Sugar is everywhere nowadays! You know it as well as I do.
No matter what we eat today, it is increasingly difficult to avoid sugar. This becomes very disturbing because even the foods that are supposed to do good to our body, are mostly filled with added sugars.
The problem is that even people who do not eat sweets accidentally consume too much sugar, sometimes without even knowing it.
How is it possible?
The simple reason is that sugar is everywhere, even where you do not expect to find it.
Although it is true that our body needs sugar to function well, you must know how to consume it in moderation.
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In many cases, the added sugars we find in our food is way above the recommended dosage for our health and well-being.
This added sugar is very dangerous because it contributes to the development of many diseases that our society faces. If more and more people around us are suffering from diabetes or other cardiovascular diseases, it is also partly because of the excess of sugar.
Doctors and public authorities take this problem very seriously because it causes a great deal of harm to our society. That’s why for most advocates of good health, sugar quickly became the number one public enemy when it comes to eating healthy.
If you have set goals for weight loss, for example, all your efforts can be dashed because of excess sugar in your body and blood.
I’m not telling you that you must completely eliminate the sugar. I’m just telling you that we need to change our eating habits and be very careful not to consume excess sugar.
Besides the fact that this multiplies the causes of obesity, it is also necessary to know that the sugar has empty calories and it can make your insulin wonky. This can lead to insulin resistance and contribute to other health issues like cancer and dementia.
You searched for and found this article on how to reduce your daily sugar intake.
This proves that you are aware of this problem and that you are determined to take things in hand to preserve your health. This is a good thing. You have already taken the first step to combat the overconsumption of sugar.
I hope these tips will work for you.
Today’s topic is sugar and how to reduce it in your diet. But I’m not talking about reducing your sugar in things like fruits in general, tomatoes, carrots, etc. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, I think sugar in natural foods is not a problem because they have a lot of the vitamins and minerals intact.
I’m talking about added sugar – I’m talking about reducing sugar in things like soda, coffee, breakfast cereals, chocolate bars, etc.
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Below you will find 9 easy ways to cut down on sugar intake.
Disclaimer: Before we jump into the weight loss and health aspect of things, it is my duty to remind you that the following information is provided for your information only. Always consult a professional nutritionist or your doctor before taking any treatment or starting a diet. On the other hand, you must never forget that no matter what the qualities and benefits of a supplement, nothing replaces a healthy lifestyle. So, if you want to get results, lose weight or have better health, you should also exercise regularly.
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Let’s get started!
1. Start by getting rid of your old habits
You already know that sugar is very bad for your health. You are determined to massively reduce your consumption of sugar but despite all your efforts, you cannot do without your little cookies that you nibble just after dinner because it is a habit for you.
You think that after all, a biscuit does not hurt. So, you eat a little bit each day. But do you know how much sugar these cookies contain?
As long as you cannot get rid of your old habits, it will be difficult for you to focus on your goals.
If you want to reduce your sugar consumption, you must first know why you want to do it. And what prevents you from doing it.
Do you want to lose weight? Are you afraid of becoming a diabetic? Or is it for another reason?
Once you know exactly why you want to reduce sugar, take all the necessary steps for that. Do not be fooled, and if you must, when you go shopping, simply avoid buying products such as sweets and other nibbles.
2. Avoid overconsumption of sugary drinks
One of the easiest ways to have too much sugar is to drink it.
Sugar is not only eaten. It is drunk too. When it’s too hot and we want to refresh a bit, our first instinct is to drink a cool drink. This is quite natural and at low doses, drinking a little soda or an orange juice does not hurt.
But where it becomes a problem is that many people drink these drinks all day long. In some people, soda has replaced water. This is very dangerous for health because these drinks contain more and more added sugars.
They also include a lot of other chemical products. All these ingredients, in large doses, are very bad for our health.
So, try not to drink your calories in the form of sugar. Whenever you want to drink something, always try to be very mindful of the amount of sugar in it.
You can also ask for unsweetened beverages whenever you’re going to a cafe. If you’re getting an iced tea or an iced coffee, also try to get it unsweetened.
