Most of us start the New Year full of inspiration to lose weight and improve our health. One of the absolute best things you can do to that end is cut back on your intake of added sugars and sweeteners. Take a look at this list of benefits identified by research on sugar consumption:

  • Lose Weight (1)
  • Decrease Cravings (2, 3)
  • Lower Insulin Resistance (4)
  • Improve Blood Pressure (5)
  • Improve Cholesterol Levels (6)
  • Lower Triglycerides (6)
  • Decrease Risk of Diabetes (7,8)
  • Decrease Risk of Alzheimers and Dementia (9, 10)
  • Decrease Risk of Heart Attack (11)
  • Decrease Risk of Depression and Anxiety (12)
  • Decrease Risk of Certain Cancers (13, 14, 15)
  • Decrease Risk of Fatty Liver Disease (16, 17)
  • Protect Youthful Skin (Less Wrinkles) (18)
  • Protect Teeth (19)
  • Protect Sleep Quality (20)

Most of us know sugar and other sweeteners aren’t good for us, but it can be overwhelming to know how to get started. We here at Healthy Steps want to support your efforts! We’ll help you get prepared for 21 days of No Added Sweeteners leading up to Day 1 on January 9th, and then provide inspiration, tips and recipes often during the three-week challenge. Our next post will describe which foods to avoid during the challenge, and how to get ready to start. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to make sure you don’t miss out, or call us to schedule a one-on-one appointment for added support and accountability.

Lindsay Pasdera, MS RDN

Links to Research Studies: 

  1. http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20130114/sugar-excess-weight#1
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23719144
  3. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/in-food-cravings-sugar-trumps-fat/?_r=0
  4. http://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-2-5
  5. http://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/hypertension/49078
  6. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100420/high-sugar-diet-linked-lower-good-cholesterol#1
  7. http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/199317
  8. http://www.medpagetoday.com/upload/2013/3/1/journal.pone.0057873.pdf
  9. http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/09/sugar-alzheimers
  10. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/above-normal-blood-sugar-linked-to-dementia-201308076596
  11. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Added-Sugars-Add-to-Your-Risk-of-Dying-from-Heart-Disease_UCM_460319_Article.jsp#
  12. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/where-science-meets-the-steps/201309/4-ways-sugar-could-be-harming-your-mental-health
  13. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0306987783900956
  14. http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/6/9/677.short
  15. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/01/04/sugar-may-increase-breast-lung-cancer-risk-study-finds.html
  16. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168827807004278
  17. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168827808001645
  18. http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/sugar-giving-you-wrinkles
  19. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/4/881S.full
  20. http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=6072