Wetin I learn afta I stop sugar for six weeks

Food wey get added sugar full evriwia, even for places wey you no go expect. So, e easy to reduce how much sugar you dey take, and wetin be di effect for your health?

Even though I dey normally follow healthy diet, wey mostly be food wey I cook for house, I get weakness for sweet tins and I dey chop one or two chocolate snacks evri day.

Dis one no dey surprising: too much sugar consumption don common for our modern diet. E bad for our teeth, e dey harm our health, and even evidence dey show say too much sugar fit lead to long-term problems for brain function.

My work involve health and wellness topics, and I don dey more concerned about how much sweets I dey chop, wey apart from refined sugar, dey also contain many additives.

In fact, one of di sweets wey I dey chop regularly dey give me more dan half of di sugar wey I suppose take for one day.

American nutritional guidelines recommend say make person no take pass 12 teaspoons of added sugar from food and drinks (about 50 grams). For United Kingdom, dem recommend say make person no take pass seven teaspoons of sugar per day (30 grams).

For real life, American adults dey take between 16 and 17 teaspoons (65 to 70 grams) evri day, according to National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES). Make I give you example: 4 grams na about one level teaspoon of sugar.

To stop all dat sugar no easy. But I decide to check if e really possible to break dis habit.

Di sugar challenge

I challenge myself say I no go chop any food wey get added refined sugar for six weeks.

I still avoid honey and fruit juices, but I kontinu to take natural sugar from whole fruits, and also complex carbohydrates, wey our bodi dey turn to glucose and wey be di main source of energy for our body and brain.

From di beginning, I notice surprising changes for my energy and overall mood.

Dat usual tired feeling afta lunch disappear. But many times I go just dey look fridge blank, dey try find sometin wey go sweet to snack on (sometin sweet), wit di feeling say I dey miss sometin.

Sugar dey evriwia

First, e important make person question di plenty sugar wey dem dey add inside food. I shock wen I discover how e hard reach to avoid am.

As I dey waka through di aisles for my usual supermarket, I see sugar inside foods wey I no expect at all. For example, one sourdough sandwich for deli section get 5.7 grams of sugar, and ready-made Bolognese sauce get 9 grams.

Many breakfast cereals get added sugars, and one slice of bread wey pipo dey usually buy for supermarket get about 1.2 grams.

Sugar plenty well well for many ultra-processed foods, wey dey linked wit known bad effects for health and dem dey usually get less nutrients pass whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Different types of sugar dey our diet. Glucose na di most common, but fructose dey inside fruits and many syrups; lactose from milk and sucrose, wey pipo dey call table sugar, na among di main types of "free sugars" wey dem dey add to our food.

Free sugars still dey inside juices, syrups, and honey bicos dem no dey inside di cells of our food. Dis refined free sugars na di main cause of di bad effects on health.

"From when dem born us, we get natural liking for sweet taste. Sugar dey inside breast milk for di first few days, dat time wey we suppose gain plenty weight," Ashley Gearhardt, one professor of psychology for University of Michigan, explain.

She tok say di problem be say, "we don become too good at producing sugar for very low cost".

How sugar dey affect us

Studies show say when person chop foods wey get plenty sugar, e dey make blood sugar rise fast fast.

Even though dis one na normal tin afta meal, if e dey hapun too often, e fit cause insulin resistance, wey go increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diet wey get plenty sugar still dey linked wit tooth decay, inflammation, obesity, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

"Diseases wey get link with diet, like diabetes, don already kill more pipo pass alcohol and opioids; and junk food dey compete wit tobacco to bicom di most deadly substance for di world," Gearhardt tok.

Recent research show say diet wey get plenty sugar dey linked wit increase for psychological distress, including signs of anxiety and depression.

Even though all dis tins fit sound scary, sugar, if person take am in moderation, e dey okay as part of healthy diet. But e clear say to reduce how much person dey take am go benefit di health of millions of pipo wey dey consume am too much.

Addictive properties

During di first few days wey I stop sugar, I feel strong strong craving for am, especially when dem offer me sweet tins for social events.

E get biological explanation for dis one. Sugar consumption fit change our brain chemistry in a way wey be like wetin dem see for pipo wey addicted to opioids, as Lina Begdache, one registered dietitian and associate professor of health and well-being for Binghamton University for United States, explain.

To chop sugary foods dey activate the brain reward system.

Several studies show say pipo wey get stronger craving for sweets fit get bigger increase for dia dopamine levels wen dem chop am.

Dopamine na di "feel-good" hormone, meaning say, we dey feel pleasure and reward when we chop sugary foods.

