6 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Sugar
Once you conquer those cravings there are a lot of perks
News flash: We're all dipped in honey and rolled in sprinkles. The average person shovels in 300 calories from added sugar every day, according to a report from the University of North Carolina. Roughly 20 percent of Americans exceed 700 calories of added sugar on a daily basis. That's an entire cup of sugar. Whoa. (See how easy that is to do with these 10 surprising foods that list sugar as the first ingredient.)
"Not only are we getting added sugar from obvious places like cakes, candy, and soda, but it's also coming from healthier-sounding packaged products like salad dressing, pasta sauce, and yogurt," says Elyse Powell, one of the report's coauthors and a doctoral researcher at UNC. (To be clear, by "added sugar" we're talking about the super-processed sweet stuff you'd add to a batch of cookies, not the natural sugars found in whole fruit, veggies, and plain milk.) The big takeaway from that UNC report: Most of us could stand to cut back on sugar.
Exactly what you'll experience when you ditch the sweet stuff will depend on the size of your sugar habit; people on the high end of the sugar-consumption spectrum show addict-like withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, restlessness, and even depression, research has shown. (Find out if you're addicted to sugar.) But assuming you're like the average American, you can expect a few things to happen once you wrestle your sugar habit back into its cage.
1. You’ll boost your heart health.
Your risk of dying from ticker-related trouble will plummet threefold, according to research from James J. DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., a cardiovascular research scientist at St. Luke's Mid-Atlantic Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. Why? "Added sugar chronically raises insulin levels, which activates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing blood pressure and heart rate," DiNicolantonio explains. "Within a few weeks' time, you might expect to see a 10 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol and a 20 to 30 percent decrease in triglycerides." Your BP would head in the right direction, too, he says. (Find out exactly what your blood pressure numbers mean.)
2. Your skin will be clear.
3. You'll sidestep diabetes.
4. You'll sleep when you're supposed to (for a change).
5. You'll remember the name of your boss's husband.
Battling brain fog? Sugar may be to blame. One animal study at UCLA concluded a diet high in added sugar hinders learning and memory. Over time, eating lots of sugar may actually damage communication among your brain's cells, the study shows. So when you're eyeing the doughnuts in a morning meeting, tell yourself you'll be sharper without the sugar.
6. You'll finally lose that extra 10 pounds.
While you'll probably replace some of those sugary calories with other foods—like trading a sugary granola bar for a handful of almonds—you won't be eating as many calories overall, Powell says. (Here are some other great snack suggestions.) Scaling back your sugar habit by 200 calories a day could help you drop 10 pounds in 5 to 6 months. Now that's sweet!
The article 7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Sugar originally ran on Prevention.
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