We’ve all heard that sugar is bad for you but do we know why? Let’s take a look at what cutting out sugar would to to our bodies and by understanding this we can learn how to live healthier lives.
Lose Your Appetite for Sugar
Every time you consume sugar it triggers a hormone that pushes your blood sugars down causing a low blood sugar state, essentially hypoglycemia to some degree. This will cause you to crave sugar so by cutting out sugar you get rid of the craving for sugar.
Less Hunger
Sugar keeps you hungry all the time so when you give it up you decrease hunger because you stabilize your blood sugars. Without sugar your cells can be actually fed. This is because sugar is toxic to the body, and it will start rejecting it. This is called insulin resistance, when the body is blocking insulin because that controls sugar. What your body is really trying to do is limit amount of sugar inside the cells. So, the body doesn’t consider sugar a good thing, it’s a bad thing and when you give up sugar it could reverse this process. Without sugar you can now absorb proper amounts of fuel, absorb nutrients much better, and absorb minerals and vitamins.
Less Fatigue
When you consume sugar, you will notice that you feel tired especially after eating a meal. This has to do with blood sugar levels. Cutting sugar out of your diet allows blood sugar levels to stabilize which means your brain and body are getting the fuel and nutrients it needs for energy.
Loss of Excessive Water and Fat
For the first week off of sugar you’re going to get rid of a lot of water and some fat. But after that you will start to lose both fat and water. You would be surprised how much fluid you can retain. Some people within one week can lose about 13 pounds of fluid they are holding which is not healthy for the heart. You will notice fat loss especially on the midsection. Your waist is one of the best indicators of too much sugar. If you reduce the sugar, the waistline shrinks.
Enhanced Mood
Cutting out sugar will lead you to be a lot calmer, less stressed and you’re going to be in a better mood which is also good for the people around you. Also, your cognitive function will improve because you’re going to feel more focused. You may better concentration and more attention to focus on your projects.
Improved Skin
Less sugar means better skin. It is going to look much better, have less acne and more glow. The skin is a reflection of what happens when you consume sugar. With high sugar levels your insulin goes up and so do the androgen hormones. In females, high androgen levels will create acne. In a male body the increase insulin will lower testosterone so you’re going to have other problems that are associated with low testosterone.
Less Stiffness
When you cut out sugar you will notice less inflammation and less pain. What happens is that you are converting your fuel source from sugar to fat, and it takes three days of cutting down the carbohydrates and sugar to do so. You may have a worsening of the symptoms for three days but for most people three days is manageable. But if you take some B vitamins from nutritional yeast and some potassium you probably won’t have any symptoms. At the cellular level your building new enzymes to run your body off fat fuel. Your cells are literally changing over to a different fuel source. You’ll also have decreased inflammation in your arteries which will prevent a clot or plaquing and help reduce the risk of a stroke and a heart attack. Also, you’ll start growing brain cells because your body is running off a different source of fuel called ketones and ketones support the growth of nerve cells.
Healthier Liver
Some of this fat that’s been accumulating in your liver will start to shed and you can use that as fuel. So, you’re initiating a cleansing of the liver. As a side note, if you have a large belly, chances are you have a fatty liver.
Better Kidney Function
If we take a look at a diabetic, the kidneys are the target for the disease. When you actually cut down the amount of sugar and carbs you can improve to their function greatly.
https://www.nature.com/articles/482027a
As a retired registered massage therapist, I’ve always been interested in health. I grew up loving sports so that carried into my adult life in my chosen career paths and in my personal life. I now stay active with weight training, hiking and biking. My professional life has always been in health care. This has inspired me to seek out and adopt a life of natural health and wellness.