Why a sugar-free diet is easier in spring and summer

The most important points in brief

• In the warm seasons, it is easier for us to do without industrial sugar.
• It's not entirely sugar-free - but our way of life is healthier in spring and summer than in autumn and winter.
• But what influences this eating behavior?
• What is certain is that several factors contribute to this diet. Evolution should also play a role.

One should put in front that we can hardly do without sugar in spring and summer, but that is more the responsibility of the food manufacturer. There is hardly any bread or muesli that can do without sugar. In this respect, it would be more correct if we were to speak of a low-sugar diet in the warm seasons and not a completely sugar-free one.

Sugar means security from an evolutionary point of view

As soon as the warmest days of the year in October are finally behind us, by then at the latest most supermarkets will fill their shelves with sweets that should actually only be available in Advent: chocolate santa clauses and santa clauses, with gingerbread, dominoes with marzipan and much more can be bought from one day to the next. The festive atmosphere is still missing completely, but the food industry knows that some of us are already craving sweets.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that we want to get evolutionary winter fat, just like many animals do. And sugar is the easiest way to do that. The second reason: sugary sweets just don't taste that good in spring and summer. Chocolate at 25 degrees and more? They usually don't go together. In addition, nature showered us with sweet fruits during these times of the year. And who's in the mood for pralines and chocolate when you can get fresh strawberries, cherries, raspberries or blueberries?

Drink alcohol with caution in summer and spring

A refreshing, sugary change to these types of fruit is at most a scoop of ice cream every now and then. And it goes so well with the fruits mentioned. The best thirst quenchers in summer are mineral water and lukewarm, unsweetened tea, sugary soda only makes you thirsty and alcohol (fermented sugar) is harmful to the organism at high temperatures. In addition, alcohol removes even more fluid from our cells than is already lost through the heat.

But back to the ice cream. With some varieties you can immediately tell the industrial production and the high sugar content. It is very easy to avoid this industrial sugar as well: you can easily make ice cream yourself. To do this, take an ice cube container and fill a mixture of water and juice, even better of water and self-pureed fruit, into each well and let the whole thing freeze in the freezer for at least two hours. Here you can try different varieties and play with the ratio of water and fruit until the aroma is perfect.

If it should be sweeter ...

Sometimes, of course, we also feel craving for sweets in summer or spring. And if you happen to celebrate your birthday during these times of the year, you don't necessarily have to swap the birthday cake for (admittedly healthy, but sour) rhubarb compote. With a little break in established habits, you can eat sweet food without industrial sugar - by replacing the sugar with agave syrup, birch sugar or fruit pulp, for example.