3 Crucial Advice To Overcome Processed Sugar Addiction

Fact: added sugar is present, to a greater or lesser extent, in many of the processed foods that surround us in the supermarket. Here I will share my best tips to help you overcome processed sugar addiction in no time.

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Sugar is used in the food industry for 3 reasons: it’s cheap, it acts as a preservative to extend the best-before date and, above all, it makes the product more palatable.

The latter, added to the lack of basic nutrition education, has resulted in an excess of glucose in the body of the majority of the population.

The consequences? Processed sugar addiction has an exponential increase in the probability of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and dementia, amongst other chronic and autoimmune diseases.

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Is Sugar A Drug?

Surely you have felt anxiety or agitation over sweets or a “sugar rush”.

And it is that, although it does not correspond 100% to the definition of “addictive substance”, the consumption of sugar can lead to a certain addiction or repetitive ingestion behaviour, and can generate emotional or psychological dependence on certain foods or drinks.

For instance, did you know that sliced bread, cooked ham, sauces or even porridge “specially designed for babies” are examples of foods packed with sugar?

Some studies compare the pattern of addiction with that generated by cocaine, due to the release of dopamine and serotonin produced by its consumption, which is why sugary products are commonly used when there is anxiety, stress or a low state of spirit.

In addition, these types of foods are often high in rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, which provide a very attractive initial energy boost for those who frequently feel tired.

In any case, sugar addiction is usually easy to detect when:

• Large amounts of sugary food or drinks are consumed as part of the regular diet.
• It’s taken as a short-term “fix” for work stress, or to cope with anxiety or depression.
• Weight gain and difficulty concentrating on day-to-day responsibilities appear.
• Binge eating ensues, usually followed by feelings of guilt and regret.

But you always have to look for the positive part and that is that, unlike other more serious addictions, it’s easy to remedy it.

How To Overcome Processed Sugar Addiction

If you want to know how to get rid of sugar addiction, those are the tips you were looking for to get down to work:

Discover the origin of your sugar addiction: if it is due to emotional factors, forget about dieting that restricts sugary foods.

Instead, see a mental health professional who will teach you the tools you need to address your problem.

Sweeteners will help you cut calories and can be a good way to displace sugar from day to day, but they won’t solve your cravings for sweetness or do any good for your gut microbiota.

Try to reduce their consumption little by little, until you manage to do without them completely and get used to the real taste of food.

Learn to read the product label: sugar has many synonyms, such as sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, polyalcohol, syrups, juices, and honey.

Knowing what we are buying (and eating) will help us make better decisions when shopping.

Have breakfast: not because it’s said that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but because a nutritious and filling breakfast helps prevent cravings and snacking between meals.

Final Thoughts

Here’s the oldest trick ever: don’t you want to consume it? Don’t buy it!

Having willpower is hard (I know, believe me), so the best thing we can do is have as little processed sugar as possible at home, and replace them with fresh fruit or natural nuts.

This way, snacking between meals becomes a much healthier option.

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