Quitting Sugar Can Improve Your Health in Just 10 Days
One of the biggest problems in Western diets today is the consumption of sugar, both by adults and children. There are multiple ways in which sugar can affect your health, such as weakening your immune system, increasing the chance of diabetes, and much more. Eating too much sugar can even alter the balance of microorganisms in your gut, leaving you vulnerable to Candida or other gut disorders.
Whichever gender or age group you belong to, adding sugar to your diet is generally a bad idea. The good news is that when you quit added sugar, you will start to see the positive effects of this change within a few days. In fact, research has shown that it takes as little as ten days for these health-affirming changes to appear!
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More Evidence That Quitting Sugar Can Improve Your Health
A recent study, carried out by a medical team in California, looked at how 43 children were affected by a reduction in their sugar consumption. Before and after the study, the researchers measured some key markers for diabetes.
After the study they noted that, on average, triglyceride levels had decreased by approximately 33 points and LDL (bad cholesterol) had declined by 5 points. Diastolic blood pressure was also lowered. The most encouraging part of this is that all these positive changes took place in a time span of ten days. Just 10 days of a new eating plan had, apparently, significantly reduced the risk of diabetes developing in these children.
What Does Sugar Do To You?
There is a long list of the negative health impacts that eating too much sugar can have on the body. In fact, there are far too many to cover in this article, so today I’m going to focus on just two. Let’s take a look at how sugar can mess up your digestive system, and how it can prevent you from thinking clearly.
Sugar Can Mess Up Your Digestion
Eating too much sugar can change the balance of microorganisms in your gut. In a healthy person’s gut flora you can find Lactobacillus acidophilus and many other bacteria that exist naturally in the intestines. On the other hand, an individual who regularly eats large amounts of sugar is more likely to have an overgrowth of Candida or some other opportunistic pathogen.
Organisms like Candida albicans need organic, carbon-based compounds to provide them with energy. Their cell walls are 80% made from carbohydrates. This means sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose. They can come from added sugars, from natural sugars, or from both.
If you’re wondering why your gut flora is so important, imbalances in your intestines can have all kinds of effects. The ‘good bacteria’ in your gut perform a number of roles: maintaining correct acidity levels; boosting your immune system; extracting nutrients from your food; and much more. When bad dietary choices (like eating too many foods on this list throw this delicate system out of balance, many of these benefits can be lost.
Sugar Can Affect Your Cognitive Ability
Sugar can directly affect the brain, and most of the sweet foods that we consume contain refined sugar. Anyone familiar with the symptoms of Candida will know about something called brain fog. This is when you experience feelings of confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of mental clarity. Eating a high sugar diet can contribute to this.
There is also research to show that sugar can have other significant impacts on the way we act. It can make us irritable, impulsive, and cause us to make decisions too quickly without thinking them through. All indications are that refined sugar affects the cognitive ability of individuals in a negative way.
In one well-publicized article from 2015, a journalist named Michael Grothaus documented his journey to giving up refined sugar. After being advised by a friend that his sugar consumption was likely harming his health, even though he was maintaining a healthy weight, he put it to the test. For two weeks he eliminated the refined sugar from his diet. His experience was really interesting and reflective of the experience that many people have.
The first day he didn’t feel any different, but on the second day, he began to experience a lot of negative effects that included headaches, brain fog, and cravings for sweet foods. This lasted for a couple of days. By the third day, he was experiencing occasional shakes. This is a surprisingly common symptom of sugar withdrawal. He also became irritable and was not able to concentrate.
By the 6th day the ill effects began to subside and by about the 9th day he was thinking far clearer than he could ever remember experiencing before. He reported having much greater mental clarity.
One of the things that he observed was that the natural sugars he was still consuming tasted sweeter. Many people who give up added sugar find that their taste buds seem to be acting differently after a few weeks, so much so that even plain yogurt starts to taste slightly sweet.
What’s the takeaway from this experience? Reducing your sugar intake is not easy, but the benefits are worth it! Get started today and begin your journey to better health.
3-Month Candida Elimination Kit Start Your 3-month Candida Cleanse
This Candida Kit contains all the supplements recommended on the Candida Diet:
- LIVER ONE to process and remove the toxins created by Candida.
- CANDASSIST to inhibit and weaken the Candida colonies in your gut.
- PROBIOTIC to replace the Candida yeast with probiotic bacteria.
Plus... the CANDIDA DIET RECIPE BOOK with 50+ low-sugar recipes
I stopped adding sugar slowly in 2015 and from early 2016 no longer add sugar to drinks or food. I check sugar contents of anything I buy and do not buy anything with added sugar if possible..Very Occasionally it is unavoidable. I believe my symptoms of candida are under control and continue to avoid eating sweet
foods keeping to a strict diet (healthy eating) I am in Spain for a while and it is hard work finding organic everything in the food line although supermarkets here where I am living do stock more and more ecological
produced products. Follow the so called Mediterranean diet.
I’m on day 2 of my sugar withdrawal and it’s true; I’m feeling tired, foggy and experienced a headache on the first day. Funny, but i am so motivated to keep going! Can’t wait to get to 2 weeks.
Good luck Jo, it will be hard but will power is behind you;-)
I mean Keleigh 🙂
I just started my candida cleanse. I am on a 3rd day and i’ve never been more tired in my life. Literally can’t keep my eyes open. Had massive headache for first two days as well. I have been of caffeine for over a week now as well. You don’t realize how much your body is addicted to sugar and coffee. I am very determined to stick to it and can’t wait for that day when i wake up and all that lost energy will just appear.
Good luck, you can do it 🙂
I am on day one of the Candida Diet, I have suffered with Candida for many years, and after having my daughter (who will be 2 in August) I just went back to eating how I used to, not loads but more than what I should be consuming. So anyway I ate what I wanted to eat over the weekend (in moderation) and woke up this morning with a positive attitude. So here it goes, I will be back in 10 days to let you know how I got on, and if any what withdrawal symptoms I had. Its all about will power for me so wish my luck and fingers crossed, I am going on a family holiday in August to Portugal so I am planning on embarking this life style change till then so that’s 10 weeks, with the occasional treat (however my treats will be not including sugar, more like mini fish and chips or chicken tikka with salad,)
I’m only just reading about this & am very keen to start. So Jodieliegh how did you go through out the 10 days ?
well worth it.. tough but the liberation is addictive
Started feeling very irratible, negative and could sleep all day if i wanted to. Noticed my tongue turning white so long story short i read up on candida and have cut sugar out of my diet cold turkey. Its been 9 days first few days were ruff, headaches, craved everything you can think of that had sugar but i have to tell you sticking with it lightened my mood gave me alot more energy can still sleep long but not 4ever lol and food that had zero taste to me b4; like avacado for example, actually have flavor now so stick with it. Idk if ill go back tbh