Sugar-free your life because sugar doesn’t give you energy, it takes it.
They say “sugar doesn’t love you back” and this infographic explains in detail why.
Compiled by Yale University in the US, it demonstrates exactly how much sugar there is in everyday soft drinks and why sugar is the leading contributor to childhood and adult obesity and the onset of lifestyle-related diseases worldwide (also known as non-communicable diseases NCDs).
In this article, we dive deeper into the reasons why we should reduce the intake of sugar in our diet.
5 Reasons why you should reduce your sugar intake
1. Sugar is devoid of nutrients, yet it demands a boost in fuel.
Sugar is essentially burning up your reserves, and when the sugar spikes outweigh the nutrients, and the body shifts into a state of physical desperation and mental anxiety.
2. Your mind doesn’t control your hunger, your hormones do.
The feeling of being full comes from the hormone leptin, and hunger comes from the hormone ghrelin. Once ghrelin begins to pump rapidly into the body there is no room for self-control, you need fuel, and you need it now, no matter what it is! This is the moment any old junk food begins to pass through your lips.
If this continues for years, you can reach the point of insulin resistance. Here the ‘ghrelin tap’ is left on most of the day
3. The endocrine system’s prime directive is to keep our blood glucose levels stable for healthy brain and organ activity.
When this is not the case, we begin to have hormonal problems, which can lead to weight gain, adrenal fatigue, reproductive disorders, Type-2 diabetes, mood disorders, high blood pressure, sleep problems, memory loss, impaired concentration, and more. The only way to break this cycle is to consistently fuel the body with high-density nutrient foods and dump the sugar.
4. Ditch the Refined Food.
It’s not just sugar, refined carbohydrates such as pasta, grains, bread, and artificial sweeteners (including soft drinks) that are just as shocking. Look out for products that say “fat-free” because these usually mean ‘sugar laden’. Processed food is no longer food, it just looks like food.
5. Safe Sweeteners
Naturally, sweet plants such as stevia, lucuma, mesquite, and coconut blossom nectar have low GI sweeteners and won’t spike your blood sugar levels. Adding vanilla and cinnamon to your smoothies or breakfast tricks your body into thinking that the food is sweeter than it really is.
If you want to improve your own and your family’s health, weight, and a general sense of well-being, you must manage the amount of sugar consumed daily.
So think before you reach for that drink and remember the healthiest drink of all, tastes great, is free, is usually readily available, and is called water.