10 ways to recover from a sugar and salt hangover
Okay, so you indulged in a few too many salty, sugary things over the long weekend and now you want to get back on track but… you’re in the salty, sugary habit and your taste buds don’t want salad, no thank you ma’am! Here are 10 ways to recover from your sugar and salt hangover, reset those taste buds and feel FRESH fast!
Rehydrate
Step one to feeling better is making sure you’re hydrated. You’ll need plenty of water to excrete the excess sodium and reduce bloating. Drink up!
Eat to balance appetite hormones
Next, stabilise your blood sugar levels after those weekend sugar binges by eating some slow-digesting protein and fibre at each meal (think eggs and greens, or a rice, beans and mixed veggie scramble, some animal protein in a big colourful salad, or nut butter on some celery sticks). This will help get your appetite back under control. Avoid simple carbohydrate meals like toast, cereal, or pasta for a few days (a piece of grainy toast with a few eggs and some avocado is fine, but avoid the toast-and-spreads scenario ;) )
Include a few healthy fats
Healthy fats found in foods like avocado, coconut, olive oil, nuts, oily fish (like salmon or sardines) and tahini not only increase the flavour of your meal, they also help you to feel satisfied, cut your cravings for sugar and add that creamy, luscious texture found in many rich foods (you know, like the ones you might have indulged in a few too many of over the break and are now craving!).
Prep some snacks for when the cravings hit (and they will!)
A sugar and salt binge can leave you with unstable blood sugars and stronger cravings than usual until you balance things out again, so instead of skipping snacks altogether, prep healthy ones for when the urge hits! I created Chief Bar for these exact moments – the collagen bars are an incredible switch for sweets! But if you’re a DIY kinda girl, try sliced apple or pear with nut butter, a cup of berries mixed through Greek yoghurt, or a few hard-boiled eggs with hummus and paprika – a huge cravings crusher! You could also try mixing one cup of oats with a ripe, mashed banana, forming into cookie shapes and baking for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees for the simplest cookies ever!
Eat probiotic foods
Foods including live cultures, like kombucha, natural yoghurt, kimchi or pickles can help reduce bloating and get your digestive system back online. Why? Because sugar feeds the less than friendly bacteria in your gut.
Switch coffee and black tea, for green tea or matcha
Green tea gives your metabolism a nice boost, and you’ll get an antioxidant hit that fights inflammation for an energy boost, without a caffeine crash (yes, green tea has some caffeine but you won’t get that ‘rise fast, dive fast’ effect!)
Counteract sodium with potassium
Sodium and potassium have complementary functions in your body: sodium ups your blood pressure and promotes fluid retention; potassium relaxes and lowers your blood pressure and helps you flush out excess fluid. So after a salt binge, increase potassium intake to balance things out. Bananas are our favourite source of potassium, and they’re also high in B Vitamins for an energy boost!
Use carb-calming cinnamon
Cinnamon can improve your body’s ability to metabolise and use carbohydrates effectively – just a teaspoon added to your meal can help balance blood sugars and slow the sugar rush as it enters your system. Throw it in your smoothies, top a turmeric latte with it, or sprinkle it on your oats to score the benefits.
Cook at home
No matter how ‘healthy’ that takeout seems, it’s guaranteed to have a lot more salt than your own home cooking. So put in the effort to create your own meals to help your detox along!
Get moving!
Exercise helps to stabilise blood sugars and burn through glycogen stores faster, and psychologically it helps you get back to your regular routine after you break it. This one is all about the mental wins! We’d love to see you at our Studio, or if you're not in Bondi join our online programs!