11.3.20 SUGARED!
Did anyone else eat too much candy last weekend!? I ate a scary amount! I’m here to help you say ‘BOO’ to being in the sticky situation of eating too much sugar. The holidays are just around the corner but that is no excuse to continue being a sugar baby for the next 4 weeks! Besides, next week I’ll have some tips on approaching holiday feasting with a perspective that will hopefully help you feel well and balanced from now to the end of the year.
Whether or not you experience symptoms from eating too much sugar, let me express your body’s sentiments: “Stop running us ragged trying to deal with this stupid sweet stuff!” Not only is sugar empty calories, it depletes vitamins and minerals, makes us insulin resistant, and damages our good bacteria, which in turn causes a host of problems. Sugar is a huge stress to our bodies disrupting sleep, healthy eating patterns, bowel movements, and blood sugar levels. So while there is a time to feast and party, there’s also a time to clean up and help our bodies out. Let’s get started!
DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Hydrate. Half your body weight in ounces is a good place to start. That means if you weigh 150 lbs you’ll be drinking about 75 ounce of clean, filtered water every day. Add lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt at least once a day. Bonus points for drinking some unsweetened coconut water or using electrolytes.
EAT VEGETABLES! Raw, steamed, roasted, sauteed, in smoothies, in soups, blended, pureed… Eat the rainbow. Vegetables contain flavonoids which help clean up free radicals in our bodies. They are also nutrient dense and contain the minerals and vitamins that sugar depletes.
EAT PROTEIN AND FAT! Sugar messes with our blood sugar regulation and to deal with cravings and crashes we need to balance our blood sugar out. Eating a balance of quality protein and healthy fats will help us feel satiated and have stable energy for longer.
SUPPLEMENTS! Sarah Ballantyne PhD, recommends on www.paleomom.com taking Vitamin D3, Calcium, Magnesium, Chromium, and Vitamin C. These are the main nutrients used in processing sugar and can get depleted quickly if they are helping the body take care of bucket loads of sugar. Also helpful is a Vitamin B complex.
AVOID SUGAR! We are sugar detoxing, do I really need to say that? Yes, I think I do. Sugar hides in so many things! When detoxing from sugar, it is good to even avoid fruit for a time. Then stick to berries and small portions. Sugar or sweeteners are in almost all processed foods. Spaghetti sauce, salad dressings, canned soups, protein bars, cereals, etc. To avoid hidden sugars, it is really most simple to eat only whole foods.
If your body seems to need a little extra support in recovering from a sugary weekend or eating a little too much of something you’re sensitive to, please reach out to me to see what else you can do to support your body. I’ve been here many times and it is okay! In order to have a higher quality of life until I make less than optimal choices again, I need to nourish my body now. Let’s get started!