Added sugar

“Nearly everybody needs to think about eliminating or at least reducing added sugar for 2018.

“Sugar can be one of the major culprits behind many people’s health problems. When Many of the symptoms that women, especially, come into my clinic complaining about include irritability, aggressive outbursts, palpitations, lack of sex drive, crying spells, dizziness, anxiety, confusion, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, fatigue, insomnia, headaches and muscle cramps – these are all symptoms that can be due to fluctuating blood sugar caused by sugar highs and low. Balancing blood sugar is also essential in lowering stress because the crashes in blood sugar levels which happen through the day stimulates more adrenaline to be released.

“Take small steps and you are much more likely to stick with them. First of all, take out of your diet all the savoury foods that contain added sugar, such as spaghetti sauces, mayonnaise, salad dressings, baked beans, soups.

“The next step is to stop adding sugar to your hot drinks and other foods. Some people will sprinkle sugar on to their cereal in the morning when there is already a lot of sugar already added to it. And read the labels to see that ‘healthy’ fruit yogurt actually contains eight teaspoons of added sugar.”

– Dr Marilyn Glenville, nutritionist specialising in women’s health and author of 14 best-selling books including Natural Alternatives to Sugar