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It is no secret that excess sugar is not good for your body or your mind. Getting too much puts you at risk for all kinds of health problems like diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay, and obesity. It can also put you through the ringer emotionally, causing mood swings and brain fog.
If you are here because you’re ready to quit getting so jacked up on the white stuff, good for you! It’s a smart choice, but not necessarily a painless one. We’ll break down what happens in your body when you quit eating sugar, including the positive results that make it all worth it.
You will experience withdrawal
We eat sugar because it makes us feel good, and after awhile, the brain knows to trigger a sugar craving when it wants a hit of happiness. Eating sugar also provides a swift, if temporary, rush of energy.
When you quit eating sugar, the brain will continue to clamor for it for some time. Resisting the craving can be uncomfortable, and may lead to a phase of depression. Some people also report fatigue, irritability, headaches, cramps, or bloating. But hang on! This part lasts just a few days before symptoms ease.
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You’ll start sleeping better
Sugar cravings can hit at the worst times, including right before bed. But if you give in, the resulting sugar rush is likely to keep you from drifting off. Even eating dessert after dinner can impact your slumber. In fact, the more sugar you consume during the day, the more often you are likely to wake up during the night.
Most adults need a solid eight hours of sleep to function properly, and with extended periods of wakefulness, you will feel sluggish and tired the next day – leading to more sugar cravings. You’ll notice pretty quickly after cutting out sugar that you sleep more peacefully and enjoy a stable mood throughout the days.
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You will shed both pounds and inches
Sugar is a calorie-laden product that can easily push you over your recommended intake for the day, and thereby pack on unwanted pounds. The fat generated from eating too much sugar also tends to gather around the waistline.
When you cut out sugar, your calorie consumption naturally goes down, as do the cravings for more and more food. Most people who can stick with a low sugar diet for a month will find they have dropped 5-6 pounds and have a trimmer waist.
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Your risk of heart disease goes down
When you eat too much sugar on a daily basis, your blood sugar is constantly rising and falling. This can spike blood pressure and heart rate, putting too much stress on the heart muscle.
High blood sugar also causes your liver to dump fat cells into the bloodstream, which can easily lead to a dangerous blockage. This is true even if you are not overweight. Give your heart a break and cut back on the sweet stuff.
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Your skin will clear
If you are experiencing acne or red and blotchy skin, your sugar consumption might be behind the problem. The same insulin spikes that trouble your heart also trigger inflammation of delicate tissues, including skin.
Insulin spikes additionally increase the production of skin oils which can clog your follicles and cause acne. Stopping the blood sugar spikes is likely to clear your skin.
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You will look younger
If you are way too young to have wrinkles, yet nevertheless, there they are…take a look at your sugar consumption. When your blood sugar spikes and insulin levels rise rapidly, inflammation-producing enzymes are released.
These attach to the collagen in your body via an oxidative process known as glycation. Collagen and elastin keep your skin looking soft, smooth, and youthful, but glycation breaks them down and leads to sagging and wrinkles. You may also experience rosacea, general blotchiness, or dark spots. Kick sugar to the curb to reduce the appearance of fine lines and age spots.
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You reduce your risk of diabetes
Frequent high blood sugar means more insulin production, which leads into insulin resistance. That occurs when the insulin your body makes becomes less able to process the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. It puts additional stress on your liver and pancreas, and left unchecked, leads into full blown diabetes.
When you have diabetes, insulin no longer works to process glucose and the body goes to some extreme measures to get rid of the excess that is not used for fuel. Quit sugar now to give your body the chance to bring insulin production back in line and avoid a diabetes diagnosis.
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Your memory will improve
Eating a lot of sugar causes rapid swings in blood sugar from high to low. Either condition means that the neurons in your brain are not receiving the energy they need to function properly. The result is brain fog. You may be confused, slow to process information, and limited in your ability to remember things.
Feeling foggy can also lead to irritability when you try and fail to accomplish your goals. When you eat a balanced diet that contains the right ratio of carbs to protein and fiber, your blood sugar stays stable between meals and your brain is much more alert, able to draw conclusions and make memories.
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Your mouth will be healthier
You’ve been told all along that sugar causes tooth decay. This is because the bacteria that live along your gum line feed on sugar and produce acid as a byproduct. This acid is produced in about 20 seconds and hangs around in your mouth for up to half an hour. During that time, the acid is steadily eroding the enamel on your teeth, causing cavities.
For this reason, sour candies that contain both acid and sugar are especially dangerous. Cutting back on sugar intake makes it much easier to keep your choppers healthy.
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Your mood will be better
Studies show that people with a diet high in added sugars and refined grains (which break down into sugar quickly) are prone to anxiety, irritability, and mood swings. Sugar cravings can also cause crankiness, and being addicted to sugar means that you will likely feel depressed whenever you can’t lay your hands on any. The swing from sugar high to sugar crash repeatedly drags your brain from jubilant to exhausted. All of that adds up to one heck of a roller coaster. Once you get through withdrawal from sugar, you will find that your mood becomes much more even keeled.
As you can see, the health benefits of quitting sugar are well worth the temporary discomfort. Try to remember that the withdrawal period is short and not that much worse than the daily effects of an addiction to the sweet stuff. Also bear in mind that when we talk about sugar, it is the added sugars – those that don’t belong naturally in a whole food product – that are dangerous. You can and should still enjoy the sweet taste of fruit. Once you start feeling, looking, and sleeping better, we guarantee you’ll never want to go back to the sodas, the cakes, and the candies that had you in a stranglehold. Go for it, friend – you’ve got this!
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