Doctors, nutritionists compare the addiction to sweets with drug and alcohol addiction. Scientists have proved that light carbohydrates nourish a gray substance that secretes hormones of happiness and pleasure.
Dependence on sugar
Sweet foods contain sucrose – a pure carbohydrate, which is food for the mind. It saturates the body with energy. Getting into the blood, sucrose turns into fructose and glucose. Each gram of this “good” gives 4 kcal. By eating an excessive amount of sweets, you get a large dose of calories. If this energy is not used, it turns into fat, which is deposited on the hips, sides, abdomen.
You noticed that after eating something sweet, after a while again you want to eat. The reason is simple – the pancreas does not cope with the work and begins to produce a large amount of insulin. It enters the bloodstream and requires a new dose of glucose. It turns out a vicious circle. The more sweet you eat, the more you want it. Part of the glucose is stored inside the cells of the central nervous system, liver and muscles. If you constantly eat sugar, it will begin to be deposited in the form of fat in the subcutaneous fat or on the internal organs. It’s very difficult to get rid of him. Excessive consumption of sugar leads to serious consequences, which we will discuss below.
Refusal of sugar
This phrase for a sweet tooth can seem killer. Do not completely abandon the sugar. The most important thing is to limit its use. Here are the basic tips that will help you get rid of cravings for sweets:
- Drink coffee and tea without sugar. The first circles will seem horrible, tasteless and disgusting to you. But already 5-6 servings of tea or coffee without sweetener will be familiar, tasty and fragrant for you. Without sugar, taste and smell are better perceived.
- Give up lung carbohydrates. If you want to lose weight, improve your health and improve your well-being, give up harmful cakes, baked goods, sweet water, sweets. Replace them with fruits, which contain a large amount of fiber, vitamins and trace elements.
- Keep vegetables and fruits in a conspicuous place. Do not put candy, cookies, chocolate and other delicious things on the table. When you want to eat, let it be better on the table will be a fresh apple, apricot, sliced carrots, other vegetables. They can buy and satisfy hunger.
- Do not use sugar substitutes. Deceive the brain does not work! Sooner or later you will break and fill your stomach with sweets. Do not forget that you are struggling with addiction. It is necessary to change eating habits, and not to deceive ourselves with a pacifier in the form of a sugar substitute.
- Read the label. You do not even guess how often manufacturers use sugar in the manufacture of products. It can be found in ketchup, mayonnaise, half-finished products, ready-made breakfasts, sauces, fast food products. Where it just does not exist.
- Do not buy harmful sweets – never, at all. They include various sweets with a huge amount of sugar, cakes with artificial cream, dyes, preservatives, stabilizers, flavor enhancers.
- Learn the synonyms of sugar. Every year, food producers are becoming more cunning and sophisticated. Instead of honestly writing on the label about the sugar content in the product, they use synonyms for this word: agave nectar, dextrose, glucose, glucose syrup and others. Do not be naive, always read the label and do not let yourself be misled.
Types of sugar
Sugar is a vegetable disaccharide, which is a pure carbohydrate. It consists of glucose and fructose, which saturate the body with energy. There are a lot of types of sugar:
- Ordinary sugar is a sugar that we remember well from childhood. It can be easily found in any store;
- Fruity – monosaccharide, 2 times sweeter than glucose. It was first synthesized in 1861;
- Baking – has a fine crystal structure. As you can guess from the name, it is used in bakeries;
- Sugar coating – most often used as an ornament in the manufacture of confectionery;
- Ultrafine – more expensive granulated sugar, which has a white color. The crystals are very small and rapidly dissolve in the liquid at any temperature;
- Powdered sugar – resembles a crumbly white powder. You can get it by simply chopping sugar in a coffee grinder. Powder is three varieties. The first grade is sold in supermarkets, the second and third are used in bakeries;
- Rough sugar – well suited for the production of liquors, all kinds of confectionery;
- Brown sugar – this color was obtained because of the presence of molasses. The smaller, the lighter the sugar. Therefore, we recommend that you pay attention to this.
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How to make the right choice?
Reed canned sugar is the most popular. It is also called brown. Color saturation determines the amount of dark molasses molasses. It is her that is covered with small crystals. Brown sugar is considered more useful than white, because it contains all the B vitamins, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements. In 100 grams of the product contains 377 kcal. But teach that in white sugar not much more calories – 387. Therefore, the use of this product should be limited in any case.
Tips for choosing sugar
- The more white beet sugar, the more refined it is. In refined more calories, in milky white – nutrients. Gray color indicates that mistakes were made in the production technology.
- Do not buy sugar that is stored next to water. He will stick together in a lump, sweets in it will be less.
- For the test, buy sugar with small crystals, for powder – with large crystals.
- Choose unrefined sugar cane as dark as possible, it contains more useful substances. But he is not very sweet.
- Check the quality of brown sugar at home: boil a few teaspoons of sugar in water. Add a couple drops of iodine. If the water turns blue, it means that the sugar is of high quality.
Why do we want sweets?
Since sweet foods cause the brain to produce hormones of happiness (serotonin) and pleasure, it’s not surprising that we always want to eat something delicious. Most often a person consumes sweet, when he has stress, problems at work and in his personal life, there is no love and support.
Why sweet and flour harmful?
Excessive consumption of sweet and flour leads to obesity and diabetes. The reason is fatty liver disease. American doctors have proven that sugar strikes a blow on collagen and elastin, which leads to premature aging. In addition, excessive consumption of sugar increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Sweet Sweeteners
Refuse artificial sweeteners (sucralose, neotame, aspartame, saccharin). Scientists have conducted studies, according to which, they increase the risk of developing cancer. It is better to use a natural sweetener, for example, Stevia extract. It has a minimum of calories. In addition, this extract is used in the treatment of intestines and high blood pressure.
Pros and cons of refusing sweet
Refusing sweet, you …
- Lose weight;
- You will look younger;
- Improve your health and well-being;
- Protect yourself from many diseases associated with excess weight;
- Cease to be a slave to the sweet;
- Get rid of psychological dependence;
- Keep healthy teeth;
- Normalize the work of the intestines;
- Lower the level of cholesterol in the blood;
- Protect yourself from diabetes.
Sweetness is what helps to forget about problems, gives happiness, joy, cheers up. But for the love of sweet foods, sooner or later have to pay. If you do not change your eating habits, you are not only threatened with excess weight, but also with other problems.