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Giving up sugar: what will happen to the body

Date of publication: 08 September 2021
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Excessive amounts of sweets in our diet not only leads to weight gain, but also disrupts the normal functioning of metabolism, increases the risk of developing diabetes and other serious diseases. Giving up sugar is the first step to a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition.



Why do we want the sweet?

The main reason for the desire to eat the sweet is the deficit of carbohydrates in the diet, improper diet, strict diet, poor nutrition, as well as the ambition to lose weight. Such a lifestyle will not result in anything good. Your body will constantly demand carbohydrates - baked goods, cakes and candies.
Frequently, we want sweets simply because of the bad habit of constant eating. As a result, blood sugar will rise, insulin will lower it, and such jumps will cause an endless feeling of hunger and the urge to eat something sweet. This chain leads to obesity and diabetes.
People with increased brain activity are especially fond of sweets and sweet baked goods. Since the brain feeds on carbohydrates, in this way it tries to maintain working efficiency.


Women want sweets on certain days of the menstrual cycle. This is due to a decrease in the hormone estrogen, this is followed be a reduced production of the hormone serotonin, in return the body requests sweets.
In depression, lack of love and attention, we are addicted to sweets. In this way the body protects itself from a bad mood and produces serotonin - the hormone of happiness and pleasure. However, after a short period of time after eating a portion of chocolate, hunger overtakes us. It turns out to be a vicious circle.
The more we forbid ourselves to eat sweets, the harder it is for us to stop wanting them.
We consider chocolate or other sweets as a reward. After all, in childhood we regularly heard: “until you finish the soup, you won't get candy.” As well as: “sweets are only for those who behave well.” Curiously enough, such an attitude echoes in adulthood. 
 

Why give up the sweet?

Sugar affects the body like a drug. It has been proven that in eating sweets, the same centers in the brain are activated as in taking cocaine. And one more unpleasant news: addiction to sugar develops a few days earlier than that to the drug.
Of course, a complete rejection of sugar is impossible. Sugar is present in many healthy foods - fruits, berries and even vegetables. In addition, sugar in the right form and in a moderate amount is necessary for the body. Of course, refined sugar-containing products and desserts do not belong here.
The recommended daily intake of sugar is 25 grams– this is about five teaspoons. However, every day we consume sugar in much larger amounts.


So, why is it necessary to review your diet for increased sugar content and what will happen to our body after giving up this substance?
 

Mood becomes stable

Many people believe that sugar improves mood. However, this is not the case. Studies have shown that women who consumed foods with a high glycemic index were more prone to depression than the second group of participants who consumed less of such food. The fact is that sugar in large amount leads to chronic inflammation in the body. At the next stage, this affects the work of the brain, provoking depression. Plus, sharp fluctuations in blood sugar levels lead to the same mood swings. So, after eating a piece of chocolate, we can feel a surge of energy, but this state rather quickly is replaced by the opposite.


Cases of cold-related diseases will be reduced

As mentioned above, high concentrations of sugar (and gluten) lead to chronic inflammation. Any inflammation makes the body weaker, therefore, the risks of catching cold increase. And vice versa. This risk decreases with a reduction in sugar levels. In addition, according to studies, the “no sugar” diet reduces the manifestations of such diseases as allergies and asthma.


Excess weight will decrease

Sugar is present not only in baked products and desserts, but also in sauces, marinades, semi-finished meat products, breakfast cereals, in many of low-fat products, fermented dairy products, packaged juices, carbonated drinks and alcohol. This is an incomplete list. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, on average, each person consumes about 22 teaspoonfuls of added sugar daily. Thus, if you get rid of added sugar at least, it is possible to get rid of 350 extra calories a day.
Having excluded sweets, you will eat vegetables and herbs in large amounts. So, thanks to a sufficient amount of useful substances, you will feel a surge of strength. As a result, you will begin to lose weight, because your body will be free from excess sugar, which is converted into extra kilograms. It is necessary to resist and continue eating products that do not contain sugar. Later, when the result is fixed, nutrition experts allow cheatmeals with your favorite treats – but no more than once a week.
 



Your teeth will become healthier, and your breath will be fresh

The sweet harms your teeth. It destroys tooth enamel. In addition, regular eating of lollipops leads to mechanical damage to teeth. Bacteria that are the cause of bad breath are fed by sugar.

Sleeping will improve

Refusal of sweets before going to bed will very quickly affect its quality - you will feel that sleep has become calm. This is due to the fact that eating sweet food before going to bed causes an additional release of stress hormones. Sugar is not an antidepressant, on the contrary, it triggers the production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Thus, giving up sugar allows you to establish a healthy sleep cycle after a week of the “no sugar” diet.



The skin will become cleaner

After two weeks of sugar detox, you will find that the skin has become smoother, and such manifestations as acne (if any) have seriously decreased. By the way, sugar is a source of inflammation not only on the skin of the face, but also on other parts of the body. According to research of American scientists, giving up sugary carbonated drinks reduces acne by 87%.

 

Memory will improve

Since childhood, we have heard that sweets nourish the brain, so before a test or exam we tried to eat a chocolate bar. However, there is a downside: it has been proven that excess sugar disrupts the bonds between brain cells and the ability to learn. Therefore, even a week-long sugar detox can save nerve cells, memory and a sharp mind.

How to get rid of sugar addiction more comfortably

- It is necessary to get rid of sugar addiction gradually. Start by reducing sugar portions. For example, add one spoonful of sugar to tea or coffee instead of two, eat one candy instead of two. If you abruptly remove sugar from the diet, the body will feel serious stress.
- Exclude sugar-containing beverages from the diet. Replace packaged juices and carbonated drinks with water and freshly squeezed juices.
- Determine the norm of physical exercises for which you will reward yourself with sweets. For example, 30 squats for a candy. In this way you can get used to the fact that you will have to “earn” sweets. In addition, physical activities stimulate the production of dopamine, which is responsible for a good mood.
- Fructose will help in the fight against sugar addiction. This natural substance is present in honey, fruits, vegetables. Thanks to fructose-containing products, you can more safely replenish the lack of glucose in the body.
Giving up sugar is stressful for the body. Therefore, in the first weeks of such a diet, you may feel headaches or other discomfort. This happens when you refuse products that have been in use for a long time and have already caused addiction. After a couple of weeks, the "side effects" will pass or noticeably decrease. From the third week, you, and even others, will notice significant positive changes due to sugar detox.
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