So, many experts believe say sugar get addictive properties, although dis matter still dey controversial. Other naturally sweet foods, like fruit, fit come dey less appealing to our dopaminergic system, Gearhardt add.

In reality, di more strong di sugar craving be, di more reward person go feel, wey go reinforce di bad cycle and fit reprogram our brain to make us want even more.

For example, di brains of participants wey dey chop high-sugar, high-fat pudding evri day for eight weeks respond more strongly to sugary foods.

Di dopamine cycle partly explain why e hard well well to reduce sugar intake. "We be prisoners of our biochemistry," Lustig explain. "Na di real meaning of addiction be dat. And 20% of di American population dey addicted to sugar."

To resist temptation, I find alternatives wey dey satisfy, like banana-blueberry smoothie wit one spoon of cocoa powder. Grapes get similar effect.

Even apples come taste sweeter for me, so even if I no want am, I dey chop one evri day, wey help me calm my cravings.

E don also show say person go feel more hungry afta sudden drop for blood sugar, wey be common tin afta person chop sugary foods.

One study find say participants wey take smoothie wey high in concentrated sugars and refined starches (high glycemic index smoothie) dey more hungry four hours later and show more activation for di reward circuit for di brain, compared to those wey take low glycemic index smoothie.

Wetin dey hapun when we stop?

A few days afta I cut out sugar, my bodi begin dey crave am less, as Dalia Perelman, one registered dietitian for Stanford University School of Medicine for California, explain give me.

My taste buds begin adapt, dem come dey more sensitive to sweet taste. To stop to chop artificially sweetened foods make di taste system "recalibrate itself to perceive di intensity of natural sweet taste," as Gearhardt explain.

About three weeks afta I start my experiment, one strange thing happen: I no longer get strong craving for sweets.

If I feel small hunger for mid-afternoon, I go chop healthier alternatives, like olives, nuts, and fruit.

One reason for dis drop in cravings na simply bicos I reduce how much sugary foods I dey chop, wey don change my palate and reset my metabolism, as Begdache tok.

"You go see say your sugar tolerance don drop so tey you no need to chop large quantity again," Perelman add. She now dey chop only homemade cakes wey low in sugar, bicos she see any commercial product as "like say you dey chop one lump of sugar."

Ms. Begdache explain say her triglyceride levels, one type of fat wey dey common for bodi wey dey increase when excess calories dey don also reduce.

Her insulin sensitivity likely don improve, as she don notice say insulin spikes don reduce afta she chop sugary foods.

"E be like say you dey go back to basics," she tok.

For family gatherings, and even for im own birthday party, e hard well well for am to resist temptation, even just small bite of cake.

Sugar cravings dey evriwia, bicos plenty sugary products full around am.

However, as her sugar intake reduce, dis feeling of pleasure, wey dey linked to release of dopamine, likely reduce too.

Low-sugar diets still get oda health benefits too. For one small experiment, one team tell one group of 41 children make dem stop to consume added sugars for just 10 days.

At di end of dis period, dia blood pressure and bodi fat reduce. Dem also show lower insulin resistance and better behaviour.

Oda research, wey focus on ultra-processed foods wey dey high in sugar, don show say to chop minimally processed foods dey lead to less sugar cravings and more energy.

To understand better how sugar dey affect my bodi don help me change my habits more easily: sweets just lose dia appeal.

I don also manage to limit how much sweets I dey chop for house, as I dey make sure say I always get good variety of healthy snacks around.

I also replace fruit juices wit sparkling water plus small drops of lemon juice, and I see say dis drink really quench my thirst.

Reintroducing sugar

Afta six weeks, I fit tok wit out any doubt say I no feel any special craving to bring sugar back into my diet. E be like say di addiction circuit for my brain don switch off, as Begdache explain to me.

I no dey crave sugary foods again evri day. In fact, foods wey get added sugar-even low-sugar breakfast cereals - too sweet for my mouth. According to Perelman, dis change go make am easier to avoid sweets evri day.

Now wey my six-week experiment don finish, I go go back to my sugary habits? Simple answer: no. And I plan to make some changes.

Instead of to completely remove added sugar, I go limit am to weekdays, make I allow myself small treat for weekend.

I also dey rethink how I dey see sugary foods. When I finally bring back sugar in form of one triple chocolate cookie (wey get 28 grams of sugar per cookie) I no even crave am at all. I force myself chop am, just for di purpose of dis article, to see how my bodi go react.

Di taste too sweet. I fit taste di sugar pass di chocolate.

Shortly afta, I feel sharp drop for energy and I go sleep small for afternoon, sometin wey only possible bicos I dey on my annual vacation.

Dis treat wey I bin dey enjoy bifor no be treat again. I stop afta few bites.