Should You Detox from Sugar?

Does the idea of a sugar detox or sugar fast make you want to run and hide? If so, know that I was right there with you at one point in my life. Sugar was my favorite thing! I loved Sweedish Fish, Twizzlers, and don’t get me started on my love for Reeses Peanutbutter Cups. I did love the working out part of a healthy lifestyle but I also loved my treats. Then one day my friend asked me to do a fitness program with her that included a food plan. I said, “Sure!” not having any idea that I would be giving up sugar entirely and eating clean for 3 months. By the time I was 3 weeks in, I felt so amazing I never looked back. Sure, I have some of my favorite treats 1 to 3 times a year (my birthday, my hubby’s birthday, and our anniversary… usually in the form of Dairy Queen Cake), but on a day to day basis, I avoid the very addictive processed sugar. What’s crazy is that it’s everywhere, in sauces, condiments, and even my beloved yogurt (I now buy plain organic yogurt and add my own vanilla and healthier sweetner of choice or fruit, yum!). You really have to read all the lables and be quite picky to nix the processed sugar in it’s entirety.

So, why would you even want to do a sugar fast?

1. Sugar can add to our health problems. Sugar is linked to obesity, a weakend immune system, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even depression. I personally struggle with anxiety from time to time and find that when I avoid sugar and processed foods I feel a lot better. Kicking the sugar habit (or even minimizing it) can help you maintain a healthier body weight, which can lead to better health, and it could improve your mental well being.
2. It’s addictive! While a little sugar wont kill ya, if you are anything like me, once you open that package of Oreos you may have a hard time stopping. I personally am an all or nothing person. I’m either partaking in a lot or none. This is why I chose to take it out of my daily diet entirely.
3. Sugar is everywhere and it adds up. Even when we aren’t eating candy, it’s in so many of the processed foods we eat. And personally, I feel that it’s unnecessarily added to packaged foods. I often enjoy the quality organic tomato sauce far better than the stuff with added sugar and low quality oils. Labels are often sneaky about what they call sugar so be sure to look for the following if you are trying to avoid it…

Other Names For Sugar:

1. Agave juice
2. Agave nectar
3. Agave syrup, all varieties
4. Beet sugar
5. Blackstrap molasses
6. Brown rice syrup
7. Brown sugar
8. Buttered syrup
9. Cane juice
10. Cane juice crystals
11. Cane sugar
12. Cane syrup
13. Caramel
14. Carob syrup
15. Castor sugar
16. Coconut sugar
17. Confectioners’ sugar
18. Corn glucose syrup
19. Corn syrup
20. Corn syrup solids
21. Date sugar/syrup
22. Demerara sugar
23. Dextrose
24. Drimol
25. Ethyl maltol
26. Evaporated cane juice
27. Flo malt
28. Florida crystals
29. Fructose
30. Fructose sweetener
31. Fruit juice
32. Fruit juice concentrate
33. Glucose
34. Glucose solids
35. Golden sugar
36. Golden syrup
37. Granular sweetener
38. Granulated sugar
39. Grape sugar
40. High fructose corn syrup 
41. Honey *We personally use raw honey in our home from time to time but in moderation. The honey in processed foods is rarely pure honey and often heated at high temps so the benefits lost.
42. Honibake
43. Icing sugar
44. Inverted sugar (a.k.a. invert sugar)
45. Isoglucose
46. Isomaltulose
47. Kona-ame
48. Malt syrup
49. Maltodextrin
50. Maltose
51. Maple
52. Maple sugar
53. Maple syrup *We also use some high quality maple syrup in our home. I will use a smidge in special treats for the kids from time to time.
54. Mizu-ame
55. Molasses
56. Muscovado sugar
57. Nulomoline
58. Panela sugar
59. Powdered sugar
60. Raw sugar
61. Refiner’s syrup
62. Rice syrup
63. Sorghum syrup
64. Starch sweetener
65. Sucanat
66. Sucrovert
67. Sugar beet
68. Treacle or treacle sugar
69. Turbinado sugar
70. Unrefined sugar

These are just some of the alternate names for the glucose spiking substance we typically refer to as sugar.

So what’s a girl (or guy) to do?

Here is an old blog post on “How I Quit Processed Sugar” which gives steps I took to quit my habit. If you want to quit the addictive sweetness of processed sugar you may want to take the same steps I did. I quit cold turkey with a sugar detox. If you can take baby steps, all power to you! But I find sugar to be increadibly addictive and can’t go that route.

