Journalist Fleur lives quite healthy, but she cannot resist one temptation:sweets. The more colored and chemically, the tastier. That could be a bit less, so she decides to stop sugar for a month.
I look around with my head bowed. Does anyone see me? New? Come on, another shovel. And another one. I tie a knot in the plastic cone and walk to the register as casually as possible, avoiding any eye contact with other customers. I feel like I'm doing something that is strictly forbidden. In fact it is, because I had made up my mind on something. Not, never again, from today. But barely a week later I threaten to go for the ax again. How did it get me this far? For those who now see visions of ecstasy, cocaine or laughing gas cartridges:that is not the issue. I'm not a junkie, I 'just' like sugar. The plastic cone bag what was i just talking about? It was full of monkey heads, coke bottles, bananas, English liquorice and foam blocks. At least twice a week I visit Trekpleister across the street from me for a candy shot. The more colored and chemically, the tastier. You could say it was spoon-fed to me.
Sugar used to be the answer to everything. Cases? Candy. Bullied at school? Candy. Long car ride? Candy. And even when things did go well, there was sweetness. As a reward for finishing the Evening Four Days, with tea when I got home from school, while watching Seabert on Wednesday afternoon. Sweet was tasty, sweet was good. It may sound like I come from a Burgundian family, where everyone is constantly stuffed. That's not true. I grew up with fresh vegetables and salads on the menu every day. My mother loves to cook and gets almost nothing out of packets and bags, but she is also not afraid of calories. No light products, but real butter, real sugar, real chocolate, real bread, real milk. Weight is also easy, because in my family the posture of Aunt Sidonia is dominant:tall and thin, whatever we eat.
My thought was always that you can eat whatever you want, as long as there is balance. I still love fruits and vegetables, so I eat them in large quantities every day. I don't drink alcohol, salads are my favourite, I rarely eat meat and I never eat fried junk. My diet is usually light, healthy and protein-rich, also because I exercise four times a week after dinner:fitness, pilates, body pump, strength training. And at the weekend I also run, usually long runs of ten to fifteen kilometers. As a counterpart to all that healthy food and sports, I think I can afford myself some luxury. A few cookies every day with the various lattes? Great plan. Spoon away a large container of vanilla curd with fruit after exercise? Good for muscle building. Picking up a bag of candy at the drugstore a few times a week? Well, if that makes me happy. And so I can come up with an excuse for anything that has to do with sugar why I don't have to deny it to myself. For a long time, those apologies were not necessary at all.
Saturated fats were banned and dairy and gluten were blacklisted, but sugar has long been associated with cozy and delicious, myself first. I cheerfully brushed aside studies about the bad effect of sugar on your health, the growing group of people who stopped using sugar I dismissed as crazy fanatics. Meanwhile I read – health freak who I am – of course any news about sugar. As long as the groups for and against were still about the same size, I was reasonably reassured. But the reports about the harmful effects of sugar gradually took over. The definitive moment of turnaround came after reading the opinion piece 'Public health:the toxic truth about sugar', in which scientists even argue for a legal ban on sugar. In the long term, sugar would cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, liver, lungs, skin and kidneys. We should not underestimate the emotional impact of sugar, according to the researchers. When you eat sugar, your brain gives off a stimulus:a good feeling and the signal that you want more of this. In short:the same buttons that switch on when you smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs.
Sugar can therefore be a serious addiction, although at first I have the idea that this will not be so bad in my case. Those few speculaasjes, cups of custard and tarts a week, how bad can it be? But when I delve into the matter, I soon discover that sugar is in everything:meat products, toast, bread, low-fat cottage cheese, a jar of pickles, chips, margarine… We Dutch get about seventy grams per year in this way. sugar per day, while the World Health Organization (WHO) uses a maximum of 25 grams, about eight sugar cubes, per day. Side note:the World Health Organization assumes so-called 'free sugars' † These are the added sugars in cookies, fruit juice or candy. There is no guideline for sugars that occur naturally in products such as vegetables, fruit and dairy, because these products fall within the healthy diet.
Our own Nutrition Center talks about a daily total reference intake of ninety grams of sugar, or 22 sugar cubes. So these are the free sugars and the naturally occurring sugars added together. If I keep track of my sugar intake for a few days after De Ommekeer, I don't even seem to get close to those ninety grams of sugar. I'm so far above it that I can't even write it down. That has to be different! I decide to stop cold turkey with free sugars for a month, and call in the professional help of Carola van Bemmelen, author of 100% sugar-free in 30 days and The Happy eater, in which she discusses, among other things, the influence that sugar has on your brain. and your eating habits in general. “Sugar is in everything and there seems to be no escape from it,” Carola says when I tell her that I intend to avoid sugar for four weeks. “From now on, you will have to read all labels of the products you put in your cart. That is a lot of work in the beginning, but you soon discover which products you should and which you should not take.” It turns out to be quite time-consuming, but choosing fresh and unprocessed makes a huge difference. An omelet with vegetables is also made in no time, just like a tuna salad or trout package.
No, than the psychological effect of eliminating sugar from my life, that turns out to be a lot more difficult. Not in the sense of real withdrawal symptoms, thank God. According to Carola, it happens that people really get sick when they stop taking sugar. Think:a flu-like feeling, headache, cold hands and feet, intense fatigue. It doesn't bother me at all, but I do feel a bit down - according to my friend:smokin' grumpy – and crave something sweet for the first few days. I must, I want, I will cookies, chocolate or custard!
I'm pretty good at holding back, if I do say so myself, until day six arrives. My interview candidate cancels at the last minute, there seems to be no end to the flood of emails in my inbox and my dog pukes half the house. I am done with it, seek comfort, and in what do you find it better than in sweets? Before I know it, I'm in the Trekpleister, fill my bag, walk to the cash register, pay and… give the bag back to the cashier. “No, I don't want my money back, my mistake, I don't feel like candy at all † Suddenly I realize that bag of candy is not going to bring me anything. Carola:“Sugar ensures that your blood glucose levels and the dopamine release in your brain get a boost. This makes you feel very good and active for a while. But after that hour they shoot down again. You get tired, hungry and feel the need for sweets again. This creates a vicious circle that is difficult to get out of. Now the challenge is to get your blood glucose levels to keep it stable.” Eating a bag of candy is not the way I'm going to achieve that. Persevere though, because after a week I notice that my body gets used to less sugar. I suffer less from energy peaks and dips and my metabolism seems to work better. In addition, as the month progresses, I can concentrate better and sleep more deeply. So I'll get those thirty days on my slippers, but how do I continue after that?
According to Carola, eliminating sugar from your menu forever is not necessary. Knowing what sugar does to your body and brain helps to use it wisely. As long as I do that, my blood sugar level stays in balance, and it won't hurt to sin once in a while. A slice of apple pie is sometimes fine. Just like a currant bun after a run. Not sugar-free, but sugar-conscious is the magic word. And that includes a bag of candy every now and then.
Photo:Getty Images Source:Santé archive, text:Fleur Baxmeier
