“Sugar makes you fat, ugly and old,” says Brooke Alpert, a registered dietician and co-author of “The one-month Sugar Detox: Lose the Sugar, Lose the Weight — Look and Feel Great.” “What we’ve discovered in the last couple of years is that sugar is keeping us overweight. It’s also a leading cause of heart disease; it negatively affects skin, and it leads to premature aging.”
One-month sugar detox
Anything up to 10% of the population are totally sugar dependent – none more so than our generation . We can’t stop eating it. Or at least we say so.
It creates rewards and cravings similar to those induced by addictive drugs.
One of the biggest concerns is the amount of added sugars in our diets, which are often hidden in foods. Although ice cream cake is an obvious source of sugar, other foods that may not even taste sweet — such as salad dressings, tomato sauces and breads — can be loaded with the white stuff.
Remove it from your diet altogether and you’ll recalibrate your taste buds, begin to find and enjoy the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables. And the best way to detox – take it on the chin, cold turkey. Moderation won’t do.
Here’s the one-month sugar detox plan:
Week 1 For the first three days no added sugars, plus no fruits, no starchy vegetables (such as corn, peas, sweet potatoes and butternut squash), no dairy, no grains and no alcohol. You’re basically eating just protein, vegetables and healthy fats.
On day four the chains begin to come off – you get to add an apple and one dairy food, cheese or yoghurt – which even then will taste amazing and sweet, as will onions and other veg full of natural sugars. Better still you can add 3 glasses of red wine into the mix.
Week 2 you can add berries, another dairy product, bring back the starchy veg.
In Week 3 lets you bring back the grains, increase the fruit, add another glass of wine (why not?) and give yourself an ounce of chocolate each day.
In Week 4 you can have two starches a day, including bread and rice and wine goes up to five glasses per week. Week four defines the maintenance part of the plan – though intentional indulgences are allowed, such as ice cream or a piece of cake at a birthday party. Because the addictive behaviour pattern in broken, having ice cream once or twice will not send you back to square one.
The benefits: you can lose weight quickly, and more so from your middle. You should find your energy increasing, skin clearer and fewer mood swings. And top of the list, you’ll strat feeling a lot better about yourself. Go on, give it a try!
It’s important to note that the plan may not be appropriate for diabetics, extreme athletes or anyone taking medication to control blood sugar. It is also not recommended for pregnant women.
Read more:
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/09/health/sugar-detox-food-drayer/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/19/health/sugar-guidelines-debate/index.html