A few moments ago I had taken a big bite out of the steamed egg, covered in green onions and well, steaming. I was mid-chew on some beef short rib as my mind already wandered over to the grilled brisket when Kim chimed in: “Whoa, that steamed egg is really sweet”.
Without even thinking about it, I knew what she was talking about. If she hadn’t mentioned it, it would have been a passing moment in my mouth, barely worth a thought.
We were eating Korean BBQ only 4 days after we started Whole 30. I had flung us into Whole 30 without even looking at what the diet entailed. No added sugars (natural sugars from fruit are fine), no grains, no legumes, no alcohol, no dairy, no soy, no processed foods — just meat, seafood, and vegetables. Needless to say, it was a restrictive diet.
The justification for going to Korean BBQ on Whole 30 went as follows: only eat the non-marinated meats, wrap with lettuce, dip in the sesame oil with salt — avoid anything else that looks suspect.
Only a few minutes after we discussed the sweet steamed egg, we noticed a strong tingling sensation on our tongues. Numbness is the closest description, but inadequate in capturing the feeling.
Upon further research, we discovered that processed sugar comes with a genius biological mechanism: it turns off the ability to taste the processed sugar itself, creating a positive feedback loop to eat more sugar. This compels us to consume more refined sugar without our awareness.
Barely a week into our Whole 30 diet and we experienced a revelation. How had we not noticed this effect? Have our taste buds been numbed into oblivion? Did our meals turn into a dopamine ladder, requiring each bite to trump the previous?
As someone who eats like a ravenous bear, just noticing the sensation on my tongue was a step towards enlightened consumption. This sounds hyperbolic, but my eating habits earned me a nickname amongst friends: “Taiwanese Panda”. I mindlessly gorge on food, battling my last meal on earth like there’s a shortage of food resources.
18 days into the Whole 30 diet, we failed, succumbing to alcohol and pasta at a good friend’s wedding. As it relates to completing the diet successfully, I can only recommend attempting the constrained diet outside the holidays.
Like any diet, it forced a higher level of awareness of the ingredients in our food. For me, the sugary steamed egg mistake resulting in the tingling tongue sensation revealed the critical takeaways:
- as processed and refined sugars permeate everything in the grocery store, stay alert to how hidden ingredients affect our bodies
- at a time of food abundance and easy meals, stay conscious of foods that cause overeating
Now, off to learn how to perfect a steamed egg without using any refined sugar.