How to Kick Sugar Addiction

1. Find the sweetness in your life.

The common thread in people who suffer from sugar cravings is a lack of self-nurturing. They are often the types who take care of everyone else and put themselves last. So, their reward to themselves is the sweets. But what is really missing is finding the sweetness in their lives. Creating space for themselves. Finding time to do things they really love to do. Often, the people who are most susceptible to sugar cravings are working stressful jobs, living stressful lives, completely out of balance. They have disconnected from what their passions are in life, and life has become a series of obligations rather than enjoyment. So, taking the time to create space and find the sweetness in life is a great long-term strategy to avoid sugar. If the person is satisfied in all aspects of their lives, there is less reason to reach for the sweets when stressed.

2. Drink apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar helps to change your taste buds to the point where sugary foods taste too sweet. I have found people to crave less junk when they sip apple cider vinegar throughout the day.

3. Take the "sugar destroyer" herb.

Gymnema sylvestre is an herb in the milkweed family and known as a "sugar destroyer" in ayurvedic medicine, as it desensitizes our taste buds to sweet items. It can help promote healthy blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol due to supporting a healthy pancreas and liver function. It helps regenerate beta cells in the pancreas, which secrete insulin in order to take up sugar into the cells for energy. It also helps make cells more sensitive to receiving insulin. We tend to crave sweet items when we're low on energy (perhaps not enough insulin or cells are resistant), stressed (increased cortisol causes the body to use sugar so we need to replenish), or poor sleep (also increases cortisol), for example, and gymnema helps balance spikes in blood sugar that could additionally be triggered by a poor diet. A few drops on your tongue before a meal can offset desiring sugar and last for about three hours, especially in conjunction with a nutritious diet and the desire to quit sugar. However, caution should be used if someone is taking oral medication or insulin, as it can alter prescription dosages.

4. Become a sugar detective.

One of the best ways to quit added sugar is to get really good at learning how to find it. Simply looking at the grams of sugar will not cut it since sugar can come naturally through dried fruit. The industry has gotten very good at masking sugar and calling it by other names. I usually teach my clients two important rules: 1) if it ends in "-ose," it's sugar, and 2) if it ends in "syrup" it's also a sugar. Some frequent ones that appear healthy but are still sugar are brown rice sugar, date sugar, and of course, sucrose, fructose, and lactose.

5. Know that sugar replacements won't satisfy your cravings.

Don't try to replace sugar with fruit and expect to be satisfied. Seltzer is not cola, and a banana is not a cookie—and that's totally OK. Let those non-sugar items be their own awesome things instead of consolation prizes, and take this opportunity to try new stuff and find something new you like. Rather than focusing on what you can't have, think about what you can have as well as some foods and beverages you've been curious to try. For example, maybe your colleague's favorite ginger tea always smells amazing, but you've been in a rut with your sugary coffee drink. Now is a great time to give something different a shot. You might find something you love, and the novelty can help distract you from sugar FOMO.

6. Eat almond butter.

The most helpful tip I know of for quitting sugar is to keep your blood sugar stable with almond butter. Keep a jar on hand at work, at home, and in your bag, and feed yourself a spoonful about a few times throughout the day. This will ensure steady blood sugar, warding off any blood sugar crashes that can make you go scavenge for a hit of sugar.

7. Train your taste buds to like bitter.

Train your taste buds to like the taste of bitter—it really does a lot to suppress the cravings for sugar. Try to eat as much plain, unflavored Greek yogurt as possible, in addition to bitter greens like watercress and bitter melon. Within 30 days, your taste buds will reset and you'll crave less sugar.

8. Add nature's candy to healthier homemade dishes.

Since most commercial dressings have loads of added sugar, our taste buds have been trained to crave a pop of sweetness in our salads. I used to add a handful of dried cherries or cranberries until I discovered that even those are usually sweetened further with fruit juice concentrates. Now it's all about that root-veg base. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and parsnips become nature's candy when baked at high temperatures in the oven until crispy—hello, healthy fries! But they're also great for topping salads. Caramelized onions or crispy coconut oil fried shallots are another great sweet addition.

9. Eat fermented foods whenever that sweets craving kicks in.

I have the biggest sweet tooth, despite being a health food editor, and I've tried everything to eliminate my own (rather persistent!) cravings. I've found that fermented foods work best for me—a few tablespoons of sauerkraut, fermented beet, or a gut shot will quell a craving in seconds. Whether it's the friendly little bacteria eating those sugar-desiring yeasts in my gut or just the strong, sour flavor on my tongue, it's become my go-to. Just make sure your fermented product is raw (not pasteurized!), so all those good bacteria are intact.

