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Giving Up Chocolate for a Month? Here are the health benefits you can expect – according to research
Most of us here at SDC, when asked, would swear that chocolate is one of the staples of daily life. Who can pass up a delicious chocolate treat, am I right?
But, even though we all love it, did you know that one of the most well-loved treats can cause serious health issues?
As it turns out, the amount of sugar found in most types of chocolate is quite high.
For example, the average 50-gram Cadbury Dairy Milk bar contains 28 grams of sugar.
So, what does this mean exactly? Well, let's compare this to the recommended daily intake of sugar according to Australian food guides. Their recommendation is roughly 90 grams per day. So we’d use 30% of our daily sugar intake on a small treat alone. Not to mention the natural sugar in healthy snacks like fruit that we need every day.
Chocolate cravings can be hard to overcome. Image Credit: Shutterstock
When you have more sugar than your body needs, your pancreas works overtime to produce extra insulin to keep your blood sugar in balance.
Not only is your body working overtime to process the extra sugar (which subsequently releases energy), but it also gets these spikes of energy paired with low blood sugar, which are known to cause intense cravings for more sugary treats.
Due to this, some nutritionists are now saying that if you're giving up chocolate, you might want to also cut down on other high-sugar foods, like cakes and cookies, at the same time. Sounds reasonable, right?
Eating a lot of high-sugar foods can cause a problem called insulin resistance, where the body is less able to use insulin properly and potentially leading to type 2 diabetes.
So, if you're one of those folks (guilty) who is also constantly eating cookies, cakes, and even non-chocolate sweets, it may be a good idea to also reduce or eliminate these sugary treats.
Aside from these, here are some other benefits you may experience after cutting excess sugar and chocolate out of your diet.
-You may experience less fatigue
-You may have less body pain
-You can have better moods, control, and overall happiness
-You may have more energy
-Your mindset and overall quality of life will improve
-You may feel more in control of your behaviour
There are many valid health reasons for kicking a sugar habit. When you take out the sugar from your diet, taking in fewer calories is helpful in achieving weight loss, too.
So, how can you cut back on sugar in your diet?
Here are some pretty simple sugar hacks that might help:
Snack smarter and less often.
Just making an effort to space out your snacking habits in between meals can reduce your sugar intake quite significantly!
Make it at home.
Cooking at home more often, instead of going out and ordering, can also help with slashing your sugar intake. When you make tea, things such as coffee, or even something as simple as hot chocolate, at home, rather than buying them from a cafe, you’re controlling the amount of sugar that goes into the recipe.
Think less sweet.
This isn’t always the easiest thing to do, because we’ve come to think of desserts as being incredibly sweet. Instead of opting for something that is extremely sweet, try less sweet alternatives.
Learn about labels.
We all know that many of our food labels are not transparent, but if you read them, you will see the true types of sugar that we really eat.
Members if reducing or eliminating foods causes anxiety, consider talking with your doctor who can offer professional guidance. It’s always recommended that you consult your doctor for any dietary or lifestyle changes regardless.
So, will you consider cutting back on sugar?
