One Month, No Sugar

After having watched a documentary about added sugars and being made aware of the actual content of everything that is in our food my flatmate and I have decided to stop eating any form of added sugar for a month. The decision was made not so much out of health or lifestyle reasons, but rather natural curiosity of what might happen to our bodies and our minds as we ban this rather addictive substance from our diets almost entirely. Apparently, headaches, moodiness and overall feeling of weakness are common symptoms in the first couple of days of parting with the glory that is sugar. In other words, a proper withdrawal. For our challenge, foods with natural occurring sugars, such as fruits and vegetables will be our only source of sugar, and any foods with added sugars are a no-go for an entire month. Initially, neither of us were entirely sure what we were about to give up, and how strongly we would feel about giving it all up. It seems almost that everything we put in our mouth contains some form of sugar. It is thus no wonder that the average person consumes 5 times (!) the daily recommended those of sugar every day, mostly in added sugars. We are usually blissfully unaware of the sugars in our food, as sugar goes by many pseudonyms and euphemisms. There are more than 50 different names for added sugars in our foods, so it is not wonder that when we look at the ingredients list of our food, we are unable to identify the added sugars. A few of these names are glucose, fructose, dextrose (anything –ose), fruit syrup, and so on. Sugar is addictive, and the food industry is well aware of this fact and gladly takes advantage of it. More and more sugar is added, so that we would come back and buy the same brand again to satisfy our cravings for the heavenly substance. Many food items are essentially in a sugar bidding war to see who can get away with the most sugar in their foods.

Our challenge starting in one day, my flatmate and I went shopping for sugarless foods. I can tell you, shopping has never been such an intense task. Turning over every single package to see the contents of it, which was usually paired with a major sense of disappointment as there was always some form of sugar in the food. Most surprisingly things we consider fresh and unprocessed, such as meat, may actually contain added sugars! I was surprised to find out that things such as ham and salami contain a vast amount of added sugars. Never have we ever spent so much time in the fresh fruit and vegetable isle, our carts filled with fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Shopping in the fruits and veg isle was an easy task, as nothing contained added sugars. The rest of the store was our battlefield, and we were determined to win the war. My fridge now stuffed with all kinds of foods (some of which surprisingly containing no sugar!) I think I can say we have indeed won the shopping war. Items that we will be able to eat include the following:

-        Fruits and vegetables of all kinds

•  Cheese
•  Bacon
•  Fresh meat (some contain added sugar, some don’t) 
•   Fresh fish
• Whole wheat pasta
• Rice
• Rice noodles

The biggest challenge of all, may be breakfast. As everything that I would normally consider for breakfast is now off limits. (Read: sugar free breakfast recommendations welcome!)

I will probably miss sugar the most in its social form. Going out to dinner with friends will be virtually impossible, as nearly everything that is a served will contain sugar of some form somehow. For now, I have tonight left to satisfy my sugary cravings, before I will try my hardest to keep them at bay.