1- Be aware of the amount of sugar ingested
According to Angélique Houlbert: “We get there very quickly; sugar is very present in our diet.” The first step in the “detox” involves awareness: ” Jam in the morning, fruit juice (15 to 20 grams of sugar), sweetened yogurt, but also the sugar in ready-made meals…”
Marie-Laure André confirms: “Previously, we talked about slow sugars and fast sugars. We included all starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. in slow sugars. However, we realized, with this notion of glycemic index, that many starchy foods had a significant impact on blood sugar, such as white rice, baguettes made from white flour, etc. And conversely, there may be certain fast sugars like dark chocolate, acacia honey, agave syrup, which have a moderate impact on blood sugar.”
2- Read the labels
To control your sugar consumption, Angélique Houlbert advises reading the list of food ingredients more closely, and “favoring products where sugar does not appear first. And to choose a good chocolate, or a cake, do not forget the “of which sugars” line… We pay attention to the quantity, but also to the quality: honey, for example, has a moderate glycemic index.”
When choosing chocolate, Marie-Laure André reminds us that the percentage of chocolate matters: “The more chocolate there is, the less sugar there will normally be. 70% or more cocoa is good, even if chocolate remains high in calories because cocoa is a fatty food.”
3 – Cook yourself
I did it! Besides the satisfaction of making your own meals, cooking allows you to use less sugar. For Danièle Gerkens:
Generally speaking, when baking, you can easily reduce the amount of sugar indicated in recipes by 30% to 40%. And it won’t taste any worse.
And she advises a “tip”:
Pear can be used to add sweetness without adding sugar. In applesauce, simply adding a few shavings of this fruit adds a touch of sweetness.”
The icing on the cake, again for Danièle Gerkens: “By cooking, you reduce sugar, but pardon the expression, you reduce the “sh…” in your diet. I don’t know anyone who has maltodextrin sachets or corn syrup sachets at home! Then when you prepare yourself, you feed on the aromas and sensory acts around cooking. They are much broader… than opening a pack of plastic film, taking out a biscuit and devouring it!’
Bérengère Philippon, who has desweetened her diet, advises varying the types of sugar. “At first, like everyone else, I started using agave syrup and acacia honey, which are quite high in fructose, which is great for sweetening a cake. But there are plenty of them! I really like hulled barley flour, which has a glycemic index of 30, but which makes cakes rise the least. I realized that almond flour or roasted hazelnut powder could replace white flour.”
4- Go at your own pace
Danielle Gerkens helped herself with oilseeds: “I always had a small box with roasted almonds and hazelnuts, and a few raisins with me. It gave me the impression of sugar. I also used, for example, cinnamon or vanilla powder (vanilla pods ground into a powder) sprinkled on cottage cheese or plain yogurt. Quite quickly, by reducing the sugar, I saw the vocabulary of comfort expand: I discovered that listening to music, smelling perfume, singing… could provide enormous pleasure. More than a bite of something sweet.”
5- Be wary of sweeteners and strong cognitive restrictions
Angélique Houlbert warns: “Zero-calorie foods rarely have zero impact on the body. Not only do they maintain a craving for sweet tastes, but they disrupt the microbiota. And according to a recent Inserm survey conducted by Mathilde Touvier’s team, there is a relationship between the consumption of sweeteners , particularly aspartame, and an increased risk of If you deprive yourself too much, the body will demand it. Too much cognitive restriction leads to a craving… often for sweets!”
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