How to break sugar addiction?Â
Know the hidden sugar in foods such as sugar in Ketchup. How to break sugar addiction? Use plant-based sweetener, Stevia powder, or Monk fruit. Read the 7 steps to break sugar addiction and emotional eating.Â
Refined Sugar - the cause of inflammation and chronic diseases
Refined sugar, as per scientific research is known to be the hidden root cause of chronic inflammation and chronic inflammation is known to be the hidden root cause of most major chronic diseases in the body such as:
· GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease)
· Cancer
· Cardiovascular / heart disease
· Parkinson’s disease
· Alzheimer’s disease
· Rheumatoid arthritis and the list goes on…
Sugar is highly addictive and difficult to stop once you get a sugar craving which can easily turn into addiction before you know it and be the hidden root cause of Brain fog, Yeast infection, Candida, fungal overgrowth, and hair fall / seborrheic dermatitis, etc. So, how to break sugar addiction? We will learn about it. First, let us discuss the sources of hidden refined sugar.Â
Sources of hidden refined sugar
1. Sugar in Ketchup /Salad dressings etc.
2. Soda pop may have around 4-5 table spoons of hidden refined sugar
3. Fruit Juice /Muesli bars/ Jams/ Cereals: may contain hidden high fructose corn syrup
4. Desserts: Baked Goods like Cakes, Pastries, cookies /Chocolates, and sweets all loaded with refined sugar.
8. Refined carbohydrates such as pasta, burgers, pizza, bread, croissants, etc all made from refined carbs stripped of fiber known to increase inflammation and eventually be the hidden cause of diabetes.
9. Nut Butters loaded with refined sugar
10. Dairy products : Flavored yoghurt /Ice cream /Milk
11. Maple syrup /Honey may contain hidden glucose etc.
It is always critical to check the ingredients before buying anything to look for hidden sugar.
How to break sugar addiction?
Listed below are the 7 steps to get over sugar addiction:
1) Sleep to manage sugar cravings
Having 7-8 hours of sleep is critical to manage our sugar cravings and help prevent emotional eating as when we do not sleep well or have less than 8 hours of sleep, the cortisol levels increase in our brain and so does the hunger hormone Ghrelin which causes us to feel more hungry and eat more so SLEEP is absolutely the FIRST STEP to breaking the hunger cycle and managing your sugar cravings and emotional eating.Â
2) Mindful living practices to break sugar addiction
Mindful living means you are making an effort to live your life consciously in a state of full awareness for better lifestyle management, health, and disease prevention with a healthy routine. So, how to break sugar addiction through mindful living practices? Here is an example. Going for a walk daily is critical to managing our mood and emotions. As walking helps boost endorphins, release happy hormones, and lower stress hormones like cortisol and adrenalin levels thereby helping us to manage our emotional eating better. This makes us more mindful of our lifestyle and health for disease prevention and reducing inflammation.
3) Mindful eating to overcome emotional eating and breaking sugar addiction
Mindful eating means you are consciously aware of what and how much you are eating and whether it’s fueling, nourishing, and healing your body or feeding your disease ..!!!.
Always check ingredients before purchasing or consuming, look for refined sugar high fructose corn syrup, and glucose and avoid those products. Use plant-based sweeteners such as Monk fruit and know how to break sugar addiction.Â
4) Food and mood journal to break sugar addiction
Emotions only last 90 seconds. Our thoughts control our emotions. Journaling your thoughts when you get a sugar craving /emotional desire to attack food, and re-wiring your brain and mind to change it to focus away from sugar to something healthier like a goal of a disease-free healthier body is an option. It is very simple to know how to break sugar addiction if your mind allows it. Substituting junk food loaded with calories with healthier options like celery /carrot sticks with avocado /hummus etc. or replacing sugar with monk fruit sweetener and keeping a food journal helps us in remaining mindful of what we are eating throughout the day until it becomes a conscious habit to help us eventually break the cycle of emotional eating.
5) Whole foods diet to avoid sugar cravings
Include Lean protein with every meal which is hormone and antibiotic-free, grass-fed has more fatty oily fish like Salmon / Sardines / Barramundi fish with every meal to help keep you full longer, reduce inflammation and avoid sugar cravings
–FiberÂ
Have a minimum of 20-25 grams of fiber a day.
–Healthy fats
Include healthy fats in your daily diet such as avocado, nuts, and seeds such as flax seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
–Healthy oilsÂ
Only cook in extra virgin olive oil /avocado oil / extra virgin coconut oil which has healthy fats.
–Avoid simple carbsÂ
Stopping or avoiding simple carbs low in fiber like burgers/pizza, white bread, etc. is known to cause inflammation and long-term chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, etc.
6) Portion control to manage sugar levels
Being mindful of portions, having 5-6 small portions instead of 3 large helps balance sugar cravings and blood sugar levels.
7) Plant-based sweeteners to replace refined sugar
Replacing refined sugar and products with hidden sugars as in the list above and replacing them with healthier options such as plant-based Stevia powder or pure Monk fruit sweetener is a step to break sugar addiction, which is great for diabetics too.
So now you know how to break your sugar addiction, feel free to contact me for a free discovery session with no strings attached.
Sonya Pinto
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