How To Stop Overusing Sugar

All experts and adherents of healthy lifestyle have long declared a real war on sugar, they urge to completely abandon it and not return it to the diet under any circumstances. Of course, there are undoubtedly benefits to the body in this, but sometimes you really want a portion of your favorite cake or a couple of pieces of chocolate. Severe restrictions can lead to breakdowns, eating disorders, and a host of other annoyances, so sugar can sometimes be eaten, but must be done with extreme caution.

According to statistics, on average, we exceed the daily intake of sugar by about two times, which not only provides 300 extra calories (and therefore increases the risk of gaining weight), but can also cause a number of unpleasant health consequences.

Dangers of sugar to health

We all know that consuming a lot of sugar inevitably leads to weight gain, but this is just one of the many dangers that sugar carries. As you know, cardiovascular diseases rank first among the causes of death of the world's population, ahead of even cancer. Excess sugar provokes thinning of the walls of blood vessels, increasing the risk of blood clots and obesity in the heart.

Another obvious consequence of excess sugar intake, which we nevertheless forget about, is the development of type 2 diabetes. In fact, this problem is very common and the consequences are life threatening.

In addition, research from the University of California has established a link between excess sugar intake and the development of depression, refuting the popular belief that sugar improves mood. Indeed, immediately after you have eaten a chocolate bar or a piece of cake, you can feel happier due to the release of the hormone of happiness - serotonin. However, literally an hour later, its level drops sharply and you may feel even more depressed than before consuming sugar. The biggest danger lurks in the regular abuse of sugar - serotonin receptors become less sensitive over time, and it becomes almost impossible for the body to experience happiness.

How can I control my sugar intake?

To begin with, it is very difficult to completely stop eating sweets. Nutritionists recommend a simple trick: make a list of all the sweets you eat in your daily life and rank them on a five-point scale based on your love for those foods. Surely most of them you eat just like that, so all foods that are below 4 can be safely excluded. As for the remaining "favorites", strictly state for yourself when and how much of these foods you eat.

Remember that the upper limit for sugar consumption per day is 25 g (although less is better). This 25 g includes not only sweets, but also vegetables, fruits, sauces (it is better to cook them yourself, because the sauce from the supermarket often provides you with a daily amount of sugar at a time).

The easiest way to count all the sugar you eat is to install a calorie counting app (find a selection of the best here). Even if you don't count the calories themselves, the app will show you the sugar content of all the foods you eat, from tomatoes to cheese. You will probably be unpleasantly surprised when you see these numbers, because you never knew about the sugar content of most savory foods.

At first, building your diet around all of these metrics can be tricky, but once it gets into the habit, you'll immediately notice the difference. Moderation in sugar consumption will instantly affect your weight, skin condition, mood and general well-being.