5 simple sugar detox ways to curb your sweets cravings

Sugary food such as cakes and pastries, frappucinos, milkshakes, ice cream, soda and the like always give us a fuzzy feeling. However, food packed with sugar isn't that great for the body. Researchers and scientists have already linked the overconsumption of sugar to a range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. But how can we shift our dependency on sugar to something more beneficial to our health?

Dailyburn reports that according to Bethany Doerfler, RD, LDN, a clinical research dietician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, "The ultimate goal is to really downplay sugar in the diet and have that be a permanent lifestyle change."

That lifestyle change needs to begin by being more aware of what we put into our bodies. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of The End of Dieting, "A diet with sugar and high glycemic index foods promotes all the leading causes of death in America. I don’t see value in cutting out sugar for a few days and then going back to eating it, but I do see value in cutting it out permanently."

Americans are so dependent on sugar that we actually consume about 22 to 25 teaspoons of sugar per day, which is beyond the recommendation of the American Heart Association.

Doerfler said, "Studies are showing that in some people and animals, the brain can react to sugar very much like it can to drugs and alcohol." She explained that cutting off sugar from your diet can cause you feelings of deprivation.

She explained, "When your body is overloaded with waste, you feel more uncomfortable when not eating that food. It’s like stopping coffee."

1. Pack up with fiber. For breakfast, take oatmeal and fruits with lots of fiber in it, such as apples. For lunch or dinner, Prevention recommends eating a salad first, as the soluble fiber from the pulp of plants helps soak up starch and sugar.

2. Substitute with fruit. Doerfler recommends: "Substitute processed sugars like cake, cookies and sweetened coffees for natural sugars, like fresh fruit." Not only do you cut down on additives in packaged food, you can be sure that fruits only contain natural ingredients, and none of those odd sounding ingredients that are slipped into snacks to preserve shelf life.

3. Toss the soda. It's no mystery that sodas contain a lot of sugar. If you believe in the saying that goes, "Don't drink your calories," then toss your soda cans already. If you really cannot cut the habit of drinking cold, sugary liquids, invest in a juicer and make your own freshly squeezed juices. You not only maximize the vitamins and minerals in fruits, you're also saving yourself from the aspartame and other artificial ingredients found in soda.

4. Limit desserts. For an after-meal treat, do the same thing: substitute with fruit. Doerfler said, "Fruit is probably the lowest sugar snack option available and it’s loaded with antioxidants and fiber, which helps people lose weight and feel full."

5. Distract yourself. A recent study shows that playing Tetris can actually curb cravings, the Mirror reported in August. According to Professor Jackie Andrade, from the School of Psychology and the Cognition Institute at Plymouth University, "Playing Tetris decreased craving strength for drugs, food, and activities from 70 to 56 percent. We think the Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity."

You can also opt to go the healthier route and simply walk around for a few minutes in the office if you're feeling a craving coming on. Do some squats at your table or in the washroom, or take a 5 minute break to soak up fresh air. Drink a glass of water and stay hydrated, so your stomach won't send hungry and/or thirsty signals to your brain.