Why should we avoid sugar?
Sugar is associated with many disorders. The best known are type 2 diabetes, increased fat storage, and high blood pressure. However, many other complaints can also occur, such as concentration problems, increased susceptibility to infections, and disturbances of sexual desire. Even musculoskeletal complaints, such as inflammation of the Achilles tendon, may be related to sugar. Unfortunately, research says no. A sedentary lifestyle is an independent risk factor. After just 30 to 60 minutes of sitting, changes occur inside our bodies that are detrimental to health. And even if we exercise in the morning or evening, we cannot compensate for the negative effects of prolonged physical inactivity. Many functions in our body work better when we keep moving throughout the day. The good news is that there is a way to offset the negative effects of sitting. The trick is to move for 2 to 4 minutes every 30 to 60 minutes. The amount of movement depends on your fitness level. For less athletic people, light walking is sufficient; for athletic individuals, it needs to be a bit more. During these short sitting breaks, the pulse should be brought to around 110 beats per minute. And this has enormous benefits: take the muscles in the body, for example. They are not only there for movement; they function, as it were, like a gland and support numerous positive processes in the body. If we interrupt our sedentary lifestyle, the muscles can continue to use the sugar in the blood. Otherwise, it might serve the immune system and continually promote low-grade inflammatory reactions in the body, with many negative consequences. This way, our muscular system remains active. Then, for example, the thyroid does not have to work excessively during the day to keep us warm; the muscles can do that. The muscles also send a signal to other body tissues to stay alert. Physical activity also increases blood and lymph flow. Nutrients thus reach all tissues and cells in the body, and waste products are removed. Movement trains the body’s metabolism to use energy resources instead of storing them as fat deposits, for example around the organs.
Why is it not so easy to avoid sugar-rich foods, and why is sugar addictive?
It is less a question of willpower, as many may think and then blame themselves, but rather an addiction. Sugar is addictive. The more sugar we eat, the more we need to eat. We will see later why. In addition, there are not such sugar-rich foods in nature as we find in the supermarket. The food industry in particular deliberately uses sugar to sell products better, as the WHO already noted in 2017. This means that even if you decide to stop eating sugar, as soon as you go to the supermarket—from ketchup to pickles, from fruit juices to chocolate muesli bars—you will encounter sugar everywhere. And these sugar concentrations are far higher than, for example, in healthy berries, papayas, or sweet potatoes. Some people are genetically more sensitive than others to increased sugar consumption. For many millions of years, sugar deficiency and food scarcity have been a constant danger for us. In our evolutionary past, low blood sugar was a life-threatening condition. Nowadays, however, due to our diet and lack of exercise, we usually have blood sugar levels that are too high. Only very recently has humanity in many countries created an environment that provides us with far more food and high-calorie food. Our organism is not yet genetically adapted to this at all. We are adapted to food scarcity and to the danger posed by blood sugar that is too low. Our body is, so to speak, still living in the Stone Age and eagerly takes in sugary “food-like substances.” Therefore, whenever we see sugar-rich food, our body wants to pounce on it—especially with such high sugar concentrations as in many processed products. This brief, intensely pleasurable “bang effect” in the brain caused by a high intake of sugar makes us return to these foods again and again. The addiction is also related to a substance in the brain: dopamine, which activates the D2 dopamine receptor and triggers feelings of happiness, and which is increased in the short term by sugar—so that we ultimately become addicted. This brief, intensely pleasurable “bang effect” in the brain caused by a high intake of sugar makes us return to these foods again and again. Also, whenever we are exposed to stress—psychological stress at work or in a relationship, or physical stress—we turn to sugar, because cells have known this evolutionarily for millions—no, billions—of years.
Which foods are included?
- Sweets
- refined sugar
- Bread and flour, cakes: bread raises blood sugar even more than table sugar
- sweetened processed products such as ketchup, sauces, etc.
- sugary soft drinks
- fruit juices
- artificial sweeteners
It is also interesting to observe that the more the CO2 content in the air increases, the more sugar plants produce. This means that even our plant-based foods already show a higher sugar content than 100 years ago.
10 Tips
Even though sugary foods are offered to us every day in shops and on television, there are good reasons to stop consuming increased amounts of sugar. And with a bit of knowledge, it is also possible to get sugar addiction under control and improve your health. The following 10 tips have proven very effective in practice. In addition, individual support may be necessary if you cannot manage it on your own or find some of the tips difficult to implement.
- Do not expose yourself to temptation unnecessarily: Remove sugary “food-like substances” from your cupboards and drawers. This also includes artificial sweeteners. In the small intestine, we not only have receptors for sugar, but also for sweetness; i.e., sugar substitutes also stimulate insulin production in the pancreas.
- Eat plenty of healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts (note: peanuts are not nuts—avoid them), fish, and olive oil. This gives you energy and reduces cravings for sweets.
- Eat high-quality proteins, such as eggs, chicken, etc.
- Eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and mushrooms: Ideally, 30 different plants per week. Particularly fibre-rich foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, etc., can also have a very positive effect on your microbiome (especially the bacteria in the gut), which benefits your immune system. Allergic reactions such as asthma can improve, and cravings for sugar also decrease. 10 Tips: Eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and mushrooms
- Get enough exercise and regularly interrupt sitting: this improves insulin sensitivity and reduces sugar cravings.
- Avoid snacks: If possible, eat no more than 2–3 times per day. After a short adjustment period, this is much easier for most of us than expected.
- Eat within an 8–11-hour window: This also usually works very well after a short adjustment period.
- Avoid eating late in the evening: In fact, you gain more weight when you eat in the evening.
- Get enough sleep: When you are well rested, you have fewer cravings for sugar. (In fact, it has also been found that frequently looking at your phone increases sugar addiction.) 10 Tips: Get enough sleep
- Become aware of whether other needs lie behind sugar consumption that are being compensated for in this way, such as the need for closeness or relaxation. Talk to partners and friends about it. Late-night cravings are often linked to emotional issues. Take care of yourself and your real needs.
