Here’s Why You Need a Sugar Detox

Feeling sluggish, overweight or bloated?

You would likely benefit from a sugar detox! The typical American eats 66 POUNDS of added sugar per person, per year! O.M.G.  

Beyond being a source of empty calories without any nutrient or healing benefit to your body, excess sugar in the diet has been correlated with a slew of poor health outcomes-from Diabetes to Alzheimers.  A sugar detox can benefit all of us by resetting our taste buds to prefer a lower sugar palate. It also inherently reduces our processed carbohydrate intake to shrink our waistlines!

Still not convinced why you need a sugar detox? See the specific reasons below as to why our week long detox can benefit you:

Brain Fog

Overconsumption of sugar causes our pancreas to constantly pump out insulin (a hormone that grabs the sugar out of your blood and stores it in the body as fat when in excess) and may eventually lead to insulin resistance.  Insulin not only regulates our blood sugar but also supports the function of our brain cells. As a result, our body doesn’t effectively move glucose into the cell when needed for energy and so that extra sugar sits in our bloodstream.  Our body and brain cells don’t work as well and we become less alert, focused and energized!

Weight Loss

In general, added sugar as a whole has been shown in numerous studies to be a direct cause of increased body fat (4). Additionally, much of the processed food in this country is made using highly processed, bleached sugars that are especially stressful to our liver and have been linked with insulin resistance, diabetes and cancers.  Even savory foods like crackers and veggie burgers can be a sneaky source of this processed sugar!

Mood Swings

Feeling moody?  It may be a result of sugar overconsumption.  Consuming a high sugar food or drink like a Starbucks vanilla latte or a piece of candy causes a quick spike in blood sugar. This spike quickly dips down (aka a “sugar crash”) and may cause to you feel a little “down in the dumps.”  Why? High sugar foods cause a release in a feel-good neurotransmitter called serotonin. When this pathway is constantly being over-activated thanks to the doughnut you had at breakfast, the sweetened iced tea you had at lunch or the after-work pina colada you had to manage your stressful work day, this can deplete our supply of serotonin.  Over time this may lead to symptoms of depression (2). 

Bloating

Excess sugar can contribute to symptoms of both constipation AND diarrhea as it is a gut irritant.  Fructose specifically can be especially damaging when found in the processed form in the diet. It is usually found in foods such as sweetened yogurts, breads and agave syrup.  Fructose is a type of short chain sugar that is easily fermented by our gut bacteria when consumed in excess and can exert an osmotic effect on your digestive tract (3). This means that it increases fluid delivery to the large intestine causing gas, pain and osmotic diarrhea.  While fructose typically has a threshold for most people, excess processed sugar consumption puts you at high risk of bloating and digestive woes.

Ready to feel clear headed, lighter, brighter and de-bloated?  

Join us on my 1 week sugar detox to nourish and reset your body with our simple, healing, whole foods approach!

Sources:
https://www.ifnacademy.com/
http://brainhealthbook.com/brain-sugar/
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/072710p30.shtml
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12760444