Get your bridal glow: quit sugar for glowing wedding day skin
When it comes to getting your wedding day glow, there’s no such thing as starting too soon! So once your big day is finally on the calendar, you can officially start the countdown and preparation.
Apart from going through your skincare regime and scheduling facials, start from your diet. They say ‘you are what you eat’ for a reason! So 3 months before your wedding make sure your diet is ‘skin-friendly’: include lots of oily fish packed with omega 3 acids, snack on fruit and veg for anti-ageing antioxidants, but most importantly, quit sugar!
Sugar doesn’t have the best reputation, and for a good reason. Over consumption can lead to serious health problems, affecting weight gain, bone health, blood sugar levels but also skin health. The relationship between sugar and skin health is very sticky and it’s all down to a process called glycation, which causes other destructive reactions in our skin, including acne and deep lines.
Unfortunately, according to research, sugar can be nearly as addictive as cocaine so no wonder cutting out can be harder than it seems. We’ve asked Kim Pearson, nutritionist to share with us her top tips to quit sugar:
5 top tips to quit sugar from Kim Pearson, Nutritionist
Go Low
Follow a low glycaemic diet avoiding refined carbohydrates. Eating these foods triggers an initial sugar high but quickly leads to energy dips, hunger and, eventually cravings. If you enjoy an occasional treat meal based on high glycaemic carbohydrates, use a natural supplement such as Tribitor which can help reduce the glycaemic effect and subsequent cravings.
Think twice
When doing your grocery shopping, start reading labels to understand what goes in your basket. By looking at the ingredient list you will be able to see what exactly is in your favourite food. Sugar in cookies is pretty obvious. Sugar in yoghurt not so much! Often sugar is ‘hidden’ in forms of honey, corn syrup or fructose and the higher up the list, the more of it the product contains. To work out how much sugar there is in a product remember, one teaspoon is equal to four grams.
Small Steps
It’s not easy to say ‘No’ to treats and giving up sugar is a long process, so instead of going ‘cold turkey’ try gradually implementing the various steps. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall of the wagon and give in to a piece of chocolate cake at work or a few glasses of bubbly on Friday. It can easily turn into an excuse to ‘give up giving up’. Instead, make sure you are on your best behaviour the next day!
Balance your gut
Some of good gut bacteria causes the body to produce satiation hormones – that’s why it’s so important to keep it balanced in order to curb your sugar cravings and manage your weight. The easiest way to help eliminate bad bacteria in the body is through probiotics that will also work as a natural body cleanser. Think: yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and miso. You can also go for a multi-strain probiotic supplement.
Stay fuller for longer
Protein-rich foods are broken down more slowly and they stay in the stomach longer, making you feel fuller and decreasing your appetite. Make sure you include a portion of protein with each meal including meat, fish, eggs, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds.
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