DOPAMINE PATHWAY

Dopamine - the molecule of feeling good plays an equal role in our craving for sweet.

This molecule is released when you ingest sweet and a peak dopamine release is achieved with the first ingestion of sweet substance.

This peak is followed by a crash. 

Once you have your favourite oreo shake, you feel a big win . On finishing the drink, sometime later- a feeling of crash (pain) arises , and this leads to a greater craving of the drink that brought that dopamine peak in the first place.

Ways to blunt the sugar spike-

•Consume foods that are high in protein and fibre to prevent blood sugar spikes. Protein and fibre both work to slow down the absorption of sugar into the body.

•Drink water: Water can aid in the body's removal of sugar, which can lessen the surge in blood sugar.

•Consume healthy fats: Healthy fats, such as those in avocados, nuts, and olive oil, can also aid in reducing the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the body.

•Consume food slowly to give your body time to absorb the sugar you are ingesting and prevent a spike in your blood sugar levels.

•Choose low-glycemic index foods: Foods with a low glycemic index, such as whole grains and legumes, are broken down more slowly in the body and can help reduce the sugar spike.

"The glycemic index is a way to measure how fast a food makes your blood sugar go up. Some foods, like candy, make your blood sugar go up really fast. But other foods, like whole grains and beans, make your blood sugar go up more slowly.”

Personal advice

•The order in which you eat your meal is important. for eg. eat protein first in a meal packed with carbs and fats.

•Maintain your protein goal as we discussed in our previous release. (1 g protein per kg of body weight)

•Stick to whole fruits rather than fruit juices - as the fibre content is lost in juices.

A side-note on fructose - fruit sugar

“eat more fruits and vegetables”

Fructose, which is a type of sugar found naturally in fruits and vegetables, has sometimes been blamed for contributing to the development of chronic diseases.

However, research indicates that the amount of fructose found in fruits and vegetables is relatively low when compared to other sources of fructose, such as high fructose corn syrup, and that eating these foods may actually help to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.Overall, as part of a healthy and balanced diet, it is important to consume fructose in moderation.

Summary

•Sucrose is made up of glucose and fructose, and when consumed, the body breaks it down into these components.

•A study with mice revealed that even when their ability to taste sweet was impaired, they preferred a bottle of glucose over water. This is thought to be due to the gut-brain axis and the ability to detect glucose presence.

•Dopamine release, which is associated with feelings of pleasure, also plays a role in cravings for sweet substances. However, the initial dopamine release is followed by a crash, which can lead to an increased desire for sweet substances.

•Fructose, a sugar found in fruits and vegetables, has been linked to the development of chronic diseases in the past. Consuming fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy and balanced diet, on the other hand, may help to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and should be included in the diet in moderation.

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Prunes

Prunes are simply dried plums, just like raisins are dried grapes. More specifically, prunes are sun-dried plums that skipped the fermentation process

For centuries, traditional medicine made use of prunes for treating fever, high blood pressure, jaundice, diabetes, digestion and constipation, still one of this dried fruit’s most popular remedies

Fiber, potassium, iron and retinol from vitamin A, plus high amounts of vitamin K, iron and boron are nutrients in prunes, providing antioxidants, flavonoids and polyphenols for health advantages throughout your body

Eating prunes may help prevent bone loss and improve gut health and has been shown in multiple studies to help prevent colon cancer

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Spices is Life

Spices are a wonderful addition to foods and beverages because they can add just the right flair. Nutmeg, for instance, lends quiet warmth and complexity, in desserts like apple crisp and in vegetables like spinach, as in the savory Indian dish, saag paneer. And paprika lends mild sweetness to various dishes.

But flavor is just one trait that makes spices such an integral part of cooking and eating. They can also be incredibly good for your health and help you reach your weight goals. One of the great things about adding spices of any kind to your meals is that the flavor can help you feel more satisfied, so you don't feel so deprived when you eat foods with fewer calories, says Jaclyn London, senior clinical dietician at Mount Sinai Hospital.

London adds that in regard to spices, "The key is that all the ones we talk about for weight loss or maintenance have anti-inflammatory properties and a flavor profile that may help limit overall calorie intake." With that, here are several examples of spices to try in your quest to lose weight.

Warming Spices to Narrow Your Waistline

Cinnamon

While cinnamon is delicious and warming, it also kicks in your metabolism. Studies also show it helps reduce blood glucose levels and improve insulin resistance for people with type 2 diabetes. In fact, in one study published in Diabetes Care concluded that it:

"Reduced serum glucose [and] triglyceride … levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Because [it] would not contribute to caloric intake, [people with] type 2 diabetes or elevated glucose [or] triglyceride … levels may benefit from the regular inclusion of cinnamon in their daily diet."

