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Good things can happen to your body when you stop eating sugar
Good things can happen to your body when you stop eating sugar
Times of India 17.02.2019
Saying no to a slice of cake or ice cream can be difficult even for the most disciplined eater. Despite its multiple negative effects on health — headaches, energy crashes and even hormonal imbalances — giving up processed or table sugar is tough.
The scientific reason behind this is that sugar activates opioid receptors in our brain which, in turn, trigger off our brain’s reward system. In simple words, eating sugar makes us feel happy and our brain gets used to that feeling. We start craving something sweet when we feel low.
So, what happens to our body when we stop eating sugar? “Studies have shown that [when someone stops eating sugar] there are similar effects as when people get off drugs,” says certified nutritional health counselor Sara Siskind. “You may experience exhaustion, headaches, brain fog and irritability. Some people even have gastrointestinal distress,” Siskind adds. Some may even experience a feeling of sadness, resulting from our body’s efforts to adjust to the now low levels of glucose. “After a week or so, your energy will begin to improve, and you will feel more alive and less irritable,” says Robert Glatter, M.D., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health in New York.
Reducing or removing sugar from your diet will have a positive effect on your sleep. This is because foods containing high amounts of refined sugars reduce the degree of slow wave sleep (SWS), the restorative sleep that consolidates memories and information learned throughout the day, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the dream phase.
You may also end up losing weight. While sugar on its own doesn’t make you gain weight, consuming it in excess can contribute to weight gain. “When you reduce or eliminate sugar, storage of fat will decline slowly, and you will lose some weight. However, this takes time, with the effect typically beginning at one to two weeks,” says Glatter adding that eating more protein and following a regular exercise routine, is key to weight loss.
— BUSINESS INSIDER
Saying no to a slice of cake or ice cream can be difficult even for the most disciplined eater. Despite its multiple negative effects on health — headaches, energy crashes and even hormonal imbalances — giving up processed or table sugar is tough.
The scientific reason behind this is that sugar activates opioid receptors in our brain which, in turn, trigger off our brain’s reward system. In simple words, eating sugar makes us feel happy and our brain gets used to that feeling. We start craving something sweet when we feel low.
So, what happens to our body when we stop eating sugar? “Studies have shown that [when someone stops eating sugar] there are similar effects as when people get off drugs,” says certified nutritional health counselor Sara Siskind. “You may experience exhaustion, headaches, brain fog and irritability. Some people even have gastrointestinal distress,” Siskind adds. Some may even experience a feeling of sadness, resulting from our body’s efforts to adjust to the now low levels of glucose. “After a week or so, your energy will begin to improve, and you will feel more alive and less irritable,” says Robert Glatter, M.D., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health in New York.
Reducing or removing sugar from your diet will have a positive effect on your sleep. This is because foods containing high amounts of refined sugars reduce the degree of slow wave sleep (SWS), the restorative sleep that consolidates memories and information learned throughout the day, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the dream phase.
You may also end up losing weight. While sugar on its own doesn’t make you gain weight, consuming it in excess can contribute to weight gain. “When you reduce or eliminate sugar, storage of fat will decline slowly, and you will lose some weight. However, this takes time, with the effect typically beginning at one to two weeks,” says Glatter adding that eating more protein and following a regular exercise routine, is key to weight loss.
— BUSINESS INSIDER
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