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Sugar is an easily digestible refined product that is not of particular value to the body of a modern person. The use of sugar in food is based more on psychological dependence, caused by the desire to treat yourself to something delicious, and later on biological, due to the body's need for glucose as a result of large releases of insulin into the blood. Such a cycle of insulin and glucose with a constant increase in portions of sugar is not harmless and can cause cardiac disorders, reduced immunity, the development of hypoglycemia, and then diabetes mellitus.
The only way to break the vicious circle is to eliminate sugar from the diet. How to do this with the least loss – consider below.
1. Find the cause of your addiction
Easily digestible carbohydrates are the most accessible source of serotonin (“pleasure hormone”), which the body needs to fight bad mood. Having become accustomed to the use of sugar as a way to overcome stress, the body becomes dependent on the next portion of sweets, like a drug. According to statistics, more than 50% of those with a sweet tooth are psychologically addicted to sugar, and the rejection of it is accompanied by the strongest “breaking”
Realizing the reason for your need for sweets, it is easier to switch to getting serotonin from other sources (from playing sports, hobbies, communicating with nice people): a person understands that the cause of his discomfort is only a habit – and changes it.
2. Follow the diet
So that the body in need of glucose does not prompt to fill its deficiency in the simplest way, it is recommended to eat at least 4-5 times a day in small portions. This will eliminate the appearance of severe hunger during the day and reduce the likelihood of a breakdown with a snack with something sweet.
During the period of refusal of sugar, breakfast is mandatory – with a full stomach, it is much easier to keep from snacking, especially if there are protein foods (cheese, fish, cottage cheese) in the morning meal that cause prolonged satiety.
3. Cut Out Sources of Sugar
Its main sources in the daily diet are sweets, cookies, chocolate. Find out what you use the most and stop buying it. The share of sugar in the composition of products such as ketchup, sausage, mustard is acceptable, but if a person seeks to give up sugar as much as possible, it is worth reducing the number of such products in your menu.
Food photo created by KamranAydinov – www.freepik.com
4. Enrich your diet with complex carbohydrates
Unlike easily digestible carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates do not cause a sharp increase in sugar levels, being digested for a long time in the stomach and contributing to the slow entry of glucose into the blood. Such products fully satisfy the body's need for carbohydrates as the main energy providers and eliminate the appearance of hunger and cravings for sweets for 3-4 hours after eating.
Sources of complex carbohydrates are whole grain cereals, legumes, vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, onions, eggplants, cabbage), wholemeal flour products, etc. It is recommended to include them in the diet at least twice in the morning, there are no special restrictions.
5. Switch to fruit
Fruit is the most valuable source of sugar, which can completely replace a refined product. Although fructose is, in fact, a sugar of natural origin, it is much safer to make up for the lack of carbohydrates with it, if only because insulin is not required for the absorption of fructose.
When giving up sugar, doctors recommend switching attention to fruits, dried fruits and honey – they increase blood glucose levels to a lesser extent and fully satisfy the body's need for sweets.
6. Avoid sugary drinks
By giving up sugar in its traditional form and confectionery, many people make the mistake of continuing to use soda, packaged juices, sports drinks, sweet tea and coffee.
"Liquid calories" are insidious: for example, 0,5 liter of lemonade contains about 15 tsp. sugar at a conditionally safe product rate of 6 tsp. per day. According to doctors, 1 liter of soda drunk per day increases the risk of developing acquired diabetes in children by 60%, and in middle-aged women by 80%.
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7. Change gradually
Refusal of sugar should not be accompanied by physical or mental discomfort that exceeds acceptable limits – dizziness, trembling in the limbs, depression. In the first two cases, it is recommended to consult a doctor: feeling unwell may be a sign of a metabolic disorder, which, with a sharp restriction of sugar intake, first manifested itself or aggravated.
It is better to switch to a healthy diet gradually, observing changes in the body. If the lack of sugar in food causes a long-term depression, apathy, then the motivation is not strong enough, it is difficult for the psyche to cope with changes. Gradually reducing the proportion of sugar in the diet will make the transition from the "sweet life" to a healthy one less painful and more successful.
Source: neboleem.net
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