Nutritionist and author Marilyn Glenville, Ph.D., the former president of the Food and Health Forum at the UK Royal Society of Medicine, warns that people with bleeding disorders or anyone taking blood thinners such as warfarin or heparin should avoid cinnamon, as it contains the blood-thinning compound coumarin.

Ginger

There's a popular legend that Confucius ate ginger at every meal. One reason why may be explained in a study reported by the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hematology, which explored the effects of ginger on "gastric motility," aka how quickly food moved through the colon instead of sticking around and causing problems.

The study involved 11 patients, some of whom were given placebos, and concluded with the statement that ginger encouraged more antral contractions in comparison between the two, which conceivably promoted more rapid gastric emptying.5 It also boosts insulin sensitivity, which London explains is due to ginger's anti-inflammatory properties, reducing fatty acids and promoting weight stability.

Cardamom

Referred to as the "queen of spices" in India and Nepal, cardamom is one of the most expensive spices but still a very popular ingredient in tea and coffee. It's related to cinnamon and is shown in studies to help lower blood glucose levels and regulate your insulin, as well as optimize your cholesterol levels.

Studies say this little-known spice, a thermogenic herb, has dozens of other valuable health benefits and uses, besides being antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, which can sooth your gastrointestinal system and enhance your metabolic function.

Cardamom is regarded as a diuretic in Ayurvedic tradition. One study also compared it favorably with commercial products designed to relieve weight retention, colic, diarrhea and constipation. It's also been noted for balancing gut flora to optimize digestion.

Spicy Foods Offer Much More Than Heat

Chili powder

You've heard the term "active ingredient." Well, the active ingredient in chili powder is capsaicin. London calls chili powder a "triple threat" because as it boosts your energy, it can help you eat slower.

Additionally, a sprinkle of chili powder on your food may inspire you to eat more healthy plant-based offerings rather than an extra helping of bread or rice. All three advantages relate to eating less, which may be what you're hoping for. Capsaicin also stimulates brown fat, a type of fat that generates heat by helping you burn calories, which is why it's being explored as a tool for weight loss, healthy metabolism, and more.

Black pepper

Recent animal studies note that piperine's ability to inhibit new fat cells from forming, known as adipogenesis, helps reduce waist size and body fat and optimizes cholesterol levels. With similar effects to capsaicin, Europeans have used black pepper for thousands of years in traditional medicine to treat inflammation and digestive problems. Its effectiveness is due in part to a compound known as piperine. Daily Mail notes:

"Piperine has similar effects to capsaicin in chilies and is what gives black pepper its heat. It's the heat which helps prevent the formation of new fat cells, especially if you decide to indulge in a mouth-searing meal featuring pepper and chili."

Cumin

Known for jazzing up Southwestern fare, cumin is also capable of suppressing your appetite and keeping fat cells from showing up again after weight loss.

Ginseng

Ginseng, particularly the Siberian variety, is known for speeding up your metabolism and giving you a "second wind" of energy, which may be why tea with ginseng has been a "thing" all over Asia and Europe for centuries. Siberian ginseng is known as an adaptogen, which Daily Mail describes as something that "works according to what your body needs." Glenville says it provides energy when required, and helps combat stress and fatigue when you are under pressure.

Cayenne pepper

Cayenne pepper is noted for a phenomenon known as thermogenesis, which consumes oxygen in your body and can result in weight loss. It contains capsaicin, which gives it its heat, but also promotes fat oxidation and increases fat burning by as much as 16 percent.

Capsaicin has been shown to have potential for promoting metabolic and vascular health. Further, the same study shows it has "favorable effects" on atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver, cardiac hypertrophy and stroke risk.16 But while spice is good, Eat This observes there's such a thing as too much: "Too much spicy food can send you to Toilet Town, but a little hit of capsaicin, the compound that gives chili pepper its powerful kick, has proven to reduce belly fat, suppress appetite and boost thermogenesis."

Spices Further Your Weight Loss Goals in Surprising Ways

Garlic

Practically speaking, one reason garlic powder can help you lose weight is because its strong flavor may make you take smaller bites and also eat slower, which may prevent you from eating too much. Studies also indicate that when you eat garlic, your body temperature can increase, a sure sign of a revved up metabolism. Spry Living says:

"Garlic is thermogenic. It makes your body generate heat, which burns calories [and] revs up an enzyme called AMP-activated protein kinase that regulates metabolism. This enzyme targets many areas of the body, including muscles and a form of fat called brown fat, which produces heat and burns off calories."