Aside from sodas and other sugary drinks, sugar can also be drunk in coffee or tea, for example. If you are a regular consumer of coffee or tea, perhaps without realizing it, you consume too much sugar.
A little sugar in your coffee every day can do a lot in the end.
It is true that coffee without sugar can be very bitter. But if you really care about your health and at the same time you cannot do without your coffee in the morning, you can combine the pleasure of having a good coffee and that of having good health by avoiding putting sugar in your coffee.
Drink your coffee without adding sugar. Even if your coffee will lose some of its taste, your health will thank you later.
3. Switch the porridge
Most breakfast cereals today are loaded with tons of added sugars. Even those which purports to be good for our body, such as granola. Porridge can be a great alternative if you want to cut down on sugar.
Mix up your toppings so you don’t get bored.
4. Avoid low-fat foods
Keep your eyes peeled for anything marked low-fat, which can often mean it is padded out with sugary carbs to replace lost flavor.
5. Avoid all sort of temptation
Sugar can be hard to reduce in your diet. It’s literally everywhere and sugar cravings can be difficult to manage. It’s well known that many people are sugar addicts. I don’t know if that’s your case too.
When you are at work or shopping, the candy machine is usually not far away. So, it can sometimes be quite difficult to resist all those chocolate bars that face you. But you must resist and avoid eating outside of mealtimes.
6. Read the labels on all of your processed foods
If you’re a big fan of eating processed foods, you must learn to read the labels and the ingredient list to avoid adding sugar in your body. By doing so you’ll know if you’re having too much sugar or not.
No matter which product you buy, you’ll find all the ingredients that were used to make the food listed on the ingredient list.
The first ingredient you’ll see is generally the one that is used the most in that product. The last ingredient is the one that is used in the least quantity. Sugar has many different names and I don’t expect you to know all of them.
But in general, the most common words they use to mention sugar are… sugar of course, but also syrup, glucose, fructose, dextrose, etc. So, read that list and try to look for those words. If you see them in a great quantity, it’s a sign that they have a lot of sugars in them. So, try to avoid such foods.
7. Eat more whole foods
Whole foods are foods that are in their natural form. We call whole foods things like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, etc. In general, this type of food is not processed and there are no added sugars.
So when you eat whole food, and if you have a diet that is primarily whole foods, you automatically reduce the amount of sugar in your diet.
8. Eat more protein
When you don’t eat enough protein with every single meal, your blood sugar tends to be a little bit inconsistent. If for example, you have a sugary breakfast cereal with a little bit of milk, by the time rolls around you’re probably going to be hungry.
Why?
Simply because your breakfast didn’t have enough protein and it had too much sugar. So, your blood sugar went up and then you had that dip and during that dip, you have that sugar craving.
To prevent that sugar craving, what you can do is to get enough protein with every single meal. Not only you’re getting your protein throughout the day and you’re stabilizing your blood sugar levels, but you’re also not going to have those cravings.
Makes sense?
9. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself
Just because you can’t have the sugary snacks, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself.
Well, you can keep some low sugar snacks around at home. You can keep freshly cut fruit in your fridge if that helps. But I can understand that sometimes you want something a little extra. One simple thing that you could do is frozen grapes, for instance.
Grapes are naturally very sweet and once you freeze them, they take on a very different texture and they become a little bit more enjoyable. The second thing you can do is to have frozen bananas. You can make frozen banana popsicles.
To do so, just take a ripe banana, peel it, put a popsicle stick in it if you have one then put it in the freezer for 24 hours or until it completely hardens. And the next day when you have that sugar craving, you can take that frozen banana, dip it in a little bit of melted dark chocolate, put some shredded coconut on top and you have a frozen banana popsicle.
It’s got fruit, it’s got healthy fat from the coconut and it’s got dark chocolate.
What else do you need?
We have finished with our 9 tips on how to reduce sugar consumption.
There are many other ways to reduce sugar. I cannot develop them all here and I think you understand the principle. As I told you, if you want to know more, ask your doctor for advice.
Thank you for reading!
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how to reduce sugar intake, how to reduce sugar, sugar, sugar cravings, nutrition tips,
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