Health and medicine

Why is sugar the “white death”? Everything you need to know about it

Why is sugar the “white death”? Everything you need to know about it
It takes approx. 6 minutes to read this article

Why is sugar referred to as the white death and is it really a valid term? It is well known that it is not easy to give it up. How to approach this problem and what can you do instead of sugar? Here is some important information

Why is sugar harmful to health?

The harmfulness of sugar is taken for granted – we are told this from an early age in order to shape correct eating habits. This is true in principle, but it is worth digging a little deeper into this subject. Sugar is also a source of energy for the body. Sugar as such is not that bad, but its excessive consumption is. It is estimated that 1.9 billion people around the world are obese. Over 300 million of them have diabetes. It is a threat in itself, but it also leads to other diseases. It is estimated that around 2030, diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death

Why is it so hard to give up sugar?

If excessive sugar consumption is harmful, why is it so hard to go without? Sugar is in almost all products, even ketchup and sausages. It’s always a good idea to read the ingredients and choose products with less sugar. Advertisements, recipes, even transferring the term ”sweet” to other areas of life (e.g. ”sweet puppy”) had a huge impact on the fact that this substance has become so common. We also become addicted to it individually – we associate sweets with childhood and something pleasant, so it is extremely difficult to give it up.

How to stop consuming sugar? Stop associating it with pleasure

The first step to get rid of sugar in your diet is to realize how badly it affects your health. Psychologically, it is important to stop equating eating sweets with a moment of blissful pleasure. Above all, we need to stop rewarding ourselves with sweets for hard work, fighting stress or ‘eating out’ sorrows

Give up sugar in stages

It’s not always possible to stop eating sugar at once. Sometimes the first step is to switch to sweets that contain less sugar or are sweetened with sugar substitutes. Unhealthy snacks can be replaced with raw or dried fruit, for example. Sweet and carbonated drinks can be replaced with healthy water with lemon or mint

It is worth removing sugar from your life gradually

If you really want to stop consuming excess sugar, you have to gradually remove it from your diet. So let it disappear not only from the sugar bowl, but also from the box of cookies and chocolates standing right at hand. Let these sweets rather wait deeply hidden e.g. for a visit of guests. It is also worth appointing days when we will be able to allow ourselves a bit of sweetness.

What are the alternatives to sugar?

There are several sugar substitutes. Some of them are much healthier than the raw material obtained from sugar beet, others have only slightly better influence on our health. We are talking especially about xylitol, which is a healthy birch sugar. Sometimes extremely sweet stevia or maple syrup, which is gaining popularity in Poland, are also recommended. Molasses and honey are also available. Remember, however, that healthy sugar substitutes cannot be called cane sugar or brown beet sugar, whose influence on our health is similar

Thomas DeLauer – 5 Best Sugar Substitutes: How to Quit Sugar

Why is sugar harmful to health?

The harmfulness of sugar is taken for granted – we are told this from an early age in order to develop good eating habits. This is true in principle, but it is worth digging a little deeper into this subject. Sugar is also a source of energy for the body. Sugar as such is not so bad, but its excessive consumption is. It is estimated that 1.9 billion people around the world are obese. Over 300 million of them have diabetes. It is a threat in itself, but it also leads to other diseases. It is estimated that around 2030, diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death

Why is it so hard to give up sugar?

If excessive sugar consumption is harmful, why is it so hard to go without? Sugar is in almost all products, even ketchup and sausages. It’s always a good idea to read the ingredients and choose products with less sugar. Advertisements, recipes, even transferring the term ”sweet” to other areas of life (e.g. ”sweet puppy”) had a huge impact on the fact that this substance has become so common. We also become addicted to it individually – we associate sweets with childhood and something pleasant, so it is extremely difficult to give it up.

How to stop consuming sugar? Stop associating it with pleasure

The first step to get rid of sugar in your diet is to realize how badly it affects your health. Psychologically, it is important to stop equating eating sweets with a moment of blissful pleasure. Above all, we need to stop rewarding ourselves with sweets for hard work, fighting stress or ‘eating out’ sorrows

Give up sugar in stages

It’s not always possible to stop eating sugar at once. Sometimes the first step is to switch to sweets that contain less sugar or are sweetened with sugar substitutes. Unhealthy snacks can be replaced with raw or dried fruit, for example. Sweet and carbonated drinks can be replaced with healthy water with lemon or mint

It is worth removing sugar from your life gradually

If you really want to stop consuming excess sugar, you have to gradually remove it from your diet. So let it disappear not only from the sugar bowl, but also from the box of cookies and chocolates standing right at hand. Let these sweets rather wait deeply hidden e.g. for a visit of guests. It is also worth setting days when we will be able to allow ourselves a bit of sweetness.

What are the alternatives to sugar?

There are several sugar substitutes. Some of them are much healthier than the raw material obtained from sugar beet, others have only slightly better influence on our health. We are talking especially about xylitol, which is a healthy birch sugar. Sometimes extremely sweet stevia or maple syrup, which is gaining popularity in Poland, are also recommended. Molasses and honey are also available. However, we should remember that healthy sugar substitutes cannot be called cane sugar or brown beet sugar, whose influence on our health is similar

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels

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