Hacking the Sugar Detox Code

"I'm addicted to you

Don't you know that you're toxic?"

This classic Britney Spears song couldn't have been more accurate when it comes to Sugar addiction and cravings.

Sugar can be as addictive as any street drug because, sugar stimulates the dopamine receptors in the same way the drugs do - thus making it very difficult to cut off sugar from our diet. The market is flooded with sugar containing foods - so even though we we actively cut off table sugar and desserts from the diet we end up taking too many types of refined carbs or sugar containing packaged foods.

While sugar is responsible for spiking your blood sugar levels and increasing your weight - it is not restricted to only that. It is also results in lowered immunity, inflammation, memory loss, poor circulation, low energy levels. High intake of sugar and refined carbs also lead to higher chances of infections, wrinkle and pre-mature / accelerated greying of hair, lowered libido, depressed mood, imbalanced hormonal levels in both sexes.

Eliminating table sugar and desserts is a great start but not enough. A slight change in your motivation levels as well as your environmental factors, causes severe sugar cravings and "Sugar intake relapses" - that's the reason why eliminating sugar from the diet is super difficult.

Worry not, here are a few super effective #hacks to #eliminateSugar for good.

1. The first thing to do while going on a sugar detox is to, get rid of all the things that you know have

sugar like chocolates, candies, carbonated beverages, biscuits, cookies and desserts. Honey can jaggery can be used in limited quantities for the time being as a sugar substitute but that has to be tapered down and eventually totally cut off from the diet. You can also start using non calorie sweeteners like monk fruit sweetener, stevia, etc. - but just like honey and jaggery, this too needs to be tapered down week by week.

2. The next step is to remove refined carbs from the diet. This includes removing white rice, white bread,

maida, potatoes, etc. Replace them with brown / red / black rice, millets, whole wheat flour, oats, amaranth, quinoa, etc. Don't forget to eliminate fruit juices from your diet as well.

3. After that, start taking foods at regular intervals. There should be a small meal like fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. every 2.5 to 3 hours. This will help you to feel fuller for longer and curb your cravings.

4. Now start including more veggies to your diet. When ever you sit to eat, fill half your plate with

vegetables. It can be in the form of sabji, salad or soup. and you you can prepare it in which ever method you like - whether it is raw, sautéed or steamed. If you can include a couple of glasses of vegetable juices, 5 to 6 times a week then nothing like it. Adequate intake of vegetables with boost your metabolism, increase the feeling of satiety, improve your nutrition levels as well as reduce your cravings and help to balance out your hormones.

5. Including healthy fats like nuts (almonds, walnut, pista, brazil nuts) and seeds (flax, chia, pumpkin,

sesame, sunflower, etc.) will help to balance out your hunger pangs and provide you with the nutrients that are super essential for metabolism as well as mood. Remember not to go over board with the consumption of fried foods and ghee / butter. Swap your fried food with roasted or air fried ones and limit the intake of oils, ghee and butter to 6 to 7 teaspoons per day.

6. Most of the times, tea and coffees are the major places where we end up including the sugar. What you

can do here is add cinnamon or nutmeg to your evening beverage or swap them with green tea, chamomile tea or peppermint tea. It is rich in antioxidants and will give you the much needed energy boost for the evening blues.

7. Including adequate proteins in the diet is also super essential to take care of your cravings and balance our your meals. - so don't forget to include a couple of cups of dals and sprouts or an egg or a good portion of fish, chicken or paneer.

8. Another super important thing to keep in mind is reading food labels before buying any packaged food

as there are sugar hidden in it. Food companies often try to disguise sugar as invert syrup, brown rice syrup, brown sugar, dextrose sugar, etc. Always look for "added sugar", "sugar" or "syrup" in the Nutritional information and food ingredients list in the back side of the food packs. You can also check out “Added Sugar Repository” to get a better idea about the hidden sugar in your food.

Don't forget to check out the sugarless snacks and desserts recipes. They are kid friendly, diabetic friendly as well as tasty.

- Authored by

Nikita Mitra, Senior Nutritionist