I Cut Back On Sugar, And This Is How You Can Do The Same

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Most of my attempts to cut out added sugar ended the same way: me bingeing on more sugar after feeling deprived. I tried going cold-turkey on some of my favorites, including cereal, yogurt, chocolate, ice cream, and condiments like teriyaki and spaghetti sauce, but it never lasted. I understand that breaking the sugar habit takes time. But I also realized that having an "all-or-nothing" mentality did not work for me.

The longest I made it on a complete sugar elimination diet was about five days. I dealt with some withdrawal symptoms, like headaches and fatigue, but it was the mental side-effects that told me a "no-sugar" diet was not going to work. During the periods of complete sugar elimination, my anxiety would spike and things felt very out of control.

This didn't make sense to me, because I always thought eliminating sugar altogether would decrease my anxiety symptoms. But it didn't.

"When trying to cut back on sugar, sudden changes are not advised as they may precipitate feelings of anxiety as the body ‘crashes' from a sugar high," explained Dr. Uma Naidoo, MD, director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

This is exactly what I experienced when I tried to go cold-turkey. Instead of reducing my anxiety symptoms, the sudden change from a high amount of sugar to no sugar exacerbated my symptoms. It wasn't until I shifted back to a moderation mentality that I was able to benefit from the reduction in anxiety symptoms that does come from reducing sugar in your diet.

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