Sugar: If You Can’t Quit, Cut Back! by Joan Kent, PhD
My client’s food log was extreme. She tracked every bite she ate and calculated the calories in each item. She logged every workout and the calories she had burned. She was working out several times a day.
The most extreme thing about her log was that she ate mostly sugar. Pastries, chocolate, malted milk Whoppers, fat-free muffins. All day.
Her health issues were fairly severe. She had irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, breast engorgement and tenderness, chronic fatigue, and lots more. None had been diagnosed as linked with her diet.
She didn’t feel ready to quit sugar but said she was, “willing to cut back.”
I saw drawbacks with that approach, but felt sure her health issues tied in with the volume of sugar she ate all day long. Any reduction would have been an improvement.
Cutting back on sugar involves basics that everyone knows. Skip desserts. Avoid sodas. Don’t snack on cookies or other sugary foods. Don’t add sugar to coffee or tea. And so on.
But environment matters. What you have — or don’t have — in your kitchen can make a huge difference. Knowing which foods to stop buying — and what to swap for them — is important.
It requires Reading Labels. (I know: Yawn.)
Sugar hides behind many names. Some are technically not sugar, but have almost identical effects on insulin and brain chemistry. Some are different names for the same thing. Cane Sugar and Sugar Cane are, obviously, the same.
First, Know Your Enemy
Here are the names of sugars I’m currently aware of — and the list keeps growing as new sugars are created.
Agave, Alcohol, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cane Juice, Cane Sugar, Coconut Sugar, Corn Sweetener, Corn Syrup, Date Sugar, Dextrose, Erythritol, Fructose, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Glucose, Glycerin, Glycerol, Granulated Sugar,
High Fructose Corn Syrup, Honey, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates (HSH), Isomalt, Job’s Tears, Lactitol, Lactose, Lycasin, Malted Barley, Malt Extract, Maltitol, Maltitol Syrup, Maltodextrin, Mannitol, Maple Sugar, Maple Syrup,
Molasses, Organic Cane Sugar, Polydextrose, Powdered Sugar, Raisin Juice, Raisin Syrup, Raw Sugar, Rice Syrup, Sorbitol, Succanat, Sucralose, Sucrose, Sugar, Sugar Cane, Turbinado Sugar, Unrefined Sugar, Xylitol
Why Bother with This Sugar List?
The first time or two that you shop using this list — it’s smart to take it with you to the grocery store — you might need to spend a little extra time reading labels.
After a couple of trips to the store, though, you’ll know what you can buy and what to skip. At that point, shopping will be just as easy as it is now.
As for my Sugar Warrior client, she’s been working on reducing sugars for a while now. Yes, some of my fears were justified. Eating little bits of sugar made her crave more sugar. That made it difficult for her to eliminate cravings. She still battles them. She still thinks of desserts as a viable option when she’s stressed, and has to tell herself “no” each time.
The individual “no” doesn’t always work.
But her health has been improving. Her energy has increased. And that’s provided enough motivation to get her committed to quitting sugar altogether.
Nutrition geek that I am, that’s what I live for — helping my clients get results.
If you’ve wanted to quit sugar and have wondered why it doesn’t work, please visit www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free copy of “3 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Trying to Quit Sugar.”
Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.
