What to eat if you want something sweet without resorting to sugar
What sugar is bad for health At the moment we have this completely clear. Some people prefer to replace it with sweeteners, but according to recent studies and indications from the World Health Organization, the cure is worse than the disease. What problems, besides weight gain, can this cause? excess sugar or sweeteners in the body? According to nutritionist and nutritionist Sandra Mognino, author of Goodbye Inflammation, many.
“So much Sugar, like sweeteners, inflames us and makes us sick.. Sugar and sweeteners are ideal food for harmful bacteria in the intestines. Therefore, these bacteria feed, grow, multiply and create this imbalance in our microbiota or intestinal dysbiosis,” explains the expert.
And he adds: “It causes inflammation. It is a chronic disease in our body and this imbalance in our microbiota will lead to problems in the medium to long term and will eventually make us sick.
The effect of sugar and sweeteners on the body
Two main dangers of consuming sugar are glucose surges and inflammation.
Glucose spikes occur when we take sugar. To eliminate glucose, our body has to do double work. “When we consume sugar, the pancreas produces insulin, which is like the key to the lock of the cells. This allows glucose to flow into them rather than accumulate in our body,” explains Sandra Mognino.
“When we eat too much sugar, it becomes so much glucose in our body that the pancreas cannot introduce it into the cells. That’s when Insulin resistance is formed: because the pancreas cannot cope with everything that is produced,” he concludes.
On the other hand, there is inflammation, which is caused by sugar in the body. Inflammation is a reaction of the immune system which protects the body from attack.
According to Mognino, sugar causes inflammation because the body identifies it as a threatas happens with other foods such as refined flour or hydrogenated fats.
Finding that these pro-inflammatory foods attack the integrity of the body, it responds with inflammation as well as an increase in body temperature, causing a fever when a virus or bacteria enters the body.
Why is sugar so addictive?
One of the big problems with sugar is that the more you eat, the more you crave it. Scientists from the University of California conducted a study that found that sugar generates compulsive desire in our brain to substance consumption.
“Sugar is highly addictive because it activates neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine or serotonin that make us feel happy when we consume them. It creates a feeling of well-being and energy, but it is an instant activation. IN When you stop eating, anxiety arises. because the feeling of well-being suddenly drops,” confirms Sandra Mognino.
This happens under normal conditions, but there are times when sugar cravings increase. In women, this can happen as little as a week before menstruation because This is when estrogen drops.which also leads to a decrease in the so-called happiness hormones.
“Right now we want to activate neurotransmitters in the brain so that produce serotonin, dopamine and the energy we need. That is, when estrogen decreases, our energy decreases, and that is why our body asks us for high-calorie food,” explains the author of Goodbye Inflammation.
But even this It can be redirected by acquiring the right habits.. We crave sugar because it’s what we perceive as energy, but if you train your body to eat healthy foods, it will crave healthy foods.
“For example, You can ask for tryptophan-rich chocolate. and activates positive neurotransmitters, but if you get used to something that contains 85% unsweetened cocoa, which is healthier, it will ask you for it,” says Mognino.
What to eat when you want something sweet
Not many years ago, when people thought about reducing their sugar intake, they would opt for saccharin or other sweeteners that were considered healthier. But the expert is clear: “There is no such thing as a healthy sweetener. Although if you occasionally use stevia or erythritol, nothing happens,” says the expert.
“The problem is that we constantly take sweeteners because it causes we are exposed to very intense aromasjust like what happens with sugar and it’s not good because it causes a lot of anxiety and our brain perceives the sensation of sweetness as if you were eating sugar, so expect to get these calories from food what you consume. Since there are no sweeteners, this will cause more concern because of food and therefore worse on a psychological level,” he concludes.
So, if you want to avoid sugar and sweeteners, what can you eat when you want something sweet?
According to Sandra Mognino, the ideal is to accustom the palate to the natural taste of foods, but if some flavors are too intense, we can choose natural products. “For example, in the case of coffee, we can add a little cinnamon or vegetable drink “They naturally sweeten the drink and make it less bitter,” the expert advises.
“In the case of yoghurts, we can sweeten with grated coconut, cinnamon, fruit piecessuch as banana, strawberry, pineapple, melon, kiwi, that is, fruits that have a sweet taste and remove that acidity from yogurt that we are not used to,” he concludes.