What Happens to You After Quitting Sugar

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Sugar addiction is a very real phenomenon, as well as, say, addiction to nicotine. Therefore, giving up sugar, even for a while, you may encounter not the most pleasant sensations. So what happens when you limit yourself to sweets?

Natural reward, unnatural dose

In neuroscience, food is called a "natural reward." For us to survive as a species, activities such as eating, having sex, caring for others must be pleasurable to the brain so that we want to repeat them over and over again.

As a result of evolution, the mesolimbic pathway has formed - this is the kind of system in the brain that decodes natural rewards. When we do something enjoyable, the neurotransmitter dopamine begins to be released, which is used by the brain to assess and motivate, reinforcing activities that are important for survival and procreation. This connection is necessary, for example, to decide whether to eat another piece of cake: “Yes, this cake is really good. We must remember for the future."

Of course, not all food is created equal. Most people prefer sweet foods over sour or bitter foods. Because evolutionarily, our mesolimbic system has learned that sugary foods provide a healthy source of carbohydrates for our body. When our ancestors were picking berries, the logic was simple: sour means not yet ripe, bitter - careful, poison.

is one thing, but since then our diet has changed. A decade ago, scientists calculated that the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day, which equates to an additional 350 calories. And the number has most likely grown during this time. A few months ago, scientists in the UK stated that the average British woman consumes 238 teaspoons of sugar a week.

Today, when convenience has become important for us when choosing food, it is almost impossible to find processed foods, semi-finished foods, which would not have added sugar - for taste, preservation, or both.

The added sugar acts on the sly, and we don't even know we're hooked. Just like drugs - nicotine, cocaine, heroin - the brain is addicted to the pleasure of sugar.

Sugar addiction is real

Giving up sugar in the first few days will be tough. Many people begin to heavily eat foods that contain more carbohydrates to compensate for the lack of sugar.

There are four components to any addiction: persistent use, withdrawal, thirst, and cross-sensitization (by getting used to one substance, you become prone to other, stronger addictions). All of these components are present in sugar cravings.

A typical experiment confirming this looks like this: every day for 12 hours, rats are deprived of access to food, and in the next 12 hours they are given access to sugar solution and regular food. After a month of this lifestyle, the rats exhibit behavior similar to that of a drug abuser. In a short time, they get used to spending more time with the sugar solution, rather than with regular food. During the fasting period, they develop bouts of anxiety and depression. And they quickly acquire other addictions.

Consuming sugar over time leads to prolonged dopamine production and more stimulation of the pleasure-producing brain regions. And over time, to achieve the same effect, you need more sugar, because the brain becomes tolerant of it.

The sugar breakdown is real too

In 2002, Carlo Colantuoni and his colleagues at Princeton University conducted a routine experiment on rats to acquire sugar dependence and then quit sugar. To do this, they were either deprived of food or used a drug that affects the reward system in the brain (it is used in the treatment of opioid addiction). Both methods entailed physical problems: rats chattered their teeth and involuntarily shook their heads, and tremors of the limbs appeared. Medication treatment led to increased anxiety.

Similar experiments show similar behavior, similar to depression, on tasks like the forced swim test. Sugar-addicted rats are more likely to be passive (just swim in the water) than active (try to get out).

And according to sugar, giving up sugar leads to impulsive behavior. Initially, the rats were trained: if they press a lever, they get water. After that, the animals were placed in cages, where some had access to both the sugar solution and ordinary water, while others only had access to water. After 30 days, the rats were again placed in lever cages. And it turned out that the sugar-addicted rats squeezed the lever much more often.

These are, of course, extremes. People do not deprive themselves of food for 12 hours in order to allow themselves to drink soda or eat a donut at the end of the day. But rodent studies certainly give us insight into the neurochemical underpinnings of sugar addiction, sugar withdrawal, and behavioral changes.

Through dozens of popular diets and best-selling nutritional advice, we are familiar with the concept of sugar addiction. They also mention withdrawal from sugar, which usually entails food cravings, leads to a breakdown in the diet and impulsive eating of everything. There are dozens of articles that talk about the boundless energy and newfound happiness experienced by people who have given up sugar.

Do you still want to give up sugar for a while? Then you are probably wondering how long it takes to deal with cravings and other side effects. Unfortunately, there is no exact answer - everything is individual. But once you get past your toughest early days, your brain's response will change. If you try to eat something sweet after a few days of cutting out sugar, you will find it too sweet. Sugar tolerance disappears.

How to get rid of sugar addiction as painlessly as possible

1. Don't skip sugar altogether. Better to do it gradually. For example, if you drank tea with two tablespoons of sugar, drink with one for a while - so it will be easier for the body to get used to the new way of life.
2. Don't drink sugar-sweetened drinks. Soda and most packaged juices do not quench your thirst, but sugar is usually very high.
3. When you have eaten the forbidden candy, practice it - exercise. Physical activity also promotes the production of dopamine, therefore the brain will receive its dose of pleasure from it. And next time, you’ll rather want to do a couple of squats than eat a bar of chocolate.
4. Eat less than usual. As we already mentioned, sugar is added even to those products where it shouldn't be in theory. For example, in semi-finished products, so that they are stored longer.
5. Replace sugar with fructose. Fructose is a natural sugar found in all fruits, vegetables, and honey. Therefore, if you want something sweet, this is a great substitute for regular sugar, but less high in calories.