Drastically cutting out foods, as you may probably know, is not effective as a long-term lifestyle approach to healthy eating.
In fact, strict detoxing can cause issues including fatigue, dizziness and low blood sugar.
But there is one kind of sustainable detox that is worthwhile, according to some experts. Reducing sugar in your diet can help you drop pounds, improve your health and even give you more radiant skin.
“Sugar makes you fat, ugly and old,” said Brooke Alpert, a registered dietitian and co-author of “The Sugar Detox: Lose the Sugar, Lose the Weight — Look and Feel Great.”
“What we’ve discovered in the last couple of years is that sugar is keeping us overweight. It’s also a leading cause of heart disease; it negatively affects skin, and it leads to premature aging.”
Here’s more bad news: We can’t stop consuming sugar.
“People have a real dependency — a real addiction to sugar,” Alpert said.
“We have sugar, we feel good from it, we get (the feeling of) an upper, and then we crash and need to reach for more.”
What’s more, research suggests that sugar induces rewards and cravings that are similar in magnitude to those induced by addictive drugs.
One of the biggest concerns is the amount of added sugars in our diets, which are often hidden in foods.
Although ice cream cake is an obvious source of sugar, other foods that may not even taste sweet — such as salad dressings, tomato sauces and breads — can be loaded with the white stuff.
“People don’t realize that seemingly healthy foods are loaded with sugar — and so we’re basically eating sugar all day long, from morning till night,” Alpert said.
However, the pros of being aware and intentionally working towards cutting the sugar outdo the cons.
The how-to
You can first start with a three-day detox.
Once the first three days of the sugar detox are completed, you can add an apple.
“By the fourth day, an apple tastes like candy,” Alpert said.
“The onions are sweet! Almonds are sweet! Once you take sugar away from your diet cold turkey, your palate recalibrates, and you start tasting natural sugars again.”Starting with day four, you can add one apple and one dairy food each day.
Dairy, such as yogurt or cheese, should be full-fat and unsweetened. “Fat, fiber and protein slow the absorption of sugar, so taking out fat from dairy will make you absorb sugar faster,” Alpert said.
You can also add some higher-sugar vegetables such as carrots and snow peas, as well as a daily serving of high-fiber crackers.
Three glasses of red wine in that first week can be added, too.During week two, you can add a serving of antioxidant-rich berries and an extra serving of dairy.
You can also add back starchy vegetables such as yams and winter squash.
For week three, you can add grains such as barley, quinoa and oatmeal, and even some more fruit including grapes and clementines.
You can also have another glass of red wine during the week and an ounce of dark chocolate each day.”Week three should be quite livable,” Alpert said.Week four is the home stretch, when you can enjoy two starches per day, including bread and rice, in addition to high-fiber crackers. Wine goes up to five glasses per week.
“You can have a sandwich in week four, which just makes things easier,” Alpert said. “I want people living. Week four is the way to do it.”Week four defines the maintenance part of the plan — though intentional indulgences are allowed, such as ice cream or a piece of cake at a birthday party. “Because the addictive behavior is gone, having ice cream once or twice will not send you back to square one,” Alpert said. Additionally, no fruit is off-limits once you’ve completed the 31 days.”The whole purpose is to give people control and ownership and a place for these foods in our life,” Alpert said.
Detoxing from sugar can help you lose weight quickly.
Participants also reported brighter eyes, clearer skin and fewer dark circles. They also had more energy and fewer mood swings.
“Depending on how intense your addiction is, you can experience withdrawal symptoms, such as brain fog, crankiness and fatigue,” Alpert said.
“If you feel bad, stop and have a piece of fruit. But if you can push through and stay well-hydrated, you can really break your cycle of sugar addiction,” Alpert said.
It’s important to note that the plan may not be appropriate for diabetics, extreme athletes or anyone taking medication to control blood sugar.
It is also not recommended for pregnant women.
Finally, before starting a sugar detox, enlist the help of friends and/or family members for support.