Sugar, Spice and Everything Not Nice

By Nariman Ouda

@nanaouda

Fares AbdelHamid wanted to lose weight, get fit and feel healthy so he decided to follow some friendly advice to get off sugar.

For weeks, he would check product labels for nutrition information on sugar additives and was surprised to find chips, peanuts and other salted items had tons of the white stuff.

But after three months of a diligent low-sugar regimen, AbdelHamid became lethargic, cranky and couldn’t sleep well. 

He gave in to his persistent sugar cravings one day and suddenly felt happy again. That night he slept the best he had in months.

“I realized I had sugar withdrawal. We’re all addicted since birth,” he said.

Although the brain needs sugar as a source of energy, sugar also impacts people’s mood and happiness but overconsumption may lead to addiction, and nutrition experts proved that.  

“The reason we are happy when we take sugar is that the brain rewards us with a rush of dopamine, and dopamine is a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good,’’ said Mahmoud Shaltout, assistant professor of Public Health at AUC.

Shaltout believes that eating sugars is pretty much like taking a drug. They both make you feel good. “Any kind of addictive behavior where your brain rewards you with a good feeling is a drug, for example, caffeine, sugar, drug, and even the things that you like to do such as shopping,” he said.

Shaltout said that chocolate makes us happy because it contains a lot of sugar.

The consumption of sugar also increases inflammation in your body, which can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

Shaltout revealed that he will only advise someone to eat chocolate when blood glucose is low. 

“I got depressed for a month, and I was eating desserts every day to be happy,” said  Nour Taher, a political science senior.

“But I got overweight so I went to a nutritionist. He told me that I have to stop eating desserts  and I stopped for four days. I got more depressed so I went back to eating desserts everyday.” 

Artificial processed sugars such as sweets and chocolates deliver energy fast into the body and slow down the person’s metabolism, which is the chemical reactions that occur within the body. Slow metabolism leads to more hunger, and predispose the body to store fats.

“Sometimes just because we like to eat sugary foods, we tell ourselves that we are happy to eat them and that is the placebo effect,” said Nahwet El Madani, consultant Psychiatrist at the AUC student well-being office.

The placebo effect is the idea that your brain can convince your body of a fake treatment to make you feel happy.

El Madani revealed she will never advise a depressed person to eat unhealthy sugary foods because it can have negative effects such as obesity.

“If someone wants to lose weight or to be fit, he has to stop eating any food that contains sugar,” Waad Amin, a nutritionist at Gold’s gym, said.

Amin added that the people at first refuse to stop eating sugary food because they “cannot live without it”. For example, some people told her that they have to drink coffee with sugar or they will not function well throughout the day.

“People who stop eating sugary food face extreme withdrawal symptoms during the first four days and this can last for two weeks.  It causes them dizziness, headache, hypoglycemia, sadness and depression,’’ said Amin .

Sugar detox can also cause a number of emotional and mental symptoms including depression and anxiety.

“My nutritionist told me to eat food that contains carbohydrates such as oatmeal to give me energy and happiness throughout the day. Some carbs contain sugar, but without carbs, I feel tired and sad,” said Mervat Omar, International certified coach at Body Temple gym and Mass Communication student .

The middle path and moderation is key, nutritionists agree, and stress that one should limit foods that are high in sodium and saturated fats.

The ideal approach is to consume vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. 

“I will never suggest someone in nutrition to eat sugary food,” says Shaltout.

“I will suggest a well-balanced diet.”