Michael Grothaus: As a rejection of the sugar has changed my life Bashny.Net

How a small experiment in nutrition helps people become much more productive, says writer and columnist for Fast Company Michael Grothaus.

"I love to eat, which several years ago suffered from excessive weight excess. It was so awful that I came up with one technological feature do to lose 36 pounds. She helped, and since I support healthy weight mainly because carefully count calories, not overeat and exercise.





And for the most part everything went smoothly — I even ate whatever I wanted: fish, chicken, pasta, diet soda, fruit and yogurt once a day something sweet (M&M's or brownies). I also like to drink coffee with a few sugar packets. But calories are calories — if I don't go beyond 2000 calories per day, you know that I won't gain weight.

American heart Association finds that men should have no more than 37.5 grams of sugar per day and women not more than 25 g But the world health organization believes that even this is a lot of: 25 g should be the maximum for both women and men. The average American eating 126 grams of sugar per day, sometimes without even realizing it. Basically it is the sugar that is added to products during processing.


I told them about my diet friend-the doctor, and she warned me that although I support the proper level of calories, I consume too much refined sugar. And it's bad for the waistline, and brain. Refined sugar — which is in most sweets, fizzy drinks, white bread and pasta, in almost all the foods "low fat", fruit juices, yoghurt, energy drinks, sauces and countless products, makes us irritable, is pushing for the hasty and silly decisions. My friend said: although I'm skinny, and I don't have high blood sugar, the intake of me refined sugar is bad for health.

It was hard for me to believe that this sugar strongly affect my cognitive abilities. My friend advised: give up refined sugar for two weeks and see.

I did just that. In the day when I began my experiment, I decided that this exercise was pointless and I still won't notice. How wrong I was!

Diet without sugarto Abandon refined sugar in practice is very difficult. He is in almost all foods and beverages that we buy in the store, and fast food (if you eat lunch a big Mac with fries and soda, you will consume 85 grams of sugar — 236% of the daily value!) That is to avoid refined sugar, I had more time to spend at home and prepare food from fresh ingredients, as well as to give up all drinks in cans, white bread, pasta and those "healthy" yogurts that taste supposedly add fruit juice. I also stopped adding sugar in my coffee and milk.

My new diet for two weeks consisted only of fresh foods — fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, other meat, whole wheat pasta and Rist. Most of that I already regularly eaten with other foods, which included sugar.





It is important to note that in these two weeks I just gave up sugar — only refined. I ate a lot of natural sugar contained in fruits, which the body turns into glucose from meat, fat, and carbohydrates. This is an important source of energy for the body and brain.

And the last: for two weeks I did not change my caloric intake, supporting 1900-2100 calories a day, as usual. I also practiced in normal mode. And that's what happened.

Wow ride!The first day I thought everything will be easy. I ate a lot of fruit, had lunch and fish dinner with steak and vegetables. I missed sugar and milk in coffee, but no problems experienced.

On the second day everything has changed dramatically. Although I had a hearty Breakfast and lunch (two oranges, eggs, then whole wheat rice and vegetables), about 2 o'clock in the afternoon suddenly felt like I was run over by a truck. Was spinning and had a headache, which usually didn't happen. And it continued with some interruptions for another two or three days. At that time I frantically wished of soda and sweets. On the third day I even shook hands. It was terribly, terribly difficult not to eat anything sweet.

"Because you did not condone his habit, your brain loudly demanded sugar, says Rebecca Boulton, a nutrition specialist, who I contacted to understand what is going on. Is a period of adaptation, during which the desire becomes more intense, and then you feel better."

More intense? By the end of the fourth day I would sell my dog for one brownie. I'm so lost focus that I was scared — I won't be able to write articles that were supposed to finish this week. I even wanted to drink the energy drink "for health" (but restrained). I felt great irritation and even depression. I became nervous and impatient, it was hard for me to focus.

"The body was programmed to get energy from sugar, explains Boulton, and need time to accustomed to it from somewhere else. It's like a hangover."

But on the sixth day, something changed. Confusion started to go away, like headaches. The fruits began to seem more sweet. On the eighth or ninth day, I experienced greater focus and clarity than ever in my life (well, recently). I began to work more productive — I carefully listened to people during the interview, or rather perceiving their words and could respond quickly to their responses, new questions and ideas. At this rate I'm never worked. When I read a book or article, I absorbed more details and information. I felt smarter.

Boulton says that the increased sweetness of fruit is a sign that the body adapts to the new regime when it is not consume refined sugar in nonstop mode. And my headache stopped, because the body has not struggled with the desire to sugar. In the last days of my diet I was so focused that I was sure I became a new man. Changed my mood, I noticed that even friends. And no matter how stupid it may sound, I felt happier than two weeks ago.

Improved sleepSleep is essential: it not only allows you to relax from daily Affairs, but also flushes out toxins from the brain and again allows the brain to work smarter. "When blood sugar is balanced, says Boulton, it promotes a more structured sleep and more sustained energy levels, reduces fatigue and helps you focus. It also affects your other hormones, which increases energy level, and sleep quality, and quality of work of the brain."

I did not think that the rejection of refined sugar will help you sleep better, but it did. On the sixth and seventh day I fell asleep in 10 minutes after lay. But first I needed half an hour. I also started waking up earlier and more naturally, and to get out of bed in the morning was easier.

Weight lossI consumed as many calories as before. I ate a lot of fat (red meat, avocado) and a lot of carbs and natural sugar. But the rejection of refined sugar has led to the fact that I lost 5 kg in two weeks. "Eating more protein, fiber, fruits and vegetables increases metabolism, and the body burns calories more efficiently. It is not the amount of calories and quality of food and how her body processes," explains Boulton.

A new lifeI'm still periodically experiencing the feeling of hunger — but not so often. I feel full seven or eight hours straight. I realize now that when I felt hungry (every three hours), my body simply demanded another dose of sugar.

I don't miss sugar in my coffee. When I see shelves of chocolates in the store, I see them as pieces of cardboard is, they do not want to. And for the first time in my life I feel the richness and nuances of flavor vegetables and fruits. Now I understand why when Christmas gave the children oranges. Who needs chocolate when there's such a sweetness?

But still I fear that at some point will not be able to give up refined sugar. Everything is against me. Refined sugar is hidden in tens of thousands of products, and it affects the brain more than cocaine. With marketing it is everywhere, avoiding it is impossible — unless you decide to do what I do, and cook using only fresh ingredients. Sometimes, alas, time and employment do not permit.

But the benefits that I have experienced, eliminating refined sugar from my diet for two weeks, too powerful to ignore. I hope I will be enough" published

 

©Michael Grothaus

 

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: ideanomics.ru/articles/4787