Have you ever tried to cut back on sugar, or thought about it and decided no way and placed it in the ‘too hard’ basket? In some cases a sugar detox seems absolutely impossible, but is there more going on than just low self-control or suppressed willpower? You’re not alone!
With sugar addiction currently being at an all-time high, people are finding it harder and harder to step away from the sweet stuff. With food corporations sneaking it into our foods wherever possible and lacing most of our packaged and take away foods with it, it’s no surprise there is a common worldwide dependency towards sugar.
When we eat foods containing high amounts of sugar, a large spike of dopamine is released into the reward centre of the brain, the nucleus accumbens. Over time, this over stimulation of dopamine to the brain creates a decrease in dopamine receptors. As a result, next time we eat a ‘blunted’ effect is created, urging us to reach for more food to get that same level of reward. The exact same brain centre is stimulated when addictive drugs such as cocaine and nicotine are consumed. YES, you read that correctly! Sugar has the exact same addictive effects on the brain as hard core drugs, which is how it “hijacks” our brain to make us crave more and eat more!
We all have this innate tendency to want to eat sugar. We are programmed to want the sweetest and ripest fruits that hold the most abundant amount of nutrients, but it’s through our choices of sugar and the sugar we offer our body that determines our overall health.
So how do we get off the additive sugar train? It’s time to stop over stimulating our receptors and start reprogramming our taste buds. This means detoxing from sugar for a week or two and re-introducing it slowly with natural sweeteners from fruits and vegetables. Commit to the following 7 Day Sugar Detox Meal Plan and start to feel that shift away from highly processed foods and towards a more nutritious and naturally wholesome lifestyle!
Written by: Greta Thurgood
Colonic Hydrotherapist
Currently studying: BHS – Nutritional Medicine
