Nowadays, many people can't put down sweet drinks such as milk tea and fruit juice on weekdays, and when they are in a bad mood, they want to relieve their mood by eating sweets and find short-term happiness, and then regret and blame themselves for eating too many sweets, and enter a vicious circle.
You may find that controlling yourself from eating sugar by willpower alone may have a certain effect in a short period of time, but it is difficult to stick to it for a long time. In fact, sugar addiction is not because a person lacks willpower, but because sugar addiction is essentially a nervous disorder. When a person is accustomed to frequent intake of high-sugar foods, he always has to eat more and sweeter foods every time to get the same satisfaction as before, which is why it is more difficult to quit sugar.
The dangers of sugar addiction
Consuming too much sugar can actually cause a lot of harm to the body.
1
dental caries
Studies at home and abroad have shown that high-frequency consumption of sugary drinks is associated with oral problems such as tooth damage, toothache, and tooth decay in children.
2
Super-heavy/fattening
Sugary drinks, in particular, have a weaker sense of satiety, and drinking sugary drinks will not reduce the intake of other diets, but will also stimulate appetite, make people eat more, cause weight gain, and even be overweight or obese.
3
diabetes
Long-term intake of sugar-sweetened beverages can increase the glycemic load, leading to insulin resistance, pancreatic islet cell dysfunction and inflammation, and ultimately diabetes.
4
Cardiovascular disease
Sweets hurt the "heart". Research data show that those who drink one sugary drink (about 350 ml) a day have a 1.19 times higher risk of cardiovascular disease and 1.21 times the risk of stroke in those who do not drink or drink less. People who consume more than two cups a day have a 31% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
5
gout
Studies have found that people who drink sugar every day have a 75% higher risk of gout than those who drink less.
6
fracture
Excessive intake of carbonated beverages can adversely affect bone density in children. Drinking more than two sugar-sweetened beverages a day is associated with a higher risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women.
7
cancer
Drinking just 100 ml of sugar-sweetened beverages per day increases the overall risk of cancer by 18%. The most common causes are colorectal cancer and breast cancer.
How do we reduce sugar
1
Rebuild the brain's reward system
We can try to reactivate the reward system we want, such as repeatedly getting fresh ingredients and savoring them carefully, or repeatedly doing our favorite exercise when we're in a bad mood instead of drinking sugary drinks. Doing this over and over again will make you remember the cycle and gradually change your brain's reward system to help you get rid of sugar cravings.
2
Choose a step-by-step approach to sugar reduction
We can choose foods with different sugar contents, and gradually switch from high-sugar foods to low-sugar foods. For example, people who love coffee can drink sugary and milky coffee, and then slowly convert to drinking pure coffee.
3
Avoid emotional eating
When people have certain emotions, they will especially want to eat certain foods, especially high-sugar and high-fat foods. If you find yourself relying on food to vent your emotions, you may want to try some of the right emotional relief methods first, such as reading a book or running.
4
Reduce refined foods
Choose low-fat, high-fiber, low-glycemic load, and satiety carbohydrate foods, such as whole grains, whole wheat bread, corn, purple potatoes, etc. Eat enough protein with a reasonable meal, reduce hunger, and improve basal metabolism. Learn to read the ingredient list, do not actively drink sugary drinks, and try to choose fresh, low-sugar fruits or sweet products with natural sweeteners to satisfy the feeling of "sweetness".