Sugar Detox: Lower Sugar for Better Health

A sugar detox is simply lowering the overall levels of sugar you eat. Lowering sugar for better health should be an overarching goal on a consistent basis.

Excess sugar in our diets is driving obesity and chronic disease and there is more and more evidence of this. Eating 6 or more servings of white bread per day is linked to obesity. Sugar is a sneaky thing. It doesn’t just cause cravings and make you fat, consuming too much sugar can lead to all kinds of health issues.

What We Know About Sugar

We KNOW for sure that lots of sugar in the diet impacts health in the short term AND the long term. In the short term it definitely causes mood and energy swings, exacerbates acne, increases PMS symptoms and negatively impacts sleep.  In the long term we know it contributes to depression and anxiety, insomnia, and negatively impacts our adrenals and leads to insulin resistance and eventually to pre diabetes and full blown diabetes.

So, limiting your sugars is a good idea and it is easy to get started.

Here’s How to Lower Sugar for Better Health

• READ LABELS: Pay attention to labels-sugar is labeled as cane, syrup, fructose, and lot of other chemical-sounding names with an –ose at the end.
• CHOOSE WHOLE FOODS: (berries vs. jolly rancher berry flavor)-whole foods have the sugar wrapped in fiber, which slows down the negative effects. Whole foods also taste real and better than the packaged sugar-added versions.
• PREP YOUR FOOD AHEAD OF TIME: Bring a snack–instead of buying something from Starbucks, pack a salad for lunch from leftovers from last night’s dinner.

Reframe What Dessert Looks Like

Here are a couple of quick and easy good idea WHOLE FOOD desserts:

–Chocolate-covered strawberries

–Fruit kabobs served with whipped cream

–Spiced Lattes (coffee, almond milk, coconut milk w pumpkin pie, vanilla, or ginger/cinnamon/nutmeg combo)-delicious but not that sweet.

Ask for Help

If you are struggling with lowering your sugars, please reach out to the holistic nutritionists at Healthy Nest Nutrition. We are here to help; we talk about this stuff all day long and have answers for your struggles.