The benefits of quitting added sugars

1. It is not that easy to stop adding sugar, but it is definitely worth it because the benefits are great. Stopping or cutting refined sugar ensures a more balanced blood level, the pancreas is less burdened and possible insulin resistance can be counteracted. Stored fats will be burned better, so you will be able to lose weight. Quitting sugar is also beneficial for concentration, vision and memory, and finally you get more energy.

​​Why eating added refined sugars is unhealthy

1. ​​When a sugar-rich sandwich from the supermarket is provided with a generous layer of chocolate spread or sprinkles, we do not eat food, but stuffing. You could as well eat ten sugar cubes instead of this sandwich, the nutritional value of both products is not very different. While eating this sugar bomb, the blood sugar level shoots up, the pancreas immediately shoots up and starts to produce a lot of insulin to prevent the blood sugar level from becoming too high, because a high sugar level is harmful to the body. The sugar level drops again quickly due to the large amount of insulin, a little too quickly, so we quickly feel lethargic and tired again and we rush back to the kitchen to consume the next sweet bite.

Pancreas exhaustion

1. Eventually, the pancreas can become overloaded and exhausted, less and too little insulin is produced, and insulin resistance can also arise as a result of eating too much sugar, the body is then no longer able to keep blood sugar levels within healthy acceptable limits. Type 2 diabetes, the great disease of prosperity of our current modern era, can even develop. Complaints with excessive sugar consumption are blurred vision, a poorer mood, poorer concentration and chronic fatigue. It is clear that too much added sugar causes an excessive fluctuation of the blood sugar level and in the worst case even a too high blood sugar level, which is therefore harmful to the body. All this does not mean, however, that no more sugar should be eaten at all, on the contrary, it is precisely about avoiding refined sugars (processed and manufactured by manufacturers), and above all that as many natural sugars as possible are contained in fresh oranges, cherries. whether plums are present are consumed.

Quitting refined sugar is difficult

1. The Dutch eat an average of 35 kg of added sugars per year, only 15% of this consists of sugar that we add ourselves by means of lumps or sprinkle sugar, the other 85% is added to our food by manufacturers . It is not that easy to significantly reduce or completely stop eating added sugars. Sugars are found everywhere, not only in sweetened products such as cookies, gingerbread and chocolate, but also in savory products such as pasta sauces, chicken sauces, processed meat and tomato ketchup. It is even found in canned or glass jars, crackers, desserts, yogurt, sauerkraut and bread. Fortunately, the healthiest food from a supermarket is right at the start, and that is unprocessed fruit and vegetables, it is this food that you can best use to get as little refined sugars as possible.

How do you go about quitting refined sugar?

1. Avoid products with added sugar if possible. That means no more cookies, no more chocolate spread, jam or peanut butter, and no soft drinks or fruit juices. You can replace a pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, you will soon start to appreciate the much better taste of fresh products. You can replace orange juice with real oranges. Also avoid white flour products such as white bread, white and yellow spaghetti, white rice, and eat only whole grain products. This is because white flour is just as unhealthy as refined sugar because it increases blood sugar levels quickly and quickly.

A lot of information can be found on labels

1. Sometimes it is not entirely possible to avoid consuming refined sugars, such as when eating bread. Then choose the healthiest bread with as little sugar as possible, so always look carefully at the labels. Cheap chocolate spread with 50% sugar can be replaced by organic hazelnut spread with, for example, 35% sugar, this makes a difference again. In organic stores you can often buy peanut butter that is only made from peanuts and does not contain added sugars, you can pay attention to these kinds of things. In addition, it is good to eat and drink savory products such as fatty cheese, butter, coconut oil, whole milk and eggs, these products give a much more satiated feeling than sugar, but do not affect the blood sugar level and the pancreas. It's also good to say no to cakes at parties, your pancreas will be happy!

A number of advantages of quitting refined sugar in a row

1. When you stop or reduce considerably with added sugars, your energy level will increase and you will especially experience a more stable energy level, the continuous fluctuations in your blood sugar level will disappear and your pancreas will get more rest. In addition, you will sleep better and deeper, so it is easier to get up the next day and often do not have to take a nap in the afternoon.

Lose weight

1. The body, when added sugar is stopped, switches back to burning fats instead of sugars, which means that sports and exercise finally makes sense to lose weight properly. Because fats are burned, possibly occurring fatty liver will be reduced, this will make the liver healthier and function better. Better health will make you more satisfied. Sugar suppresses the hormone leptin that makes us feel satisfied, this hormone will start working again when we stop sugar. With poor or ineffective leptin, we are less likely to feel full, which is also the reason why people who are addicted to sugar always have a hungry feeling and then eat a whole roll of cookies.

Improve eye vision

1. Quitting sugar is also better for your eyes, because excessive use of refined sugars can make your vision more blurred. Myopia is a common phenomenon in people with a high sugar and Western diet. In addition to the positive effects for the eyes, your teeth will also benefit, healthy teeth also means better health for many other bodily functions such as the heart and blood vessels.

Defense system

1. As soon as you start eating less sugar, the 'environment' in the intestines is improved, because the ratio between proteins, fibers, minerals and vitamins on the one hand and sugar on the other increases. With a better intestinal flora your resistance also increases, but stopping sugar also has a very positive effect on your immune system in another way: sugar slows down the functioning of white blood cells. In addition, sugar is a 'vitamin eater'. Vitamins are used in the digestion of sugars, but vitamins are also very important to maintain your immune system, when consumed sugar reduces the supply of vitamins, it is not beneficial for the immune system.

Diabetes type 2

1. As mentioned, unhealthy eating and excessive sugar consumption increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, and reducing and strongly restricting sugar consumption may therefore reduce the risk of diabetes and the development of insulin resistance. . Mind you, type 2 diabetes can also develop with a healthy diet, but it is always worthwhile to eat healthy and exercise a lot.

Alzheimer's

1. There is a link between the development of Alzheimer's disease and increased blood sugar. The production of the “Alzheimer's protein” amyloid-beta increases with increased blood sugar and too much of this protein causes plaques to accumulate in the brain and thus affects the functions of the brain. Also or especially in people with diabetes, the sugar level is less well regulated. In them too high sugar levels can cause a large production of the protein amyloid-beta, in that sense there is a link between diabetes and Alzheimer's, but one does not have to have diabetes to still have a greater chance of eating too much sugar. the onset of Alzheimer's disease. It is therefore always advisable to consume little added sugars.