Why detox from Sugar?

"She has a sweet tooth" is one of the expressions some people belittle sugar addiction. Cravings for sweets and sugary food is still seen as harmless by our society.

Some people diagnosed with Diabetes Type II enjoy their sweet treats and use injections to alter the effect of sugar.

Once people thought the damaging impact of sugar through they are looking for a consequent and efficient way to ban sugar from their menu.

The drug Sugar

Sugar has the same physiological and psychological effects of drugs. Like heroin, large amounts of sugar increase the dopamine production. I talked about Neuroscience and Weight in a recent article you can read HERE 

The good news is: Once you understand that sugar IS a drug and needs to be treated as an addiction you also understand that "getting clean" is not as hard as it seems at first.

Did you make the decision to detox?

Congratulations! That is the first step.

Here are some arguments to confirm your decision:

Side-effects of sugar include but are not limited to:

• increases the blood pressure
• increases risk of cardiovascular diseases
• damages teeth
• leads to weight gain
• can lead to insulin resistance (diabetes)

 Sugar craving is as old as the human race

  Yes, people feel the need to eat sugar. Since ancient times. Only back in the times before food processing that craving was for the only available source of sugar -  fruits. The availability of fruits was limited.   Also, the quality of sugar from real fruit and processed industrial sugar is an entirely different thing.   Fruits contain fiber, vitamins, minerals that are good for us and keep us full. A marshmallow or donut does not deliver that. Therefore, there is a significant risk of overeating.   Sugary food is cheap and widely available. Unlimited.  

It is hidden in many foods you would not even expect it. Sugar has the same effect as MSG´s. Food that without added sugar would be almost tasteless (like lemonade, processed food, candy bars) becomes more attractive and tasty.

Why is so much sugar in our food?

The food industry knows very well about our conscious and unconscious cravings and lust for sugar. They use it to make products appeal more to us - and on top it is cheap. Did you know that sugar is more addictive than cocaine?   We have developed some unhealthy habits as well. Some families are serving strawberries sprinkled with sugar. Or banana slices in milk with sugar.   Often we use sugar to create a taste not to optimize it. A lot of people do not like the taste of coffee and would not ever drink it - without three sugar cubes.   What is your guess? How much sugar is in ketchup? Bread? Processed meals?  

Firstly analyze and understand your sugar consumption

  You could start by asking yourself for example:

• Are the strawberries not tasty? And if they are tasteless or not tasty why am I eating them? Could I not just eat sugar by the spoon? (Ewwww, right?)
• How about coffee? Do I have to drink it if I can only stand it with half a cup of milk and three cubes of sugar?

Just analyze your eating habits and look into all the times you add high amounts of sugar to your food. That includes salad dressings and much more.  

How can I remove sugar from my diet?

1. Remove all sugary drinks from your diet

Do not drink anything sweetened. Are you thinking: "But that does not taste!"?

Trust me on this. It only takes a few days until your taste sensors adapt. Some herbal teas are also appropriate for daily consumptions.

Besides the health risks of sugary drinks (ice tea, lemonade, soda, etc.), drinking sugar also messes with your perception of "sweet".

Your taste buds will adapt, and you will automatically crave less sugar.

"I cannot drink just water" you might say. Why not?

2. Rediscover natural taste and flavor

After only a few days without sugar, you will start tasting the sweetness of food you did not expect to be sweet. Onions, nuts, cinnamon. Fruits (ok, you probably expected fruits to taste sweet). Very many foods taste sweet naturally.

Just we have numbed our taste buds.

Coming back to the strawberries: Eat some raw. How do they taste? Did you know that there are 5-6 different sorts of strawberries that all taste different?

Once your taste buds are not blinded anymore by sugar, you will also notice when you have low-quality tasteless strawberries in front of you, and you can just pass on them.

After removing sugar from your diet, you will sense new flavor in everything you eat. For the first time, you will be able to decide which food you truly like.

