World Hunger Day 2021 is just a few short days away, taking place on May 28th this year, helping to raise awareness of the fact that there are nearly 800 million people all over the world who don’t have enough food to eat – quite an eye-opening figure.
The aim of the initiative – launched in 2011 by The Hunger Project – is to celebrate sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty… and you’re now being asked to show your support by seeing if you can go an entire week without eating any sugar whatsoever.
This might sound easy but you may well find that it is harder to go seven days without a drop of the sweet stuff… so make sure you check everything on your plate to see if it has added or processed sugar, or artificial sweeteners in it before you chow down on your dinner.
While this is an amazing opportunity to really stand in solidarity with all those worldwide who live below the poverty line and go to bed hungry each and every night, there’s also an added benefit for you – reducing your sugar intake is incredibly good for your health!
Studies have shown that an elevated intake of added sugar is linked to all sorts of health conditions, everything from heart disease and diabetes to obesity, as well as poor dental health. So cutting back a bit could really help protect you against chronic diseases… and who knows? You may find that after a week, you feel so good that you want to quit sugar forever!
But where to begin with ditching the sugar? Well, starting small can really help you maximise your chances of success if you’re keen to really stick with it.
Doing everything all at once might feel quite extreme – and, if you know that you have a relatively high sugar intake right now, you might experience a few side-effects and a bit of a sugar crash if you just go completely cold turkey immediately.
As a first step, swap out all your sweetened drinks like fruit juice and fizzy drinks for water. Water certainly doesn’t have to be bland and uninteresting, either… put a big jug in the fridge with some lemon, mint, lime or cucumber in it and let it infuse. You’ll have something delicious, refreshing and healthy on tap!
And, of course, this is the digital age, so letting technology do all the hard work for you can help you stay on track. There are various apps out there that can track your sugar intake… and it might be quite surprising to see just how much sugar is in the food you eat each day.
If you’re hit with sugar cravings, there are little strategies you can try to see if they help you manage them, everything from yoga and meditation to going for a walk or even brushing your teeth! Let us know what works for you!
Your teeth will certainly benefit from your changes. You can enjoy tracking your progress with one of the remarkable new EKO LED sensor mirrors now available.
