One of the biggest culprits in health degeneration is sugar, so If you want to start making changes to your diet, how about we start here? The World Health Organization recommends 25g of sugar per day, and considering that sugar is added to virtually every packaged/ultraprocessed food, (and even if we don't consume packaged foods, we can get sugar for healthy, nature-made carbohydrates, like fruits, vegetables, roots...), therefore, consider working toward reducing actual sugar (granulated, powdered) consumption to zero.
The bad news is sugar is addictive, so if you deprive your system of it your gut bacteria will crave it, (and so will you) so it’s hard to quit cold turkey, you'll have to cut back gradually. The good news is that those bacteria only survive for a few days so the cravings will subside once you let them slowly starve to their death. 🪦 😆
Main complications cause by excessive* sugar intake:
*amounts varies depending on each individual.
When we eat more sugar than our body is able to process, the glucose (sugar) binds to the cells in our body and keeps them busy and overwhelmed trying to break down those molecules. This extra burden hinders the actual functioning of the cell, and it will ultimately affect every single system if not corrected in time, causing:
🫀Cardiovascular diseases
♥️ High blood pressure
🍩 Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
📏 Obesity
🧈 High cholesterol and triglycerides
😬 Anxiety, stress
😵💫 insomnia
🩸 Diabetes and insulin resistance
🧠 Neurological degeneration and cognitive decline
🦷 Tooth decay
🤦🏽♀️ Acne
👨🏽🦳🧓🏽Premature aging
⚠️Cancer
🍂 Nutrient deficiency
👂🏽Ringing in ear
To get started:
🍪 🥤Avoid ultraprocessed foods and beverages in general
Soda, boxed juices, sugary drinks, cookies, pancakes, breakfast cereal, packaged bread and pasta are a few examples of the largest sources of sugar for the average American diet, so you can start by swapping those for healthier options.
👁 Check the food labels for sugar content
If you do decide to keep packaged foods in your diet, be aware of the ingredient list. Sugar is disguised as fructose, syrups, glucose, sucrose, maltose, sweeteners, and so on. The ingredients are listed from largest quantities to smallest, so if sugar is the first ingredient on the list, RUN!
🍨 Cut Sweets
Stating the obvious here, but sweets, candy, desserts, ice cream, etc., shouldn’t be part of your daily diet but consumed only sporadically.
📈 Avoid glucose spikes
Overtime, glucose spikes may lead to Insulin resistance and diabetes. These are THE silent killers, they will creep up on you and cause irreversible damage if not corrected. To avoid glucose spikes, measure the glycemic index of your meals by controlling the actual amount of carbohydrate intake and adding healthy protein and fiber to each meal.
🩸Check your labs
See below ideal lab markers* when it relates to glicemia. They are not for diagnostic purposes, but to help investigate further. Consult with your doctor for a comprehensive evaluation.
* varies depending on each individual.
Fasting glucose: 70-100
A1C: less than 5.6
Insulin: less than 8
HOMA IR: around 1
🌱 Bitter herbs help curb the cravings
Especially the Ayurvedic herb shardunika, know as the "destroyer of sweet" helps suppress the sweet taste on the tongue.
To a balanced life!
Namaste,
Grazie Prokopetz, Doctor of Ayurveda
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