30 days without sugar: Mission accomplished?

Dubai - People are asked to be wary of the sugars removed from their original sources to be added to food

Can you go a month without sugar? That was the challenge put before the public by Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the beginning of the year.
The Dubai Heath Authority (DHA) then adopted the challenge after the UAE residents reacted to Shaikh Abdullah's tweet that encouraged people to go without sugar for one month.
Backing the hashtag #30DaysWithoutSugar that launched in line with the New Year, the DHA doctors urged people to eliminate their refined sugar intake found in cereals, sweets and soft drinks- and search for alternative natural sugar sources such as fruits and nuts especially after the holiday feasts and celebrations that saw high sugar intake from cakes and dessert.
Now that the challenge is coming to an end, did it prove effective? When Dubai residents were asked about their progress with the challenge on the third day, a DHA Twitter poll taken by 70 participants found that 43 per cent said it was great, 43 per cent said it was not challenging and only 8 per cent said they had already stopped.
"Many people thought they wouldn't be able to live without sugar, which was the biggest misconception," said Dr Wafaa Ayesh, director of clinical nutrition at the DHA. "The refined sugar does not have any nutritional value that helps the body, it only adds calories."
While the American Heart Association recommends that people don't consume more than 6 small spoons of sugar a day, studies revealed that based on a 2,000 calorie diet, the average person consumes 260 calories worth of just added sugars a day (without counting natural sugars).
According to Ayesh,100 calories deduction per day reduces 8kg of fat per year. She noted that it takes 20 days to reprogram taste buds not to like sugar, and the extra 10 days of the challenge is to help participants maintain the habit. Afterwards, the body will not go back to the same amount of sugar it was used to consuming, at least for a period of time.
Ayesh said the challenge aimed at increasing people's awareness towards their daily sugar intake. "We wanted people to start looking at the food label before purchasing a product. People asked what if the food label said there is sugar inside? The key is to see if there's 'additional or artificial sugar' since most of the food has natural sugar. Molasses and palm sugar for example were a big no," she said.
Natural sugar sources include raisins, dates, nuts, fruits, few vegetables, yogurt and dairy products, but residents are asked to be wary of the sugars removed from their original sources to be added to food. "We even encouraged people to make sugar-free dessert from fruits and nuts without adding sweeteners or external sugar," said Ayesh.
She highlighted the importance of balancing daily sugar intake, even when it comes to natural sugar. "Big amounts of fructose, mainly found in fruits-, can give negative outputs."
She said while 25-40 grams is the recommended fructose intake per day, people tend to consume triple of that. "It's us who is doing harm through our misuse," Ayesh said.
According to her, the no sugar challenge helped in spreading the word. "It helped people to challenge themselves and encourage others to do it through word of mouth. When people experience and see the benefits of living a sugar-free life, it will hopefully become a habit," she said.
Participants feel the difference
Asma Al Janahi was an obese until she chose to stay away from refined sugar for one month. "One of my main issues was that a bar of chocolate or any caramelised dessert daily was necessary for me."
The first time she took up the challenge was last year with her colleagues as they dared her to stay away from sugar for 20 days. Now this year is her third time to take up the challenge, she extended the period for 30 days, adding that there is a variety of desserts she already cannot take in.
"When I first joined the challenge, I thought it will be impossible to survive, but it worked!" said Al Janahi. "It was very hard at the beginning but I had made up for it in other ways." In 20 days, she was able to lose 3kgs.
She recalled how sugar negatively affected her mood and added more anxiety. "I was hooked on sugar that I couldn't function without it. And it added more anxiety as the more I ate, the more I craved it."
Replacing sugar with fruits had helped cure her vitamin deficiency, which made her calmer and happier. Now that she's waiting to finish the challenge on Feb.2, the process went smoothly as she tried to detox.
"After the challenge, your sugar intake will drastically decrease as you experience discomfort in tasting sugar. I can watch people eat dessert, but I never get tempted," Al Janahi added.
But it took Kamakshi Gupta only one challenge to get her into the right lifestyle. Gupta added the challenge helped her cut off the unnecessary extras in her meals. "I love to bake, and I enjoyed my ingredients without sugar."
She said the challenge, which referred to as "automatic leap to healthy eating," prompted her to look for the natural alternatives. Gupta noted that mindful planning and making the right choices are the key to maintaining a healthy body. Having a sugar-free life helps in enjoying the small indulges as he follows the 80 per cent clean eating.
"What is the use of eating something that would spike my sugar levels up with no health benefits? Instead of eating a cake with the tea, I eat nuts or dried fruits. I eat a date besides the coffee as it gives nutrients in contrast to adding sugar," said Gupta.
She added that moderation is key and urged people to stop refined sugar and adopt mindful eating habits for at least 10-15 days, as that's all it takes to make it a habit.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Must know bitter facts of sweets
> More than 34 per cent of UAE children either obese or overweight
> White sugar consumed at least once a day by more than half of those in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and by one-third of those in the UAE.
> Drinking one can of soft drink daily with no other dietary changes can lead to an excess weight gain of 10 to 15 pounds in one year.
> Typical soda drink in a 2-liter bottle contains amount of sugar equal to 27 cubes.
> Approximately 80 per cent of packaged foods contain added sweeteners.
> There is no difference between white and brown sugar. They both have no nutritional value.
> One-third of added sugars consumed by adults comes from beverages.

• Dubai