Every year, 1.4 million Americans get diagnosed with diabetes.  High sugar consumption can have some serious consequences and obesity, fatigue, acne, headaches, tooth decay, and hyperactivity (especially in children) are only some of them!

But what makes processed, sugary foods so addicting?  The answer is simple - the ingredients.  Junk food manufacturers have perfected the art of tricking our tastes buds.  Processed foods have an extremely high fat, sugar, and sodium content.  They’re also packed of additives and chemicals that are designed to preserve and enhance the taste of the product.  In addition, most processed foods are calorie dense, tricking our brain into believing that it’s consuming nutritious foods, although it isn’t!

The truth is, being addicted to sugar is as serious and harmful to the body as alcohol and drug abuse.  In 2010, diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death.  Eating sugar triggers the brain to produce natural opioid hormones that relieve pain - the same process happens when one consumes illegal substances.  The bottom line is: the more sugar we eat, the more likely we are to make it a habit to eat even more. When too much sugar is consumed, the body doesn’t use it for energy, but instead stores it in fat cells!

While sugar addiction is a vicious cycle in itself, junk food manufacturer now market zero-calorie sweetener as a better, healthier alternative, instead of eliminating high sugar contents from its products. However, the truth is, zero calorie sweeteners are just as bad for your health! If you want to learn more about the dangers of using artificial sweeteners instead of real sugar, please click here.

How to break this sweet but vicious circle?

One of the best ways to reset your body, to eliminate sugar cravings, and to get rid of unwanted weight is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is as effective as 24 hour fasting and helps to reboot your system by burning fat instead of sugar.

If you have an insulin resistance, or in other words, if you have been diagnosed with type II diabetes, it’s best to fast every day by scheduling your eating into a narrower window of approximately 6 to 8 hours.

Now you may wonder “How can I fast every day but still eat foods throughout my day?” To understand how intermittent fasting works, you first have to understand the basics of your metabolism.  It usually takes your body about 8 to 12 hours to effectively burn sugar to glycogen which is made and stored in your liver and muscles.  However, since most people eat three or more meals throughout their days, they constantly feed their bodies and never completely deplete their glycogen storages.  However, if you keep your body constantly in “fed mode,” you’re indirectly training your body to burn sugar as its primary fuel.

Consequently, to teach your body to burn fat instead of glycogen, intermittent fasting is the best solution. For example, you could skip breakfast making lunch your very first meal of the day. Be aware though that your body needs time to adjust to these changes in order to successfully switch from “fed mode” to “fat burning mode.”

Generally, intermittent fasting is just the first step towards a healthier, Betr lifestyle. We want you to (1) make the swift from processed to unprocessed, whole, organic, and locally grown foods, and (2) avoid processed foods full of refined sugars; and ! Not only will this change cut your sugar consumption in half and crush your sweet tooth cravings, but by consuming whole foods, you also know what you are putting into your body.

Remember: Proper nutrition is key to long-term success!