What happens if you stop eating sugar for 15 days? If you drink soft drinks, energy drinks, eat cereals, candies, ice-cream, packaged foods, or even coffee with added syrup, you probably consume higher amounts of sugar.
Why not quit sugar for 15 days to discover the amazing benefits of a sugar-free diet? In this video, we go over the top 10 benefits of quitting sugar for 15 days. Watch till the end to learn the one benefit of quitting sugar you probably would not have guessed.
As always, this video is educational and does not constitute medical advice; we are not doctors.
Number 10. You Will Have A Healthier Gut.
If you quit sugar, your gut microbiota would be more balanced. The gut hosts trillions of bacteria, some of which eat sugar and create harmful substances as a byproduct.
When excess sugar is present in the intestines, beneficial bacteria decrease. The perfect composition of bacteria is disturbed, and this can trigger bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and celiac disease.
Also, an excess intake of sugar damages the gut barrier function, and increases the likelihood of infection and inflammation. This is a syndrome known as leaky gut.
See our video, Top 8 Foods That Cause Leaky Gut.
Number 9. You Will Feel Less Hungry.
When you eat refined sugar, your body releases more insulin. Insulin is a crucial hormone that helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
When your blood sugar increases steeply after eating, your body can release too much insulin, making your blood sugar plummet below normal levels.
This is commonly called a blood sugar ‘crash’. Symptoms of a sugar crash include hunger, irritability, fatigue, anxiety, headaches, difficulty concentrating, shakiness, and dizziness.
People who have pre-diabetes and diabetes are more prone to experience a sugar crash.
When you stop eating sugar, the foods you eat no longer cause an immediate spike in blood sugar levels. So changes in your glucose would not be as extreme as when you were eating sugar.
That’s why you will feel less hungry and less exhausted after eating a meal.
Number 8. You May Lose Fat.
You may lose fat because your blood glucose levels are more balanced, and you don’t feel an urgent need to eat again after a meal. In a study published in the BMJ in 2012, the results of 68 studies were analyzed.
Analyses of this sizeable population showed that decreased dietary sugar intake was associated with reduced body weight. Also, a one-year follow-up showed people who had a higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages had a higher risk of being obese.
If you want to break your sugar addiction, see our video, Top 9 Ways to Stop Sugar Cravings.
Number 7. Your Skin Will Look Better.
Your skin is highly affected by diet. Sugar plays a role in common skin diseases, such as acne.
In a study published in The American journal of clinical nutrition in 2007, participants who had acne were given a low-glycemic-index diet, which means their glucose level would be more controlled. Due to lower blood glucose levels, their total acne lesion counts decreased more than control groups with an energy-dense, high glycemic index diet.
Sugar also contributes to skin aging by damaging collagen structure. Collagen is the protein that plays an important role in skin repair and protection.
This is the reason quitting sugar may give you younger-looking and healthier skin.
See our video, Top 12 Foods to Avoid if You Want Younger Looking Skin.
Number 6. Your Inflammation Levels Will Decrease.
Too much sugar intake is linked with inflammation, which is one of the major causes of chronic diseases. Chronic inflammation can damage tissues and organs, leading to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, intestinal problems, and even cancer.
Quitting sugar can improve your overall health by decreasing inflammation.
See our video, Top 13 foods that cause inflammation.
Number 5. Your Blood Lipid Levels Will Improve.
High sugar intake causes high blood glucose levels, which increase blood lipid levels.
Your body needs to lower blood glucose levels, so it produces more insulin. This makes your cells take up sugar and convert it to fat in tissues, including in the liver and adipose tissue, where fat is stored.
The liver converts excessive sugar to triglycerides and LDL (bad cholesterol), which then go into the bloodstream.
When you go sugar free, your blood glucose levels will be more balanced; as a result, fat production will decrease, and this can help prevent heart disease.
Number 4. You Will Have A Lower Risk Of Diabetes.
Consuming too much sugar can increase your risk of developing pre-diabetes and diabetes.
A normal insulin response is triggered until the pancreas cells that produce insulin become exhausted. When this happens, the amount of insulin your body produces goes down, which causes your blood sugar levels to go higher, and damage your pancreas even more.
If you cut sugar out of your diet and eat a balanced meal instead, your blood glucose levels will rise and fall normally, which will prevent abnormal insulin secretion and pancreas damage.
See our video, Top 12 Pre-diabetes Symptoms and Treatment.
Number 3. You Will Sleep Better.
A study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2019 showed that patients with pre-diabetes had poor sleep compared to people with normal blood glucose levels. This study shows that blood glucose levels can affect sleep.
An imbalance in blood glucose will disturb sleep, and poor sleep will disrupt blood glucose levels, thus causing a vicious cycle. You can break the cycle by cutting sugar from your diet.
Number 2. Your Dental Health Will Improve.
Do you want shiny, white, and healthy teeth? Quitting sugar can give you healthy teeth by preventing you from getting cavities.
In a study published in the Journal of dentistry in 2014, almost 1000 adults were questioned on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Their dental health was assessed with a dental score calculated based on the number of decayed, filled, and missing teeth because of cavities.
Results showed that their dental health decreased when the frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increased.
And now the number 1 benefit that you may not have guessed.
Number 1. You Will Feel More Energetic.
Yes, you heard that right. Most people think they would be unhappy and joyless if they quit sugar, but it’s actually the opposite.
When you stop eating sugar, you will gradually feel more energetic because sugar inhibits a hormone called orexin, which stimulates the brain and gives you wakefulness.
Orexin also stimulates other brain cells to release dopamine and serotonin, which are known as happiness hormones. You’ll feel happier when you stop eating sugar.
While 15 days may be too short a time to get all the benefits of quitting sugar, the longer you stop eating sugar, the more you’ll find you won’t miss it at all! Sugar is as addictive as cocaine, and the effects of excess sugar intake – higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease – are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
Do you want to lose weight, relieve joint & bone pain, and boost your energy? Would you like to enhance your mood, and improve your skin, hair, and nails? If this sounds like something you’re interested in, click the link below to get our 100% FREE anti-inflammatory diet plan, and I’ll see you on the other side.
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And now, over to you: what benefits have you experienced from quitting sugar or reducing your intake of sugar?
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