Could you go sugar free for 5 days?
This post is part of a six part series on sugar and healthy eating. Check out other posts by clicking this link!
I just ran across this video and thought it would be fun to share. Lucie Fink is a YouTuber who does a series of videos where she tries things out for 5 days. In this episode, she goes sugar free for 5 Days. I’ve been sugar free for a while, but for those of you interested in reducing your sugar intake, or eliminating it entirely, this could maybe help you and your family take the plunge to a no or low-sugar lifestyle.
Five Days with No Sugar
Try Living with Lucie
I’m showing this short video to my kids to start a conversation about sugar intake and to see how easy or hard they think it might be to eliminate sugar for 5 days. If we decided to try this as a family, we could take note, as Lucie does of the ways not having sugar affects our sleep, energy levels, etc.
Another great starting point for this conversation is to share the story of thethe Schaub family that went almost entirely off processed sugar for A WHOLE YEAR!
In fact the Schaub family not only eliminated refined sugar, but all other forms of sugar as well, including high fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, maple syrup, honey, molasses, evaporated cane juice, and artificial sweeteners. Outside of a few regular exceptions that they allowed each family member (e.g. a monthly dessert, or glass of red wine) they went cold turkey.
I’m not sure our family is ready for that… but hey, if they could do it for a year, five days seems like a walk in the park, no?
Going on a Sugar Hunt!
Even if you’re not ready to cut out sugar, it’s a start to just take note of the amount of sugar in many of the foods we eat. On that note, you could follow the Schaub’s example and go on a Sugar Hunt at your local grocery store.
I’d recommend watching this video above (without your kids). Then plan a family field trip to the grocery store and ask them to make predictions about where you will find sugar. You could ask:
- Which products do you think will contain the most sugar? And the least sugar?
- Look at the ingredients for regular grocery items like bread, dairy products, frozen foods and condiments. Were their any surprises?
- Based on what you learned, just how much sugar do you think the average kid/adult consumes per day? (Then Google the answer.)
