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Sugar-free diet Cookbook
250 delicious recipes for an easy start into a sugar-free life. Including tips and tricks for a life without sugar.
Author: Jose Torres
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Sugar-free diet
Some love it and can't get enough of it, others hate it and would like to get rid of it completely from the kitchen: For some, sugar is a staple that can be found in the fridge or in the fridge in the form of chocolate bars, gummy bears, ice cream and cakes Can be found in the office desk drawer and never runs out. For others, on the other hand, it is the cause of all evil, because countless diseases today are due to an improper diet with too much sugar. However, if you follow the reports of those who have switched to a sugar-free diet, the results are quite remarkable. For example, your skin should become more beautiful, you become fitter and more productive and, by the way, your body weight also falls. So apparently a sugar-free diet has a number of advantages, but what exactly is it all about? What are sugar substitutes? And how do you fight the cravings that every one of us occasionally assaults and that we are only too happy to satisfy with a chocolate bar or similar delicacies and do this with a wink with the apology that we are hypoglycated? In this book you will find out everything you need to know about a sugar-free diet and you will also receive some tips to make the switch easy.
Sugar is the root of many diseases
Until a few years ago, fat was considered the most important culprit and the cause of countless diseases and malfunctions in the body. There was talk of unhealthy and healthy fats, some oils should be of higher quality than others, and those who wanted to lose weight naturally had to forego fat. All of this is certainly true and valuable, but while the focus has been on the importance of fat in diet and wellbeing, there is another ingredient in countless foods that has largely been ignored. It was only a few years ago that sugar became the focus and has become increasingly important. Some medical professionals even assume that sugar is even more harmful than fat. While in the past it was mainly known that sugar is harmful to the teeth, so that the teeth should be brushed after eating sweet food, things are very different today. Modern medicine knows that sugar is the cause of many diseases of our time. But why is that so?
By nature, our bodies are conditioned to love sweet things. In its natural form, sweet things are mainly found in ripe fruit. However, this is not available all year round, which is why the consumption of sweet foods was previously mostly limited to a few weeks in summer or autumn. Today it is different, because countless products are fortified with sweeteners in some form. Sometimes you don't even notice it in the taste, and especially with processed foods you have to look carefully at the ingredients to see that, for example, a lot of sugar has been added to a seemingly natural yogurt.
In order to understand which processes sugar triggers in our body, it is important to distinguish between the different types of sugar. The best-known sugar is probably white granulated sugar. Its components are glucose and fructose. Another type of sugar is the starch found in carbohydrates. During digestion, the starch is broken down into its components, and the glucose is something of a fuel for the organism. The so-called complex carbohydrates are rich in fiber. This includes, for example, whole grain bread or pasta or vegetables. These foods keep you full for a long time and provide the body with the energy it needs. Simple carbohydrates obtained from processed foods behave differently. These include, for example, white flour, refined sugars or sweets. They make the blood sugar level skyrocket and throw it off balance. So basically there is no noticeable difference between consuming pure sugar and eating processed foods that consist only of simple carbohydrates. It is a little different with fruit. Ripe fruit is rich in simple sugars with a high proportion of fructose. At the same time, however, it also contains a lot of fiber and therefore does not lead to a very sharp rise in blood sugar levels. If you now look at the effects that the consumption of sugar has on the organism, it quickly becomes clear what we do to our body if we do not pay attention to our diet.
1. Sugar can be addictive
2. Sugar causes cancer cells to grow
3. Diabetes and obesity are caused by sugar
4. Sugar damages the intestines
5. The performance of our brain is influenced by sugar
But what exactly does that mean?
1. Sugar can be addictive
Scientific studies have shown that the absorption of sugar in our brain triggers similar processes as when we consume cocaine. For a long time, medicine has not assessed this potential for addiction as having the appropriate significance. However, this addictive potential also explains very well why it is often easier to completely avoid sugar in all its variations than to reduce consumption just a little. This addictive potential also makes it clear why we don't want to do without sugar. Body and mind get used to the pleasant effects that consumption triggers, so that you want more and more of them. Anyone who enjoys chocolate has already made the experience that it is almost impossible to only eat a row or even just a small piece. You keep reaching for the delicious, sweet pieces until nothing is left of a whole bar or box. In this case, the addiction has hit again, and even if we get angry with ourselves afterwards, it doesn't help. However, if we have in the back of our minds that the consumption of sugar can be addictive and that it is not a matter of imagination but of actual processes in the human body, it may be easier to reduce the consumption a little or even to stop it altogether.
2. Cancer cells can grow through sugar
This notion actually sounds terrifying: Sugar stimulates the body to produce more insulin. Insulin isn't just important for blood sugar levels. It is also a hormone that speeds up and increases growth in the body. Tumors and cancer cells need fuel to grow, and when they consume more sugar, they get exactly this fuel. Now that doesn't mean that cancer has to be caused by sugar. However, there is a risk of promoting cancer cell growth once they are in the body. Cancer patients receive the best care from their doctors and certainly also many helpful tips on how they can support their therapy in everyday life by changing their lifestyle. This also includes a change in diet. It is worth asking your doctor about this topic and finding out how he or she sees the change to a low-sugar diet. In this way, you can help your body to regenerate better through the right diet and to better survive the difficult phase of the illness.
3. Sugar promotes diabetes and obesity
When the scales show a few kilograms too much, one likes to hear the tip that one has probably eaten too much candy. In fact, there is a link between increased consumption of sugar and sugary foods and obesity. If you take in too much sugar, you throw the body's satiety and hunger systems out of balance. The organism produces a lot of insulin through the increased absorption of sugar. This can lead to resistance to insulin over time. This also unbalances the hunger and satiety hormones in the body, creating a constant feeling of hunger. In the worst case, we can no longer correctly interpret the signals our body gives us. In addition, there is a strong release of the stress hormone cortisol in this situation. For most people, cortisol has a negative effect on weight, which means we gain weight faster. These processes in the body are supplemented by a so-called metabolic syndrome. This syndrome leads to weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. This can lead to diabetes which, at an advanced stage, can only be treated with tablets and injections.
