Search online and you’ll find there’s no shortage of advice on how to avoid, eliminate and cut out the sugar in your diet. With all the good intentions, we want to be healthy, and we want the people we care about to be healthy. But does this advice stir up the fear within us rather than common sense? When we fear something, it leads to anxiety which can start the chain reaction of obsessive thinking. Then we begin to act in a way that can undo what most of us are trying to achieve: to live a long happy, and healthy life.
The fear of gaining weight
We live in a society that hates being fat. We abhor it. We are under constant bombardment of messages that we need to fix ourselves, especially our weight. If we gain even a little weight, it’s seen as a failure. Self-esteem is tied tightly to our waistlines. “Lose weight and keep it off” is a household phrase we all know well. Folks are learning at a younger and younger age, it’s not good to be fat.
The fear of chronic illness
The popular belief is weight gain equals bad health, which then ramps up the demonization of sugar. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer are all diseases associated with weight gain. Sugar is the root of all evil. It tastes good. Better yet, it tastes sensational. It takes some real self-control to completely avoid eating it. But there’s no way to avoid sugar completely is there? We’re no stranger to misinformation and the fearmongering that tells us sugar makes us gain weight. Attempting to restrict sugar completely from our diet is a risky proposition. The more we try to avoid it, the more we crave it, which can lead to overconsumption and the weight gain we’re trying to avoid. So, what causes the weight gain, the sugar, or the avoidance behavior when we “go on a diet” that causes out-of-control eating?
Putting food in good or bad categories
The act of dieting is notorious for unbalancing what we eat. Restrictive diets use science against us. More mature folks will remember that fat was the evil nutrient back in the 80s and 90s. When Life magazine published End the War on Fat in 2014, it sent the message that previous science was flawed. Recent discoveries determined fat was not only good for us, but the high carbohydrate low-fat diets, popular at the time, increased our hunger and our waistlines. It was discovered that too many refined carbohydrates not only increase triglycerides that are bad for the heart, but the high sugar content in foods can make us insulin resistant. Ok. Well, one fear swapped for another. The high carb, low fat has changed to a high protein, low sugar diet. What will science learn about these diets in the future and how they affect public health? What will be the next fear food?
Eliminating certain foods
Since sugar lost its halo, what was once fat-free is now sugar-free. Protein is the golden child of the macronutrients. It satisfies our hunger longer than carbohydrates, has fewer calories than fat, and doesn’t affect blood glucose. Take notice of how the diet industry cycles through food ingredients to look for ways to blame them for everything that ails us. By hanging on to the coattails of science, any argument can seem convincing. It can be lucrative too. This makes it harder to know what is right and what is wrong. The confusion can make people desperate for a straight answer, whether the answer they seek has sound science behind it or not. No one is comfortable with the unknown but finding a solution that a belief can be tied to provides the remedy for uncertainty.
Developing unhealthy eating patterns
By defining food as good or bad, like protein and sugar, we move our diets away from a healthy balance that comes with rational thinking to disordered thoughts that can get us into trouble. Call it classic CBT but what we think is how we feel. How we feel affects how we act. If you feel bad about your body, you might treat it poorly. Punish it. Before we know it a simple act like eating lunch becomes extremely complicated. “This food has too much sugar and not enough protein, if I eat it, I’ll get fat!”
Let’s legalize sugar
We can all agree that some foods and beverages contain a lot of sugar, while others contain little to no sugar at all. With this knowledge, we can feed our bodies by eating a wide variety of foods with and without sugar instead of choosing to go full-on sugar elimination. Restricting foods only leads to binge eating. Liberate your food choices, and yes, enjoy dessert. Part of a healthy diet is one where food is enjoyed in the absence of harsh judgment. By taking an objective approach to food choices, you’ll be more confident in choosing foods that are nourishing and enjoyable, while engaging in healthy eating behaviors. By making peace with food, you’ll never feel that you have to go on a diet ever again.
This blog post assumes the reader is generally healthy without any specific health conditions. If you are someone who has a health condition that requires a diet modification, continue to meet with your doctor and dietitian for your individualized treatment advice.
DISCLAIMER: The Green Apple Dietitian blog provides nutrition information for education only and is not intended to offer medical advice or cure any health conditions. The content should NEVER be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your diet and health should be addressed to your specific healthcare providers. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this blog.
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