Sugar: Why It Is So Hard to Resist, but So Worth It!

Do you crave desserts late at night, find yourself eating quick freezer dinners, getting takeout a few times a week, maybe stopping for a caramel latte when you are on the go? You may not be pounding sodas and ice cream often, however, you are probably consuming three times more sugar in a day than recommended by the American Heart Association. 

On average Americans currently consume 22 teaspoons of sugar each day! What is considered a safe amount of sugar intake to maintain a healthy body is no more than 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men. It may not be obvious how much sugar you are consuming in a day. It accumulates through the carbs you eat, like bread and it hides in sauces, dressings, and most packaged foods!

When you eat something containing sugar, it immediately enters the bloodstream and you feel the rush of energy, or “sugar high”. Then your pancreas begins to release insulin to balance things out. Soon your body clears the sugar out of the blood and then you feel the big crash. When you constantly put yourself through this cycle, you weaken your body and heighten your risk for disease like type 2 diabetes.

Sugars Negative Effects

Too much sugar actually destroys the body from the inside out. It negatively affects the brain, the way you feel, causes inflammation, and feeds the bad bacterias in your gut. The effects have serious health implications. High sugar diets are linked to depression, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and more serious health problems. 

The effects of sugar on the brain are so significant, researchers have compared it to cocaine because it activates the same reward center that drugs and alcohol do. The brain is quick to learn that sugar induces reward and pleasure and so it begins demanding more.

This is how sugar hijacks the brain and overrides your self-control mechanism. When your sugar craving is not fulfilled, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, inability to stay focused, low energy, and may even experience depression. These symptoms such as inability to focus come from dopamine deficiency in the brain, similar to the state in the brain that is found in patients with depression. This dopamine deficiency is temporarily relieved by eating sugar, which is why you will have an overwhelming urge to eat carbohydrates or sweets, otherwise known as the “sugar fix.”

Improving Your Diet

If you want to improve your wellness, brain function, and bring more balance to your hormones and mood, cleaning sugar out and refining your diet is one of the quickest ways to improve your health. Just doing a 3 day cleanse with whole foods and no refined sugar can help you cut back sugar cravings and begin to undo some of the negative effects sugar has on your body. 

Once you push through the hard part, you can refine your daily sugar intake and adjust to a healthier lifestyle. Eliminating packaged foods with hidden sugars, and cutting back on sweets, replacing them with healthier options will instantly improve your wellbeing. Here are some tips for the most effective cleanse.

3-Day Sugar Detox Tips: 

1. Stay Hydrated! 

Drink a lot of water, this can help flush the body of toxins, keep the oxygen flowing, and help you stay focused and alert. Make sure it is water you are drinking for hydration, not coffee and tea, although those are fine to enjoy along with 6-8 glasses of water a day. Try a cup of Hemptealicious™ for some flavor and relaxation in your day. After you have caffeine, stay on top of your water intake. Plenty of water will help your digestive tract, and dilute stomach acid. Add some lemon to your water for a little flavor and its purifying benefits.

2. When you feel hungry, Eat! 

Do not deprive yourself, this cleanse is about nourishing your body with good healthy foods and retraining your brain to get its energy from protein and whole food nutrients. This does not mean a bland diet, so go for variety and add spices to your foods, just make sure sugar is not in the spice blend! Eat a lot of good proteins, like meats, chicken, nuts, seeds, eggs, hummus, and fish. Taste all the colors, go for carrots, tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, and dark greens. All these colorful plants give your body a full array of vitamins, antioxidants, and restore you with vibrant energy.

3. Prep and plan ahead!

To ensure a good detox experience make sure you plan some meals ahead of time and prepare delicious foods you know you will love. Make a list, go to the store, and spend some time preparing food for the following day like lemon chicken, roasted veggies, homemade dips, and other things you may want on hand. Having tasty food ready to go is so helpful when you are cleansing so you can fulfill your hunger with real food and not create extra challenges or temptations for yourself to grab a packaged snack. 

Just 3 days without sugar in your diet will make a great difference in your energy levels, how you feel, boost your immune system and inspire you to improve and refine your diet. You can continue to take a dose of CBD oil each day during your cleanse for extra support to your endocannabinoid system. A benefit to using full spectrum CBD is that it can help balance mood and hormones, so it makes a great addition to your wellness routine. Start the new year with a focus on wellness and make your health the priority.