Too much added sugar can affect blood sugar, insulin, energy, appetite, dental health and long-term metabolic health.
During peri- and post-menopause, changes in body composition and insulin sensitivity can already make weight management harder, so reducing added sugar can be one useful step – without needing to swear off every sweet thing forever.
Sugar may be addictive
But it doesn’t start that way. The truth is, as you know, Mother Nature grows sugar as edible food. However, once we highly process all the goodness, it can sometimes turn from food to foe.
Science has spoken
Several scientific evaluations have discovered that both sugar and synthetic sweeteners can trigger some strong responses in the brain. What’s more, in terms of habitual consumption, the draw is harder to break.
In a 2007 rat study, researchers found that intense sweetness could surpass cocaine reward under the experimental conditions. However, this animal research does not show that sugar and cocaine are equivalent – or that humans respond in the same way.
Dr Serge Ahmed and his research team from the University of Bordeaux in France said their findings:
“refined sugars i.e. sucrose, fructose, were absent in the diets of most people in human history until recently. Today overconsumption of diets rich in sugars contributes – together with other factors – to the current obesity epidemic”.
It’s strange to think we can be addicted to something that’s so readily available.
However, that’s some of the science.
I guess it can be likened to alcohol and cigarettes.
Some benefits minimising sugar may produce:
1. You’ll no longer be addicted
2. The worst of your perimenopause or post-menopause signs may disappear
3. Your blood sugar might be steadier
4. Your weight might decrease naturally
5. You may have more energy
6. Your brain fog may depart
7. And your libido may come back
Reducing added sugar is one useful part of supporting your metabolic health in midlife. If blood sugar, cravings or menopause weight gain are concerns, explore our Shake It Off® weight-management options, including targeted capsules, the flexible evidence-based System and metabolic library.
Conclusion
Personally, I don’t eat sugar much at all now.
Of course, occasionally I’ll have some, but mostly I choose not to.
Be that as it may, I don’t beat myself up if I have a piece of something. We’ve got to be kind to ourselves and ditch the inner mean girl ladies!
Although I find it interesting that once you’ve avoided sugar for a while, you taste how sweet fruit is. Blueberries are God’s candy. Even carrots taste a bit like sweets, and anything like packaged sweets is waaaaaaaaayyyyy too sweet.
And it feels good. Trust me.
About the three-part sugar series
The reason we’ve done a three-part series about sugar is that we care about your health.
Further, we care about the symptoms and body changes you may experience during the menopause transition.
So, if just a little bit of this info helps convince you that getting rid of sugar could change your life, then we’ll have done our job.
Because avoiding sugar may release some of your menopause symptoms, and certainly is often helpful for weight management.
Read Part 1 on how sugar works in the body here
Part 2 explains how avoiding sugar may improve your life.
Jennifer is a certified integrative menopause & weight loss coach with a specialty in 40+ women, perimenopause and post-menopause. If you have questions email here.
References:
Lenoir, M., Serre, F., Cantin, L., & Ahmed, S. H. (2007). Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLOS ONE, 2(8), e698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.00006
