It’s been quite a long time that we have been advocating the benefits of lowering sugar in the diet. Indeed, Robert Spurlock, the director of the documentary Supersize Me, has shown that sugar can not only cause you feel bad, but also get you addicted. Basically, aside from adding a tremendous amount of calories into your diet, due to its taste (it’s really hard to stop), but you also get hooked on it and always come for more.
Recently, we stumbled upon a new research by Dr. Robert Lustig, a maverick scientist who believes that sugar is not only able to add extra calories (and inches), but also is comparable to tobacco and cocaine. This is quite a serious accusation, given that our government allows sugar to be added everywhere, but we will not get into the political discussion today. Instead, we would like to share with you some of his research about the sweet poison.
According to Dr. Lustig, it’s not the extra calories in sugar that lead to weight gain and diabetes, it’s the addiction to this substance that causes it. In his words, telling people to lose weight, while they are addicted to sugar is like telling a person with diabetes not to drink water. Very small percentage may succeed, but most will stick to it for about 2-6 weeks and then will give up. It’s not because of the low will power, but because our minds can easily be tricked that we NEED sugar, if we get addicted to it.
Lustig argues that the addiction is not only mental, but also physical. This is because it is caused by the metabolic changes, when the hormones undergo a shift that throws the entire endocrine system out of balance. Sugar is known for spiking insulin in the human body. The insulin spike (or sugar high) lasts only about 20-30 minutes, after which it suddenly drops. Leptin and ghrelin, the two hormones that signal the brain that you are full, follow insulin both, on its way up and down. Therefore, the sudden drop in insulin, leptin and ghrelin results in an increase of stress hormone – cortisol, which brings about his friend – hunger. As a results, you are hungry again, even if you ate just an hour ago and you right away start craving sugar to repeat that insulin spike again. This cycle repeats itself over and over again, making you more and more reliant on sugar to feel full again.
Unfortunately, if you are a Sugarholic, there is no SA that can help you with it. But there is a DIY method that can liberate you from the vicious cycle of insulin spikes. Throughout the years of working with clients whose goal is to lose weight, we found that the best way to get rid of cravings is to eat a diet that is high in fiber, omega 3s and lean proteins. It is also essential to detoxify the body from sugar for one week by eating a very strict diet. This shows your brain that you are quitting “cold turkey” from eating sugar. It is hard at first, but after a week of the detox our clients always feel the difference. Of course, it is important not to get back to it again and we strongly encourage them to continue with our nutrition plans to achieve the best results. But that one detox week always makes a huge difference and they are much more likely to stick to their plan.
So if you are addicted to the white substance, try our Body Beautiful: 7 Day Nutrition Detox for absolutely free. You will feel much better after one week of it and will be ready to give up sugar for good!
About the Author: Ana Plenter