Turmeric

Practically a prerequisite for any kind of Indian curry, turmeric is a huge star in the constellation of beneficial spices. London notes that when it comes to weight loss, turmeric can differentiate fat cells by halting their formation and ability to reduce in size. Detailing why this is important, Glenville notes:

"Its active ingredient is curcumin and although the research has not shown that curcumin can actually help with weight loss, it is thought to stop the regrowth of fat after someone has lost weight. This could be helpful as many people end up putting back the weight they have lost after a diet."

Turmeric also helps reduce inflammation, which can be a significant contributor to obesity and the inability to lose weight. One study notes:

"Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric. Evidence suggests curcumin may regulate lipid metabolism, which plays a central role in the development of obesity and its complications. The present review addresses the evidence and mechanisms by which curcumin may play a role in downregulating obesity and reducing the impact of associated problems."

Mustard seed

It's probably no surprise that the compound in mustard seed that's responsible for burning fat and enhancing your metabolism is, once again, capsaicin. Glenville explains:

"Mustard is part of the cruciferous family of vegetables which are thought to have many health benefits. Other cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. If you are buying ready-made mustard make sure that it does not contain sugar as this is going to be counter-productive for your weight."

Another study at Oxford Polytechnic University in England found that 1 teaspoon of mustard seed can elevate your metabolism by 25 percent, a benefit that persists for several hours after consumption. This may be due to the phytochemical allyl isothiocyanates, which also deliver the flavor. Be careful, though: when mustard is neon yellow or loaded with sugar, health benefits go out the window.

How Diet 'Tricks' Can Masquerade as Lasting Weight Loss

Nutritionist Monica Reinagel explored a new diet designed to help people lose weight by "flushing impurities from your body and super-charging your metabolism." The secret of these weight loss benefits were said to be spices like coriander, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and black pepper.

While noting the anti-inflammatory and blood thinning ability of turmeric, garlic and ginger, and that cinnamon can stabilize blood sugar, Reinagel asserted that losing 7 to 12 pounds the first week is often more about losing water rather than fat, a trajectory that can't be sustained longer than a few weeks.

Limiting your intake of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) to under 40 to 50 grams per day and replacing them with healthy fats is necessary for lasting weight loss, as this will transition your body into primarily burning fat for fuel. Unless you continue limiting your net carbs going forward, the downward momentum generally dwindles, as does your metabolism. Further, unless exercise is a priority, muscle tissue may also begin to diminish, lowering your metabolism even more.

Regardless of how quickly weight is shed, if the same old eating habits climb back in the saddle, lost pounds are notorious for returning, and then some.

Ways to Keep Weight Off Once You've Lost It

The biggest hurdle people face when they double down on a diet plan that's drastically different from what future habits can sustain is that, too often, the weight comes right back. Here are some ways to help you lose weight and also keep it off once you've reached your goal:

• Intermittent fasting helps reset your body to burn fat for fuel and helps optimize insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial health and energy production. It involves cutting calories in whole or in part, either a couple of days a week, every other day, or even daily.

For instance, you may restrict your eating to a window of six to eight hours, choosing between having breakfast and lunch, or lunch and dinner, but avoid having both breakfast and dinner. It's one of the most effective interventions for normalizing your weight.

• The amount of fiber in your diet is crucial for weight loss, as it is for general health. Eat foods known for keeping food moving smoothly through your colon, such as veggies, nuts and seeds such as chia.

• Vitamin D, or lack thereof, derived to some extent from foods you eat and primarily via the sunshine you bask in on any given day, can have an impact on your ability to lose and maintain weight. One study showed that for more than 4,600 women 65 years old and older, low vitamin D levels contributed to mild weight gain.

• Reversing insulin/leptin resistance plays a key role in preventing obesity, metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Trading refined sugar and processed fructose for healthy fats will help optimize your insulin and leptin levels.

• Exercise is extremely important in the quest for weight loss, as well as shoring up sagging muscles and keeping them firm and strong. Exercise also benefits your glucose, insulin and leptin levels by optimizing insulin/leptin receptor sensitivity, subsequently helping to prevent chronic disease.

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What happens when you go off Wheat

A renowned cardiologist explains how eliminating wheat can shrink your belly and save your health.

Cardiologist William Davis, MD, started his career repairing damaged hearts through surgical angioplasty and stents.

“That’s what I was trained to do, and at first, that’s what I wanted to do,” he explains. But when his own mother died of a heart attack in 1995, despite receiving the best cardiac care, he was forced to face nagging concerns about his profession.

“I realized how silly it was,” he says. “I’d fix a patient’s heart, only to see her come back, and back and back with the same problems. It was just a band-aid, with no effort to identify the cause of the disease.”

