After some time spent volunteering on an organic farm, a summer interning in the health and wellness space, and a whole lot of time spent reading and researching as a result, what I was hearing was accelerated aging, increased risk of cancer, poor circulation, and cognitive impairment as a few of the not-so-sweet effects of sugar. I figured I’d cut back on it for a week, maybe two, and see if there was any validity to what sounded at the time like pretty extreme health claims. I’ve always eaten my fair share of colorful produce and whole grains—and I have a feeling growing up in a household where home cooking was the norm and vegetables made a regular appearance at the dinner table had something to do with that. But boy, did I have a strong sweet tooth. My days, more often than not, would begin with a bowl of flavored yogurt and granola and end with the requisite scoop of ice cream or handful of chocolate chips. And you can bet if I was having afternoon tea, I was also having a blueberry muffin. I also cut way back on so-called “healthy sugars” like honey and maple syrup. Because while they may be glorified as unrefined, pure, or organic, what I soon came to realize is that sugar is sugar. Period. They all cause blood sugar levels to spike—some simply do it faster than others. The first few days were the furthest thing from glamorous; I was craving sweets big time, having ridiculous PMS-type mood swings, and suffering from what I eventually learned were sugar-withdrawal headaches. Now don’t get me wrong—I wasn’t expecting it to be a walk in the park. But this felt like a full-on uphill marathon, and I was ready to reclaim my sanity. But I didn’t do it. Because however much I wanted to take a spoon to the nearest Nutella jar, I couldn’t get all of the supposed health benefits of this whole sugar-free business out of my mind. Somewhere between the headaches, mood swings, and time spent salivating at the mere thought of a cupcake, there was a voice of reason telling me that all those articles I read weren’t, in fact, hoaxes. It would just take a bit longer to see or feel any major changes. So I decided to continue for one more week and promised myself that if there were no noticeable changes by then, I would call it off. Sure enough, the tide began to change come week two. My headaches went away, the cravings subsided, and I actually felt good. Great, even, which got me thinking: if I could feel this way after two sugar-free weeks, what would I feel like after three weeks? A month? THREE months? Suffice it to say that things kept getting better, because before I knew it one year had passed. And then two. And now, 730(ish) sugar-free days later… My acne didn’t disappear overnight, or even after a few weeks. It was actually around the end of month two when I began to notice changes. The puffiness subsided and my complexion became brighter (and far less oily). When the benefits of a dietary shift like going sugar-free are so numerous, it’s easy to forget the less-glamorous side effects. But this is real, and it’s hard, and it’s not talked about nearly enough. Missed out on the beginning on no-sugar week? Never fear—you can find tips, tricks, recipes, personal stories and so much more right here.