3. Analyze your habits and where you consume most sugar

  We all have different eating habits. If you are not ready to eliminate sugar from your diet right away try a step by step approach.   Even after eliminating sugar from our drinks we still consume tons of sugar.   Maybe you enjoy a bagel with jam every morning or the slice of cake after lunch. Or maybe you love a good lasagne (often the tomato sauce contains vast amounts of sugar).   You could say that we have been raised with sugar as a reward. Candy was a treat. Sweet treats were showing love. And there were all these positive events. Cotton Candy at a fair and so on.   Analyze your habits and for the next time study all food labels.   Make the daily piece(s) of cake one piece on the weekend. Substitute food you can only eat with a ton of barbecue sauce with food you like.   Make the special treat special again. The foundation of your diet should be healthy, natural food.  

4. Remove added sugar and sweeteners from your diet

  That is not as easy as it sounds. Food producers tend to hide different forms of sugar behind names and expressions you would not even expect to be sugar.
They do not want to show "sugar" or "corn syrup" as the first ingredient and by adding five different forms of sugar get around that.   In a "healthy" new cereal product of Kelloggs, I found 5!!! various types of sugar. AND "sugar" was still listed as the second ingredient (and 4th and 5th).   Some names for forms of sugar hidden in processed food:

• Barley Malt
• Corn Syrup
• Ethyl Maltol
• Glucose
• Fructose
• Rice Syrup
• Fruit Juice Concentrate
• Maltose
• Diastase
• Molasses
• Galactose
• Aspartame (btw in Germany only legal for feeding to animals to get them fat faster)

This list is not complete. There are around 60 different names you should have an eye out for. On top of that sometimes brand names of sugar substitutes are being used.   For a short while, I suggest that you google each and every item from the ingredient list unless you do know exactly what it is.   You will soon discover that with the exception of a few organic brands it is virtually impossible to buy processed food that does not contain one or more forms of sugar.  

The answer? Back to the roots. A natural diet with unprocessed, natural food seems to be the only species-appropriate form of nutrition. As unhealthy habits and limiting believed are burnt deep into our brains you might want to consider using a helpful tool to reprogram your brain. Again, it really is not as bad as you think. The first 2-3 days without sugar are awful. Soon after many foods, you loved will taste terrible to you. Suddenly you notice how overly sweet even the crust of your loved pizza is.

5. Imagine how much sugar processed food contains

Now that you are aware of the real amounts of sugar in processed food ... a tip that helped me removing sugar from my diet years ago was to imagine how much sugar is in the food I am about to buy or eat. Visualize it. You will find that you often lose the appetite for the ready-made meal or donut.

At this point, you probably already noticed a change in how you feel. You feel better. More energized. Maybe a little proud of yourself.

Visualize the teaspoons of sugar and ask yourself: Do I want to feel worse and insert all that toxin for a short "high"??

The solution to successful and permanent weight loss

As a Holistic Nutrition Consultant (one of my hobbies), I have looked into many, many programs, powders and such.   My findings:

• The best approach to diet is your common sense.
• There are no wonder pills that could beat your willpower
• Diet starts with the brain

 With over half of our nation being overweight it is pretty obvious that there is a problem that cannot be addressed with the traditional approach.   It is not like we would be a nation of people lacking willpower or the energy to make a change.  

Many of my clients have undergone countless diets that only had one thing in common: No results, no lasting results or loss of quality of life. Some "wonder diets" are even unhealthy and promote malnutrition. Maybe you have looked for help several times, just like many of my clients, and nearly lost hope that there IS a healthy, inexpensive, doable way for you to take back control over your weight.

You need to attack there where the craving enemy strikes. In your brain.   Unless you are a regular reader of my blog you might be surprised that the two products I recommend both have the focus on brain re-training.   Here are two solutions that WILL empower and enable you to make the changes needed for your ideal weight and your health.   Your journey through useless and expensive diets ends here.  

1. Live Event "Winning the Game of Weight Loss!

Join this free, expert packed  live event HERE

2. NeuroWisdom101 by Mark Waldman

A free eBook is available (look on the right side of this blog) and you find his product HERE   Mark Waldman´s program is not explicitly labeled "weight-loss" but enables you to take back control over your mind and your life.