Sweet Poison - Part III (The Antidote)
Welcome to Part III of Sweet Poison. This is the best part because we will talk about antidotes or solutions to sugar cravings and learn about a few healthy alternatives.
You may be wondering just how much processed sugar is too much. Well, it really depends on which source you consult. Sadly, even trusted platforms such as the WHO (World Health Organization) and AHA (American Heart Association) are still recommending too much.
The WHO’s recommendation is 10% of daily caloric intake. So, if a person is taking in 2,000 calories per day, then that means 200 calories can be sugar, which translates to a hefty 10 teaspoons! Does that seem healthy to you?
The AHA recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons for men, and 3-6 teaspoons for children, depending on their levels of activity.
If you really want to wean yourself off sugar or blunt that sweet tooth, the daily recommended options above are still too much! Remember, processed sugar is devoid of any nutrients. Literally “empty” calories that have zero contribution to your health, AND the more you consume, the more it causes you to want more!
Can you honestly have just one chocolate chip cookie or just 1/2 a can of Coke? The best way to step away from sugar is to not have any.
The less you take in, the less you will crave it.
This is a chart of the many names for added sugar in packaged foods. You will notice that a couple of healthy alternatives, such as honey and maple syrup, are included, and that’s because having 10 teaspoons of honey will be nearly as bad as having 10 teaspoons of white sugar for your blood sugar balance and insulin response.
10 Ways to Cut Your Cravings for Sugar
1. Read your labels carefully!
(Refer to Sweet Poison Part I on how to calculate the amount of sugar in one serving of food/or beverage)
This is a very effective way to curb your sugar intake when you realize how much sugar is “hidden” in something that you may be consuming every day.
2. Less Carbs: Sugar is a form of carbohydrate. In addition to cutting down on that, it is also very effective to curb cravings when you also cut down on the amount of carbs you take in from pasta, bread, bagels, and crackers as these are also broken down to glucose, and any excess glucose is stored as fat. Plus, just like processed sugar, excessive carb intake will cause you to want more.
3. More Fats & Protein: Have healthy fats (such as coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter, ghee) as fat delivers satiety, which means that you will feel satisfied. Good sources of protein will also do the same, with the added benefit of not causing a blood sugar spike.
4. Sleep: Lack of good quality sleep cause carb cravings during the day as your body tries to compensate to low levels of hormones that should have been produced while you were sleeping. When you're sleep deprived, research shows, ghrelin levels spike while leptin takes a nose dive. The result is an increase in hunger.
5. Eat Fermented Foods: Eating fermented foods that contain live-cultures or probiotics help to balance your gut eco-system and keeps certain harmful microbes and yeasts, such as candida Albicans, from overgrowth. Candida is a culprit in driving sugar cravings and it thrives on sugar.
6. Cook at home: When you cook at home, you have 100% control over the ingredients. Simple!
7. Walking and fresh air: Getting out and taking a walk and breathing in fresh air elevates mood and improves circulation and oxygen to the brain, which also; helps with your decision-making process, such as NOT indulging in junk food.
8. Don’t eat in front of the computer or TV:
It is really easy to eat mindlessly when we are preoccupied with a computer program or binge-watching something on Netflix. Binging watching can easily lead to binge eating.
Sit down at your dinner table, and be mindful and thankful for the nourishing meal before you. Eat slowly and enjoy every bit. This nourishes your body and your soul.
9. Get nutty: Instead of a Snickers bar, have a tablespoon of nut and seed butters (without added sugar, of course). It’s the combination of fat and protein that will help to stop your sugar craving while also delivering satiety. A great snack in the afternoon!
Tahini, cashew, almond, and pumpkin seed butters are great choices.
10. Stay hydrated: We often confuse hunger or craving with thirst. So, it is a good idea to grab yourself a glass of water and drink it before you attack that donut. Staying hydrated will also help you to think better and make the right choices, such as staying away from that donut!
And finally, here are the 5 sweeteners that I use in my kitchen:
Top 5 Healthy Sweeteners (Please use with a measure of good sense, and it still matters how much you consume daily.) On a personal note, my average intake of sugar, including the ones listed below, is under 2 teaspoons. I used to have a sugar addiction, and was a serious binge eater!
Going gluten-free, cutting down on carbs and processed sugars has been part of my own healing journey.
1. Raw honey:
It has approximately 22 amino acids, 31 different minerals and a wide range of vitamins and enzymes. However, the nutrients are only present in trace amounts.
And there is a big difference between truly raw honey and processed honey.
Raw honey also contains bioactive plant compounds that have positive antioxidant properties.
Processed honey may also contain added sugars, such as agave and even high-fructose corn syrup.
2. Maple syrup:
When buying maple syrup, make sure to read food labels carefully. This way, you’ll get real maple syrup — not just maple-flavored syrup, which can be loaded with refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
Maple syrup contains a small amount of minerals, such as manganese and zinc. However, it is very high in sugar. Also contains antioxidants, but the trace amounts will not offset the amount of sugar.
3. Blackstrap Molasses:
Blackstrap molasses packs plenty of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. In addition, it also has amino acids. It is a nutritious by-product of sugarcane production.
Unlike refined sugar, it’s naturally rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6.
4. Monk fruit:
Monk fruit (Luo Han Guo) has been used in its natural form for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It contains compounds known as mogrosides which makes it many times sweeter than table sugar, so a little goes a long way. The benefit is that it will not spike blood glucose.
The best and healthiest option is to get 100% monk fruit powder.
Note: Most commercialized monk fruit sweeteners also contain erythritol, which has gotten some bad press lately due to research on correlations between erythritol and CVD (cardiovascular disease).
So, weighing this and the harms of processed white sugar is a choice that you will need to make if you want to replace regular sugar with a monk fruit sweetener, such as Lakanto, for baking. Erythritol is used as a bulking agent, and that is why when combined with powdered monk fruit, it can be used as a 1 to 1 replacement for recipes that call for white granulate sugar.
5. Stevia (natural green powder):
There are many highly processed stevia products on the market. I only use the powdered version, which is made from dried leaves.
Although stevia is considered safe for people with diabetes, brands that contain dextrose or maltodextrin should be treated with caution.
* If you are pregnant, please use stevia with caution, as there is conflicting information on whether pure stevia is safe during pregnancy
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References:
McDermott, Annette. “Everything You Need to Know About Stevia.” Healthline, 2 Mar. 2020, www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/stevia-side-effects.
Rd, Ryan Raman Ms. “All About Raw Honey: How Is It Different Than Regular Honey?” Healthline, 29 Apr. 2023, www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-honey-vs-regular#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3.
Witkowski, Marco, et al. “The Artificial Sweetener Erythritol and Cardiovascular Event Risk.” Nature Medicine, vol. 29, no. 3, Nature Portfolio, Feb. 2023, pp. 710–18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02223-9.