Consuming a lot of calories only from sugar makes us do away essential nutrients from whole foods.
Let us figure out why we crave so much for this white powder & how we can control it.
Why do we crave sugar?
Let me tell you one thing. Consuming sugar has impact on same parts of brain that are stimulated by addictive drugs which can in turn lead to increased dependence.
Consuming refined/processed sugar ( when compared with diet with more fibre & less sugar) increases your blood flow to part of the brain that regulates cravings, rewards & addictive behaviours. As a result, the reward center activates, & makes you body want more sugary food. Sugar also interferes with appetite regulating hormones resulting in overindulgence. The good part is when you eliminate or reduce the sugar consumption, you will start to notice the intensity of craving goes down- amy be once or twice a week. However, it may vary from person to person depending upon body type.
So what is sugar? In simple terms sugar is linked to carbohydrates & glucose.
We have discussed in detail earlier about good carbs & bad carbs. Carbohydrates are a starchy or sugary part of food. When we talk of sugar, the image of something sweet & delicious comes to our mind. Carbohydrates food both which taste sweet & which doesn’t( potato, bread, pasta etc..) contains sugar. All these foods gets converted into glucose( sugar) once your consume them & are used as fuel to generate energy. The Glycemic Index(GI) of each food determines how quickly it gets converted into sugar. As far your body is concerned, it does not matter whether you are eating sugar or potatoes.
Our earlier blog details about complex & simple carbs details about benefits of consuming complex over simple carbs. In brief, complex carbs are nothing but food items made up of more than 2 molecules. Complex carbs are digested slowly since it has high content of fibre, vitamins, minerals & other micro nutrients. Since they are digested slowly, it consists of foods which have a low Glycemic Index & keeps you full thereby regulating your sugar cravings. Some examples of complex carbs include brown rice, multi grain bread, and quinoa. On the other hand simple carbs except fruits are digested quickly & does not offer much nutritional value because of minimal fibre content. Some of examples of simple carbs include white sugar, white bread, white rice, cookies, sugary snacks, candy, cake, muffins, crackers, chips etc.. These foods spikes blood sugar level instantly ( most of foods have GI in excess of 75).
What is Glucose?
When glucose enters your bloodstream, your pancreas releases insulin, Insulin regulates glucose levels by shuttling it to cells to use as fuel. But if a cell has all the fuel it needs for the moment, insulin carries off the extra glucose to be stored as fat. However, a diet high in simple sugar and refined carbs transports a lot of glucose into your blood very quickly. As a result, your pancreas is forced to barf out additional insulin, which impacts insulin sensitivity.
Over time you may develop insulin resistance, which makes your body less effective at regulating blood sugar. Insulin resistance also affects your ability to use stored fat as energy. Too much glucose and insulin are the cause of many diseases such as obesity, diabetes etc…
The World Health organisation recommends not more than 10% of your calories should come from sugar. American Heart Association recommends not more than 6 tbsp of sugar for women & 9 tbsp for men.
You can group sugary foods in following fashion:
Group A: These foods give you fuel, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Beans, whole fruits, whole grains and lentils are great Group A examples that will keep you satiated and your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. Fruits have vital nutrients, cancer-fighting antioxidants and fiber, all of which promote a healthy you. The key is to enjoy fruit that’s naturally high in fiber, low in sugar and has a low glycemic index. Reach for raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, pears, citrus fruits, apples and plums. Limit the higher GI fruits like bananas, watermelon, pineapple and mangoes (as well as fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates).
Group B: These sweeteners have a little something to offer beyond just the glucose energy. Dried fruits have a higher GI than whole fruits since they’re highly concentrated, but are a good source of micronutrients.
Group C: They are high GI & spikes your sugar level. While jelly, soda, candy, pastries and brownies may give us energy boost, they offer no nutritional benefit. Plus, consuming such a high level of simple sugars can cause fat to be produced and accumulate in the liver.
How to stop sugar cravings?
If you are looking to curb sugar cravings, consider having the following in your diet:
- Have snacks /food items rich in protein & fats such as almonds, walnuts, avocados, peanuts, fish
- High protein smoothie mix with nuts & oats. You can also add almond & Peanut butter.
- Sliced apple with peanut/almond butter
- A small piece of dark chocolate(> 70 % cacao)
- High fibre low GI digestive cookies.
- Keep yourself hydrated. Prefer drinking water in place of canned juices, tea or coffee.
- Green veggies salad
- Fruit salad with Yoghurt.
As your body gets used to less sugar, you may experience detox symptoms such as headaches, low energy, etc. Resting, eating nourishing foods, gentle exercise and making yourself a priority can help manage these symptoms as you adopt & embrace a healthy lifestyle.
