Sugar detox
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get off the roller coaster
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Sugar addiction is very common physical addiction and withdrawal is comparatively mild to emotional and psychological withdrawal that usually accompanies it. Symptoms of this process are fatigue, anxiety and irritability, depression, detachment rapid heart beat and palpitations.
Getting off refined sugars and processed carbs that make blood sugar spike can be one of the keys to permanently staying at your healthy weight easily. This is also a key to avoiding disease, getting the kind of stable energy you want throughout the day and sleeping better. It will also be reflected in your skin, because your hormones will be more stable and your break outs will begin to diminish.
Good Foods to replace sugary foods with:
Fruit
Popcorn
Almond butter & celery
Protein smoothies
Tea
mixed nuts & seeds
salad
dried fruit (if tolerated)
Once you get off the sugar roller coaster, you will easily spot how one sugary treat sends you right back into the cravings cycle! You will start craving carbs soon after that initial sugar rush starts to let down, and that's the time to reach for protein or a salad to break the cycle.
Tips for breaking the sugar craving cycle:
- Drink 8 glasses of water + tea per day
- Make sure you are getting enough fiber by eating whole foods
- Check with your doctor about a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and testing to see if you are deficient, some nutrient deficiencies can provoke cravings
- Look out for hidden sugar + artificial sweeteners that mimic sugar in your body, especially in sauces and condiments
- Try stevia or xylitol to see if they work for you in replacing sugar
- Make sure you are getting enough complex carbs + protein to fuel your body, starving it of nutrients and fuel creates a blood sugar crash
- Most bottled juices and juice drinks are mainly sugar, avoid these as well.
- Add fruit as a dessert
Here's more instructions on breaking a serious sugar addiction, remember take your time with it, it didn't happen overnight and it won't go away overnight. From an article "4 Steps to Successfully Cut Down on Sugar" in the Huffington Post:
"The average American adult consumes the equivalent of about 32 teaspoons of sugar per day. Sugar is really the number one food additive: it is added to drinks, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, to bread, sauces, dressings, and to all kinds of processed foods including many low-fat products. "