We’re naturally fascinated by health trends, and our customers frequently ask us what our opinions are on certain diet plans, from plant-based, vegan diets (our speciality) to wheat-free diets, raw vegetable juice cleanses, and general ‘clean eating’. But no single food item has grabbed more column inches than refined sugar in recent years, and we’re of the opinion that we would all be much better off without it in our lives. Here’s why – and how to cut out sugar for good.
Sugar is Empty
For starters, added sugar contains no nutrients, no protein, no healthy fats and no enzymes. Refined sugar feeds the body calories which are digested very quickly and actually deplete the body of minerals during digestion.
Sugar is Addictive
Do you find chocolate inexplicably moreish? Here’s why: these empty calories trigger a hormone cascade which start a cycle in the body which encourages you to consume more – an addictive sugar response which inevitably leads to weight gain. When our ancestors lived active lives in the wild, surviving outdoors through long harsh winters, this compulsive feeding cycle was essential. Nowadays? Not so much. Dr David Reuben, in his book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition says, “white refined sugar is a pure chemical extracted from plant sources – purer in fact than cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Ever wonder whether you’re addicted to sugar? Reuben suggests that it’s no coincidence how similar sugar’s chemical formula is to that of cocaine – a highly addictive, class-A substance.
Sugar is Processed
When sugar is refined, the sugar cane plant is stripped of all its natural components – the vitamins, minerals and fibre – leaving just the sucrose behind. When this is processed into the fine white substance we add to food and drink, it has been removed from its naturally occurring state. What this does to the body, therefore, is also deeply unnatural. Isolated sucrose acts like a drug on our minds and bodies, causing highs and lows and throwing our hormones out of whack.
How to Cut It Out
Breaking that addictive cycle can be difficult, but it gets easier every day you’re ‘clean’. We recommend detoxing with a raw vegetable juice cleanse to kick-start your sugar-free lifestyle; retraining your taste buds to reset and overcome your past cravings. Getting real-deal fructose from fresh produce will help blast away your hankerings for the dirty, artificial stuff. Once you’ve completed your cleanse (we do home-delivery juice cleanses to make the process as easy as possible for you) you’ll find your cravings shift to more natural, wholesome things. Our bodies naturally thrive on the nutrients and enzymes found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Fructose gives us energy and – unlike refined sugar – satiates our appetite rather than triggering an addictive response.
Do pop in and see us in store, and check out our weight loss plans and raw juice delivery plans online. Got a question about sugar-free diets, clean eating or our juice cleanse deliveries? Give us a call on 0208 305 9113 and we’ll be happy to help.
See our range of Detox Diet products >
Susanne and Ilona xx