Some baby steps (if you are not a rip of the bandaid kind of person may be:

1. Cut out soda (including diet). Even diet soda can be addictive and have negative health effects. It c an also trigger cravings for more sugar.
2. Cut out processed desserts/candy and fruit juices. If you need to add in alternatives I have a sweets recipe page you can reference for ideas.
3. Start reading lables and skip brands that have the hidden sugars. One thing to look at if you are struggling to identify the names of sugars in the ingredients list is the nutrition label. Check and see how many “added sugars” are in the product. This is different than the overall sugars that may be naturally occuring in everything from dates to tomatoes.
4. Add in lots of your favorite healthy foods and focus on what you CAN have rather than what you are choosing not to have. Need dinner ideas, check out my recipe page.
5. Try to eat a little protein with every meal/snack. This will help reduce the insulin spike you might have otherwise gotten from any sugar/carbohydrates you consume (natural or otherwise).
6. Incorperate some essential oils into your routine….

I recently read a super helpful post on Rocky Mountain Oil’s blog about how essential oils could be beneficial to a sugar detox. They had some great suggestions (some of which I mentioned above) about how to quit sugar and what oils could be helpful as you detox from it.

Here are some essential oils they suggested and why:

Essential Oils to Use During a Sugar Detox

Grapefruit

This EO is arguably one of the most effective oils when it comes to kicking sugar. For many, inhaling Grapefruit reduces feelings of hunger, quells cravings for sweets, and promotes a positive mindset so they can stick to the diet. Other citrus essential oils like Lemon, Lime, and Orange have similar benefits. Diffuse Grapefruit around mealtimes to reduce your appetite for sugar.

My husband actually eats a grapefruit often times right after dinner as a little sweet and sour to curb his sweet tooth.

Peppermint

Peppermint can help you feel more full than you actually are, reducing any desire for sweets you might have. It also helps you focus and stay motivated, which can boost your resolve. Sniff Peppermint straight from the bottle or mix it with a carrier oil and apply it behind your ears to keep thoughts of cookies and cakes at bay.

Cinnamon Bark

With its spicy, earthy scent and comforting effect, Cinnamon Bark can help balance blood sugar and is often used as an appetite suppressor. It also helps support your body’s immune system, promotes circulation, and can be used to calm an upset stomach. Add 2-3 drops to a personal diffuser for instant relief.

At Peace

Diets are almost never easy and tend to cause stress at times. Combat worry and unease with At Peace. This blend of Litsea Cubeba, Lime, Mandarin, Grapefruit, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, and Tangerine work together to uplift the mood, keeping you relaxed, calm, and centered. Diffuse 5-10 drops for support throughout the day.

Oils to Combat Withrawls:

To help combat the fatigue and ease feelings of anxiety, try diffusing Energize. The blend consists of Lime and Clove Bud essential oils, and it helps stimulate the mind and promotes a sense of well-being. I dab a little of it on my wrists pre workout and it gets me in the right mindset to lift heavy weights. Once you get past the initial discomfort, you’ll start to notice you have more energy and will begin seeing the benefits of your lifestyle change. I also enjoy the Rocky Mountain Oil blends called Balance, Perspective, and At Peace. I use them daily.

RMO’s blog post also suggested getting enough sleep.

This is SUPER important. Insufficient sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity, which leads to unstable blood sugar. This, in turn, can make your body crave sweets and carbs to increase your blood sugar. This is not helpful when you’re trying to avoid sugar altogether! They suggest diffusing tranquility which is a wonderful blend of some of the oils I diffuse or apply at bedtime plus some other great oils! I love the following essential oils to help calm me and put me in a sleeping mindset before bed: orange, cedarwood, lavender, and Ylang Ylang. I love RMO’s Counting Sheep blend as well.

Staying Hydrated is another fantastic tip they suggested. This is so true when trying to eat healthier in general. So often when people think they are hungry they are actually just thirsty or lacking electrlytes. The next time you are feeling snacky, drink a big glass of water and maybe even suck on a small salt rock. Especially if you are cutting out processed foods and eating lower carb. Your salt intake will decrease as you decrease your processed food intake and if you are lower carb your body will be flushing out elecrolytes much faster.

So are you up for detoxing from sugar? Have you tried a detox before and were you sucessful? I hope these tips are helpful. The rest of my family isn’t quite as “strict” about avoiding sugar as I am. We don’t typically have much sugar in the house but as my kids are now teens/tweens there are so many outside influences and I’ve let them make more decisions on their own. My hubby is more of an “all in moderation” person and he enjoys ice cream once a week. However, each January for the past few years we (as a family) cut out sugar for a month entirely in order to reset after the holidays. We take the time to focus on God and look to be sure we are looking to Him more than food when feeling down or anxious, or even when celebrating. It’s a good way to focus, and like I said, reset. It’s become a very beneficial month for our family each year, helping us to strengthen our self control, and our relationship with God. Obviously we are not further from the Lord the more we eat sugar. 😉 But there are numerous examples of fasting in the bible and different ways we can fast. I believe that fasting is beneficial to out health AND our spiritual well being.

And I have to give a special thanks to Rocky Mountain Oils for inspiring this post and for having some great ideas and information on how to help kick the sugar habit! If you have the chance, check out their blog. They have some great posts including this one about essential oils and Seasonal Affective Disorder.

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