So he sailed his practice toward highly uncharted medical territory–prevention–and spent the next 15 years examining the causes of heart disease in his own patients.

The resulting discoveries are revealed in Wheat Belly, his New York Times best-selling book, which attributes many of our nation’s physical problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity, to our consumption of wheat.

First of all, what is a “wheat belly”?
I make a lot of arguments about the dangers of wheat, one of which is that it raises your blood sugar dramatically. In fact, two slices of wheat bread raise your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar.

When my patients give up wheat, I see that weight loss is substantial, especially from the abdomen. People can lose several inches in the first month.You make connections in the book between wheat and a host of other health problems.

How did you come up with this theory?
Eighty percent of my patients had diabetes or pre-diabetes.

I knew that wheat spiked blood sugar more than almost anything else, so I started to say, “Let’s remove wheat from your diet and see what happens to your blood sugar.” They’d come back 3 to 6 months later, and their blood sugar would be dramatically reduced.

But they also had all these other reactions:
“I removed wheat and I lost 38 pounds.” Or, “my asthma got so much better, I threw away two of my inhalers.”

Or “the migraine headaches I’ve had every day for 20 years stopped within three days.” “My acid reflux is now gone.”

“My IBS is better, my ulcerative colitis, my rheumatoid arthritis, my mood, my sleep . . .” and so on, and so on.
So what is it about wheat that you think causes all these problems?

When you look at the makeup of wheat, it’s almost like a group of evil scientists got together and said, how can we create this god-awful destructive food that will ruin health?   

First, amylopectin A, a chemical unique to wheat, is an incredible trigger of small LDL particles in the blood–the number one cause of heart disease on the United States.

When wheat is removed from the diet, these small LDL levels plummet by 80 and 90 percent.

We’ve had a situation where the national advice–to cut fat and eat more whole grains–is advocating a diet that causes heart disease.
You also talk about the “addictive” properties of wheat.

Wheat contains high levels of gliadin, a protein that actually stimulates appetite. Eating wheat increases the average person’s calorie intake by 400 calories a day.    

Gliadin also has opiate-like properties in the brain, so it’s not surprising that when some people remove wheat from their diets, they literally go through a period of withdrawal where they feel terrible.

Food scientists have known this for 20 years, and they’ve used it to their advantage. If you go up and down the supermarket shelves, you’re going to see wheat flour in the most improbable places—everywhere from Campbell’s soup to granola bars.

Is eating a wheat-free diet the same as a gluten-free diet? I know that’s a major trend right now.
Gluten has negative, inflammatory properties, but it is just one component of wheat.

In other words, if I took the gluten out of it, wheat will still be terrible for you since it will still have the Gliadin and the amylopectin A, as well as several other undesirable components.

They’ve come out with all these foods that are gluten free: gluten-free multi-grain bread, gluten-free bagels, etc.
Those are made with 4 basic ingredients: corn starch, rice starch, tapioca starch or potato starch.
And those 4 dried, powdered starches are some of the very few foods that raise blood sugar even higher than wheat does!Sounds like all the “fat free” foods that came out 10-15 years ago. People thought “these cookies are good for me because they don’t have fat.”Perfect analogy. Yes, it’s the same kind of blunder.

What about the the health breads and the sprouted breads?
No. They still retain too much of the adverse wheat compounds–leptins, amylopectin A, gluten and gliadin. You might reduce the amount of some of the compounds, but they’re still there.

I encourage people to return to real food: vegetables and nuts, unpasteurized cheese and eggs and meats in all forms, avocados and olives.

People have been eating it for thousands of years, why is it suddenly such a problem?

Wheat really changed in the 70s and 80s due to a series of techniques used to increase yield, including hybridization and back crossings. It was bred to be shorter and sturdier and also to have more gliadin, a potent appetite stimulate.

The wheat we eat today is not the wheat that was eaten 100 years ago. Wheat has also become a much more central part of the American diet.

What if I remove the wheat, but I’m still eating carbohydrates?

So, for example, I stop eating my sandwich every day, and I start eating rice with chicken and vegetables. Will I still have the health benefits? Will I still lose weight?Most do, yes. Because rice doesn’t raise blood sugar as high as wheat, and it also doesn’t have the amylopectin A or the gliadin that stimulates appetite. You won’t have the same increase in calorie intake that wheat causes.

That’s part of the reason why foreign cultures that don’t consume wheat tend to be slenderer and healthier.Does everyone need to stop eating wheat, or are some people more at risk for these problems than others?

If you ask me, everyone should stop eating wheat. This is the closest I know of to something that will transform your life.

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