Ditching added sugars in your diet can bring a ton of health perks. From regulating your blood sugar to heightened taste buds, to lowering the chance of getting sugar-linked diseases like diabetes, to having a happier mouth and liver. Cutting down on the sweet stuff can also boost your mental health, skin glow, and energy levels. You can upgrade your overall health and happiness by eating healthier options instead of snacks and meals filled with refined sugar. Here are 5 benefits of living a low-sugar lifestyle.
1. Improve blood sugar regulation
No one wants a chronic disease that could have been prevented. Improved blood sugar regulation is important for overall health because it helps prevent the onset of chronic diseases and improves energy levels. Blood sugar imbalances, such as high blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can lead to symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, and headaches. Over time, poorly regulated blood sugar levels can also increase the risk of developing conditions like pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. By maintaining balanced blood sugar levels, you can improve your energy levels, mood, and cognitive function. Additionally, regulating your blood sugar through a healthy diet and regular physical activity can also reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions and promote overall health and well-being.
2. Enhance flavor perception
Did you know that eating too much refined sugar can make your tastebuds favor sweetness? Overloading on refined sugar can dull your palette and make less sweet foods taste bland. But cutting back on refined sugar can actually enhance your ability to taste by making your taste buds less sensitive to sweetness. This way, other flavors can come to life. Eating lots of refined sugar can numb your tastebuds, so you need more and more sweetness to feel satisfied. Reducing your refined sugar intake slowly retrains your tastebuds to pick up on subtler flavors and lets you enjoy the natural taste of food. For most people, this retraining only takes 10 days! Plus, eating less refined sugar can also reduce mouth inflammation, improving your taste and flavor perception.
3. Improved long-term health outcomes
A low-sugar lifestyle benefits your long-term health as it helps avoid chronic diseases such as diabetes. Consuming high amounts of refined sugar can lead to insulin resistance, which is a key factor in developing type 2 diabetes. In addition, a diet high in sugar can also contribute to weight gain, inflammation, and an increased risk of heart disease. By reducing refined sugar intake and choosing healthier alternatives, individuals can improve their overall health and reduce their risk of developing these chronic conditions.
4. Better for oral health
Cutting back on sugar is a smart move for keeping your pearly whites (and gums and tongue!) in good shape. Refined sugar is like a feast for the bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria produce acid that can erode your tooth enamel and lead to cavities. Reducing sugar in your diet can help lower the amount of acid produced and decrease the risk of tooth decay. Additionally, a diet low in refined sugar and high in calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin D can help promote stronger teeth and gums. To maintain good oral health, it is important to limit not only sugary foods and drinks but also practice good oral hygiene habits, such as brushing and flossing daily.
5. Improve liver function
Adopting a low-sugar diet can have a positive impact on liver health and function. By reducing refined sugar intake, the liver is not overworked trying to regulate high blood sugar levels. This, in turn, reduces the accumulation of fat in the liver and thus reduces the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Additionally, reducing sugar consumption reduces oxidative stress in the liver, helping to prevent cell damage. Overall, a low-sugar lifestyle can improve liver function, reduce the risk of liver-related health problems, and enhance overall health and wellness.
Other benefits of a low-sugar lifestyle
Other potential advantages of reducing sugar consumption include improved mental health and skin health, as well as increased energy levels. Studies have shown that diets high in added sugars can be associated with anxiety and depression. High sugar consumption has also been linked to an increased risk of acne and skin aging. Replacing sugary foods and drinks with nutrient-rich foods like those high in protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals can promote overall health and increase energy levels.
Ready to kick the sugar habit? Try our first-ever 10-Day Low-Sugar Reset. This is a doctor-designed tastebud retraining tool so you can live your sweetest life without the sugar crash! With the help of Kanchan Koya, PhD, founder and cookbook author of Spice, Spice Baby, and Sylvie Charles, MD, CIO and founder, Just Date, you will be guided through a 10-day low-sugar journey to help you overcome your sugar habit and find a renewed enjoyment of delicious flavors. So many resets, cleanses, and challenges follow a fad diet format. We like to think of this 10-day reset as an antithesis to fad dieting. No guilt. No doing it badly. More joy. More pleasure. Cheers to living your sweetest life!