More Sugar, More Problems- even when you are using Sugar Substitutes!
I believe strongly in ‘everything in moderation’- sugar is on the top of my moderation list. Sugar substitutes are a BIG NO for me- they give me massive headaches, sometimes within minutes of digestion. How did I figure that out? What did I do about it? And what are some other side effects should you be aware of?
READ BELOW!
Side note: Did you know they can also be more addictive than the real stuff?!
As someone who grew up in an Italian household, my mamma made almost everything from scratch. It wasn’t until I went to college and tried to “eat healthy” on my own that I experimented with sugar substitutes. This was also the first time in my life that I ever got a migraine.
Sadly, I did not figure out that sugar substitutes were the cause of my migraines. It took quite some time before I was able to figure that out. And currently, no clinical evidence exists to show the relationship between the exact mechanism and causal relationship between sugar substitute migraines.
But, I know that migraines are not the only effects of using fake sugars! This past week I talked about my zero tolerance and was quoted in A Bustle Article! Here are some of the other ways your body can be affected by sugar substitutes according to the same article:
- Dizziness
- Headaches And Migraines <- that’s where I come in! ?
- Mood Changes
- Diarrhea
- Painful Gas
- Worsening IBS Symptoms
- Bloating
- Inflammation
- Nausea
Frustrating that it took me so long before the idea that sugar substitutes = migraines. All I was thinking in college was, “yay! I can eat dessert because it has so few calories!” (I wish my younger self researched these things better.)
What did I do when I figured out the connection for myself?
Advocate for everything in moderation and control
Here is how I achieve that:
Any drink with natural sugar, cane sugar, or brown sugar, as soon as I return home from the grocery store gets divided out. What do I mean by that? I pour half of the drink into a reusable container and fill both containers til they are full with water. Yup, I water my drinks down. Honestly, they still taste the same, and I am consuming half the amount of sugar. BONUS- I’m saving $$ because the drinks last longer. (This is actually a trick I learned while being a poor college kid.)
Now, as a mom, I believe it is so important to restrict sugars where you can for my son, so when it comes to snacks and practicing the art of moderation, as soon as I return from the grocery store with snack foods I make sure to divide them up into small reusable containers- based on the portion suggestions on the food labels. That way my son gets to enjoy his favorite snacks in a healthy way and I know when to stop eating them- not a new trick, but I think every once in a while we need to be reminded of these things.
Eating correctly is the easiest way to maintain your weight and live a healthy lifestyle. If not known already, PLEASE look into correct portion control to aide you in healthy eating. And, when you are ready to take your personal health to the next level, add JōbuFIT to be FIT in your work space and beyond!