Beat Your Sugar Addiction

Calling all sugar addicts! We all know what it’s like; nothing makes us feel better after a hard day at work than a few squares of galaxy chocolate. We say a few squares but without thinking about it those few squares turned into the whole bar. And no, we are not talking about a little one, but those huge slabs. We think they are made for sharing but we didn’t bother! We just couldn’t stop!

So what is it about sugar that we crave? Not only does sugar taste so good but eating it releases the feel-good brain chemical serotonin as well as giving you a surge of endorphins, the happy hormone known for giving you that natural high. So why wouldn’t you crave all of this. I hate to say it but sugar isn’t all good. It is linked to accelerated ageing, tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes not to mention links to cancer. And even more terrifying is that the average person in the UK consumes about 700g of sugar a week, which is about 140 teaspoons! Given that the maximum recommended daily intake of sugar is about 6 teaspoons a day we are eating sugar to the excess!

So for those of you with a sweet tooth raging out of control I have some tips to help with those sugar cravings.

• Reach for some fruit. Keep fruit handy for when you get a sugar craving. Not only is fruit sweet as it contains fructose, but it also contains fibre and vitamins giving you a health boost.

• Do some exercise. When a craving hits, do something to distract yourself. Running is a great way to take your mind off things and clear your head. Burning calories will make you reconsider eating that mars bar as you won’t want to undo all of the hard work you have just done.

• Eat regularly. If you wait too long between meals you tend to start craving sugary and fatty foods to curb your hunger quickly. Eat every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable as well as your energy levels. Foods high in protein and fibre will also keep you feeling fuller for longer and will help to stop those cravings.

• Avoid artificial sweeteners. They may sound like a god idea but common sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame can be up to 200 times sweeter than sugar itself and will only contribute to your need for something sweet.

• Always read the food labels. Check the traffic lights on the front of processed foods and try to avoid food high in sugar. Also check the ingredients which will be listed in size order on the back. Forms of sugar in processed foods are also called glucose, fructose, invert sugar, corn syrup, glucose syrup, lactose, maltose and hydrolysed starch.

• Cut out energy and fizzy drinks. So much of our sugar intake comes from fizzy drinks. 500ml of coke contains the equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar!

Add these simple changes to your diet and your skin, health and waistline will thank you for it.