So we have survived the Christmas festivities! The foods were rich, and there was more then likely some overindulgence.  Now we have come to the end of the holiday period. Our kids are back at school along with our routines.

Lets re-set and start cleansing the body from the excesses that might have been consumed and jump just start the year with taking care of your body and giving it some TLC.

One of the most important ways that we can start looking after our body is removing sugar from our diets.
Previously its been believed that we need to eliminate Fats from our diet, but it is actually our sugar intake that extremely addictive and is everywhere we look. From the obvious such as the sweets at the counters that our children walk past every day, to the hidden sugars that are in foods we don’t even think have sugar in such as bread, BBQ sauce, low fat yoghurts just to name a small few.
Sugar is extremely addictive that it acts on our human brain in the same manner as does heroin. It gives an instant high/euphoria and once that has worn off we are then looking for the next fix as we come crashing down.

The message of how bad sugar is, is slowly spreading and more and more, yet the message of how harmful sugar is to every aspect of our body from a fatty liver to increasing our belly visceral fats and obesity and of course diabetes, which has also heart disease in that category, is extremely important.

So here are some tips for getting off sugar and removing it from your diet once and for all

1. Make a decision to start detox
(If you don’t want to give up or don’t agree with it then there is no point as yet as you will fail and not see the benefits. Some clues that removing sugar from your diet will help are)

• do you have type 2 diabetes or pre diabetes
• duo you have belly fat
• are you overweight
• do you crave sugar or carbs
• do you have trouble losing weight on low fat carb diets
• do you suffer 3:30itis
• do you eat when you are hungry
• do experience that food coma after eating
• do you get withdrawal symptoms when you cut down sugar
• do you have FLC (Feels Like Crap) Syndrome. FLC syndrome is collection of symptoms that include bloating, gas, reflux, irritable bowel, joint or muscle pain, brain fog, memory or mood problems, sinus or allergy problems. There are millions of us that are experiencing FLC but we don’t realise it as we take this as part of our everyday lives

2. Go cold turkey
There is only one way to stop and that is to stop it completely. Yes you will have a few days where you just cant do it and those sugary foods will just look too good. But once you overcome that addiction it will become easier and easier.

So stop consuming all forms of sugar, flour products, and artificial sweeteners, which causes increased cravings and slows metabolism and leads to fat storage. So ideally for at least ten days avoid anything that comes in a box, package, or a can or that has a label on it. Eat whole, real, fresh food.

3. Dont drink Sugar
Any liquid form of flavoured drink is going to be laden with sugar and even worse than eating sugar. When it is in a drink it is fructose which is empty calories and converts all sugar to fat straight away in the body. Those drinks are like mailing sugar straight into your liver, which affects the liver and its ability to break fat down an the dreaded belly fat is produced.
Liquid sources of sugar are sodas, juices other than green vegetable juice, sports drinks, sweetened teas or coffees.

One can of soda per day increases a child’s chance of being obese by 60% and a woman’s chance of type 2 diabetes by 80%.

 

4. Use Protein to power up
Make sure their is protein with every meal, especially breakfast. Protein is one of the major keys own balancing our blood sugar and insulin and cutting cravings. Starting the days with whole farm eggs or protein shake puts us in the right framework for the day.

Good sources of protein are nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, chicken, grass-fed meat. Size of serving should be equivalent to your palm size.

5. Eat unlimited carbs! (But the right ones)
YES we can eat carbs all day long but did you know that vegetables are carbs? But we are talking about the non-starchy ones such as greens, anything in the broccoli family (cauliflower, kale, collards), asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, fennell, eggplant, artichokes, and peppers to name a few.

Now the starchy ones are potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash and beets. Just remove them for ten days. You should also remove grains and beans and legumes to help with resetting you bodies insulin level and liver function.

6. Fight sugar with FAT
Now we were lead to believe that fat made us fat many years ago, but good fats can help curb our cravings and balance our insulin levels. Fats make us full and is a necessity for felling our cells. Along with protein, having good fats at every meal and snack helps remove our sugar addiction.

Good fats are nuts and seeds (yes protein as well), extra virgin olive oil (uncooked), coconut butter, avocados, and omega-3 fats from fish.

7. Be prepared and ready for that emergency
You never want to be in that situation of your blood sugar dropping and you find yourself where the world has a smorgasbord of fast food joints, supermarkets, vending machines and sugary snacks. You need an emergency go-to pack that is filled with good fats and protein so you never have to make that bad choice. Here are some suggestions
• packets of artisan nut butters and coconut butter
• almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds
• salmon jerky or turkey jerky
• can of wild salmon or sardines
• unsweetened wild blueberries
• Cinnamon tea as cinnamon has been shown to balance insulin levels

8. Swap distress for de-stress
When we are stressed our hormones go crazy and our cortisol levels go through the roof. increases in cortisol makes us hungry and those sugary foods look good. Increased cortisol causes belly fat an leads to type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that taking deep breathes when stressed activates the vagal nerve that shifts our metabolism from fat storage to fat burning and can help relax the body and destress.

Try taking these breathes before every meal. Simply take five deep breathes in for a count of five and out for a count of five. See what happens!

9. Eliminate the inflammatory foods from our diet
when our bodies are inflamed, this inflammation can trigger blood sugar imbalances, unsluin resistance, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes. the most common inflammatory sources are sugar, flour, and trans fats. The most common foods are gluten and dairy!!! We often crave the foods that we are allergic to especially if someone says that we cant have it.

Remove dairy and gluten for the 10 days and so what happens. The first 2 to 3 days are tough but after that you will have a renewed energy and relief from the cravings and many symptoms can start to disappear.

10. Lastly get adequate sleep ZZZZZZZ
when we don’t get enough sleep and feel tired we look for easy energy. this easy energy is in the form of craving carbs and sugar. A human study, depriving colleague student son just two hours of the recommended 8 hours of sleep led to a rise in hunger hormones, a decrease in appetite-suppressing hormones, and huge spike in cravings for sugar and refined carbs.

We all want more energy, so get more sleep! Sleep is the best way to fight against the drive to overeat and the after dinner snacks. So start getting adequate sleep and your cravings and weight will be reduced.

If you would like more information or would like to book an appointment at Neurohealth  – please call the clinic on 9905 9099 or email us admin@neurohealthchiro.com.au

This article is written by Dr. Steven Cannon, Chiropractor @ Neurohealth