How to Stop Sugar Cravings?

Sugar is an ubiquitous substance in the human diet. Whether in industrial products, processed foods, fruits and vegetables, it is everywhere where its presence is not necessarily expected. It therefore seems impossible to get rid of it. However, official recommendations advise to limit its consumption. Indeed, although it is the main source of energy for the body, excess sugar can easily cause health problems ranging from overweight to diabetes. Focus on different tips for adopting good eating habits.

Stop Sugar Cravings

Sugar in Your Diet

Sugar, as we all know, is abundant in the diet. It primarily serves as the fuel for the body’s cells. Indeed, the body maintains its physiological functions by obtaining the required energy from sugar consumed in the form of carbohydrate with food. During digestion, these molecules are converted into glucose. The glucose produced is used as an energy source by the muscles for contraction, as well as by the brain for proper cognitive functioning. Sugar consumption is significant and considered vital for the body’s survival due to the role it plays in the body. According to ANSES official recommendations, 100 g of sugar per day should be more than enough to keep the body running. However, if too much sugar is consumed.

The Health Consequences of Sugar Addiction

Sugar is a highly addictive substance. Sweet foods have long been known to provide a sense of comfort in times of depression, sadness, or exhaustion. As a result, fighting the sugar craving is a difficult task. However, in order to moderate your consumption or even eliminate sugar from your diet, you must first understand the negative effects of excessive sugar consumption on the body and health. Excess sugar in the diet can lead to a variety of symptoms and illnesses. It promotes, in particular:

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  • Obesity if the addiction persists;Ā 
  • Dental care;Ā 
  • Cancers, including pancreas, liver, colon, and stomach cancers;Ā 
  • Skin problems;

Cardiovascular diseases

Stop Sugar Cravings

Sugar and overly sweet foods are well known to cause weight gain. Being overweight as a result of excessive sugar consumption can easily lead to a variety of diseases ranging from diabetes to heart problems. Thus, a sugar-free diet may be of interest to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease or simply to lose weight sustainably

Sugar-free diet: how to reduce sugar in your diet or stop it completely?

As pointed out earlier, sugar is literally everywhere, which makes adopting a sugar-free diet quite difficult. Switching from the usual diet to a sugar-free diet does not happen overnight. Indeed, the taste for sugar is deeply rooted in everyone’s eating habits. It is quite possible to adopt a healthy and clean diet without abusing the consumption of sugar. This food transition goes through several stages. In addition, it is important to adopt certain reflexes in order to make the fight against sugar cravings less painful.

Cut out sugar and wean off gradually

It’s hard to kick a bad habit. This long process takes time and a lot of patience. The same is true for sugar addiction. Flagship ingredient of everyday life, it is simply not possible to eliminate sugar all at once. Despite the health problems that its excess can cause, carbohydrates in all their forms remain essential to the survival of the body. It is therefore a question of controlling, at first, the quantity of sugar ingested on a daily basis. There are several ways to do this:

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  • Reduce the consumption of sugary foods during the day, whether at breakfast, at dessert time or at snack time;
  • Do not add sugar to homemade recipes;
  • Avoid snacking on sweets throughout the day.

Identify products that hide sugar

Sugar is the flagship ingredient of the food industry. In a process aimed at eliminating sugar from the diet, it is therefore important to identify all products likely to contain it in order to limit or even stop their consumption. To do this, it is important to read food labels carefully before buying them. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find sugar, even in certain salty industrial dishes. Unsurprisingly, refined sugar is present in considerable quantities in candies, cookies, cake packets, yogurts and cream desserts. For a healthy and balanced diet, without excess sugar, it is advisable to work on the quantities of consumption without having to completely remove these products from your diet.

Find healthier alternatives to sugar

The sweet taste is naturally present elsewhere than in white sugar or refined sugar. For those who have great difficulty doing without it, it is quite possible to resort to healthier alternatives such as:

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  • Agave syrup;
  • Honey, including Manuka honey, an exceptional health ally ;
  • Maple sugar;
  • Dark chocolate.

