Week 0 - Introduction

I suppose we've all heard someone, most likely a parent or another family member, saying that we should stay away from drugs. However how do we define 'drugs'? Lets take cocaine for example. Cocaine is a white powdery substance, extracted from the plant Coca. After administering the drug, a brain hormone called dopamine is released in the brain area known as the reward system, which we interpret as pleasure, leading us to perform that behavior again, with the hopes of getting that dopamine rush again. You know what else is a white powdery substance and also has an effect on the release of dopamine in the brain? Sugar! And not only that, both substance have another thing in common - they are very addictive and have very negative effects on health and well-being, which I would come back to in the coming weeks.

I've always considered myself a disciplined person. I have been exercising consistently for 5 years and have kept my diet, what I considered, 'healthy'. However there was just one thing I struggled with. Although I would go days and even weeks with consuming very little sugar, I would eventually crash and binge on some doughnuts, chocolate and/or 1L tub of Oreo ice cream. Whenever I did this I would feel really bad afterwards. I felt like I threw away everything I had worked for the past days or weeks. And I couldn't understand why. Until I started researching sugar and how ti affects the brain. Starting next week I shall remove refined sugar entirely from my diet. This blog is intended to monitor and update my experience and maybe help out somebody who has a hard time giving up sweets.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 1 - Thursday - Fruits are just sugar, right?

Image
Wrong.  Refined sugar that’s found in sweets is referred to as glucose and the sugar found in fruits is called fructose. The sugar found in fruits comes along with fiber, water and a ton of vitamins and minerals naturally occurring in the fruit, which help to slow down the absorption, so it doesn’t get fast access to the liver like it does when it’s refined. Because sugar was so scarce when were monkeys, when it gets quick access to the liver, it quickly gets stored as fat (see study 1 ). But there is more, refined sugar is not only a bad Idea when you’re trying to lose weight. The second study   I’ve posed below, explains how excessive consumption of sugar has been linked to adverse health conditions, metabolic abnormalities, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients. And if you happen to be thinking to yourself right now ‘yeah well, excessive consumption of everything is bad’, just keep in mind that the World Health Organisation recommends that the most re...
Read more

Week 3 - Wednesday - How You're Being Lied To Part 1 - 'Low fat' and 'Fat Free'

Image
Right, this is  a very complicated topic and I highly suggest you read/watch the articles/videos I will post below as I have a limited word count and wount go into extensive detail. So all I want you to know is that there are three main macronutrients you're body uses in order to funciton normally and keep you healthy are protein, carbohidrates and fats (see link one for extensive explanation). The one I want to focus on is fats. Fats are the macronutirent responsible for the regulation of certain hormones as well as the assitant in helping you digest the food you eat. They are the macronutrient highest in calories - 9kcal comapred to protein and carbs which have 4. It also adds flavour to a lot of foods, hence why oils are so widely used in cooking. Now here is where it gets complciated, some fats are good and some are bad. The good kind of fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which have been shown  to lower cholesterol and decrease chacnes of heart...
Read more

Week 1 - Wednesday - Diet and Why Weight Doesn't Really Matter

Image
These first few days have been quite fascinating. I had no issues on Monday but Tuesday and Wednesday were tough. I was feeling lightheaded and had a hard time concentrating. Hopefully, this goes away soon. Throughout this journey I will be eating a low fat, wholegrain, vegan diet. The reason why I chose this diet is because there is an overwhelming evidence that this kind of diet is very beneficial. For example first study I've cited below showed cardio vascular disease reversed, when subject were put on a low fat, wholegrain vegan diet. Apart from having the lowest risk of developing heart disease, vegans have also been shown to have the lowest Body Mass Index as well as the lowest risk of developing type 2 diabetes (see studies 2 and 3).  I have also came across studies which indicate a positive relationship between the consumption of meat and weight gain (see study 4), although I would suggest that you should not focus on weight as there are a number of factors that ...
Read more