All natural, raw and unprocessed sugars are preferable to industrial and refined sugar. As their sweetening power is generally higher than that of white sugar, the addition of a small quantity is enough to equal several spoonfuls of sugar. Otherwise, the consumption of fruits, rich in natural sugars beneficial to health, is strongly recommended.

Addicted to sugar: using appetite suppressants to get rid of the addiction

Often, consuming sugar is the body’s first reflex when faced with a small craving. Snacking on sweets during the day, in addition to being bad for your health, promotes an increase in blood sugar levels (glycaemia) and the risk of overweight. Here are alternatives:

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  • Dried fruits, nuts and oilseeds, known for their richness in dietary fiber and their incomparable influence on satiety;
  • Gymnema: in addition to being a natural remedy for diabetes, the leaves of this plant act as a natural appetite suppressant and inhibit the body’s sugar cravings;
  • Konjac: it is one of the best appetite suppressants. Also rich in fiber, this Asian plant easily satisfies small daily cravings.

What foods to eat on a sugar-free diet?

Switching to a sugar-free diet means inevitably adopting a healthier and healthier diet. No more products rich in refined sugar! Fruits and vegetables take over. Of course, fruits are a source of sugar, especially glucose and fructose, but they also provide a significant amount of dietary fiber to the body. Do not hesitate to integrate them into a sugar-free diet, at the risk of suffering from a significant sugar deficiency. In addition, there are fruits whose carbohydrate intake, less than 10 g/100 g, is reasonable. These include, among others:

  • Blackberries ;
  • Lemon ;
  • Strawberries ;
  • Watermelon;
  • Raspberries ;
  • melon;
  • Grapefruit.

However, other fresh fruits are just as welcome in this diet.

In addition, it is critical to consume vegetables. In general, their sugar consumption remains manageable in all cases. The following vegetables are ideal for a sugar-free diet:

  • Green beans;Ā 
  • Spinach;Ā 
  • Lettuces;Ā 
  • Legumes;Ā 
  • Peppers

What are the benefits of quitting sugar?

Reducing industrial sugar in the diet has many health benefits. Here are the benefits for your body:

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  • Better immune defenses: the sugar-free diet strengthens the body’s defenses against many diseases (cancer, obesity);
  • Lasting weight loss: sugar is known to make you fat . To stop consuming it is to allow the body to refine itself;
  • A more dynamic body: without industrial sugar, the body regains its vitality and tone. Indeed, without the insulin peaks caused by the ingestion of sugar, the body no longer faces episodes of chronic fatigue and is therefore in better shape.

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Dietician Shivani Sikri - Best Indian Dietician

Shivani Sikri Dietician

Shivani Sikri is an internationally renowned award-winning dietician, nutritionist, columnist, blogger, and nutrigenomics counsellor.

Dietician Shivani is best known as the co-founder of Nutri4Verve, her online clinic where she provides customised dietary and nutrition guidance to her clients. Sikri has been honoured with several accolades, including the Best Dietician in Delhi and the Sattva Iconic Wellness Award 2021. You can surely contact the best nutritionist for weight loss in India and across the globe.

After completing her Masters, Shivani Sikri further attained her POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND NUTRITION (PGDPHN). Additionally, she also completed her POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN NUTRITION & CLINICAL DIETETICS.Ā 

To further enhance her knowledge and skill-set as a Nutritionist in the field, she had accomplished several Professional Certificates pertaining to – ā€œModern Lifestyle Diseases – Awareness and Preventionā€, ā€œAlcohol and its effects on healthā€ and ā€œHIV-AIDS – Awareness and Preventionā€.Ā 

Additionally, Shivani has also completed specialised Extension Online Certificates from Texas A&M, USA in the subjects – Healthy eaters: Infant and Toddler Nutrition in Child Care – and OsteoporosisĀ 

Furthermore, She has also excelled in her Advance Course in ā€œNutrigenomics for Professionals in Nutritionā€ USA.

Also, Shivani Sikri is also a Certified Naturopath.

WEBSITE : https://nutri4verve.com/

Contact : +91-8800339577

Email : [email protected]

SOURCE: WIKITIA

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