8 Top Secrets to Reducing Sugar Consumption

The harmful effects of sweeteners and sugar on your body are no secret at all. Ranging from a variety of issues like diabetes, metabolic dysfunction to obesity and liver problems, excessive consumption of sugar puts your bodies at continuous risk of long-term damage.

Sugar provides virtually no nutritional value to the body and comes with exceptionally high-calorie content. Even those who are proud of having a healthy and a nutritious diet and boast about not binging on desserts are not safe from the damages. Studies have shown that almost 75% of the sugar that we consume is hiding in seemingly “unsweetened” foods like loaves of bread, soups, salad dressings, and yogurts.

So, having reasonable control over your sweet tooth is not enough to control your sugar intake. To reduce your sugar consumption, you need to start identifying different types of sugars that you consume in your daily diet. While sucrose, that is our regular sugar is easily identifiable, other types of refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and standard sweeteners are not that easy to spot. So, let us first identify and define the different kinds of sugars and which food products hold them.

Are there Different Types of Sugar?

Here are five different kinds of sugars that we consume.

1. Natural Sugars:

Lactose and Fructose are natural sugars, and they are found in milk and fruits, respectively.

2. Natural Sweeteners:

Natural sweeteners are those which are obtained from natural sources like plants and added to foods as a substitute for artificial sugars. They include pure maple syrup, agave nectar, stevia, and honey.

3. Refined Sugars:

Refined sugars are sugars extracted from processing natural sources like sugar cane. The most popular refined sugars are glucose, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, maltodextrin, dextrose, brown sugar, cane sugar, and evaporated cane juice.

4. Artificial Sweeteners:

There are only five FDA-approved artificial sweeteners. These include saccharin, potassium, acesulfame, aspartame, sucralose, and d-tagatose. They are commonly used as alternatives to add some sweetness to foods.

5. Sugar Alcohols:

Found naturally in plants and fruits like berries, sugar alcohols like erythritol, mannitol, lactitol, isomalt, and sorbitol, extracted and processed before its use. Despite containing lesser calories than white sugar, they are difficult to absorb in the body.

8 Tips for Cutting Sugar Consumption

Now that the distinction between these sugars is clear, it is time to move on to the next important step, i.e., of cutting the excess sugar from your diet. Here are a few simple tips to help you keep your sugar intake in check and ultimately assist you in reducing your sugar consumption –

1. Forget Breakfast Sweets:

Keep a close eye on the sugar you consume in your breakfast can be tricky. Starting the first meal of the day with items like donuts, muffins, and smoothies is never a good idea. Having a sweet breakfast will cause sugar-overload in your body and create an imbalance in your system. Therefore, always plan your diet in such a manner following which your body can absorb sugar properly.

2. Skip Packaged Foods:

From ready-to-eat meals and soup cubes to salad dressings and pasta sauces, all packaged meals contain significant amounts of sugar. So, while purchasing these kinds of products from the store, go through the ingredients and try to buy the goods with the least amount of sugar content.

3. Just Say No:

It is human nature to grab whatever comes our way for free. But remember, those candies distributed at work and those free donut treats aren’t free – they come with a hefty price tag of high amounts of sugar which might be harmful to your body in the long run.

4. Cut Sugary Drinks:

Energy drinks, sodas, fruit drinks – are tempting as they may seem, but they are also a high dose of sugar. Not just these drinks, but also the so-called “healthy” drinks like milkshakes, juices, and smoothies also contain an astounding amount of sugar in them. To give you an example, consider a can of 100% apple juice of around 450 ml. It contains close to 49 grams of sugar, which is equivalent o 12 teaspoons! You can substitute these drinks with some healthier options like herbal tea, mint and cucumber juice, or black coffee.

5. Leave Processed Foods:

Whole foods are unprocessed and unrefined. Hence, they are free of artificial substances and additives. The lack of usage of emulsifiers, artificial flavors, and colors in the preparation of whole foods automatically results in a decrease in sugar consumption.

6. Ditch Calorie-Rich Foods:

Eating foods rich in sugars like fructose has been proven to increase the appetite and give rise to more food cravings. Hence, a diet low in carbs but high on proteins is a good choice. It will help get rid of these induced sugar cravings and naturally reduce the sugar intake.

7. Switch to Natural Sweeteners:

Natural sweeteners have the same sweetening effect on bitter foods but without the risk of excessive use as in the case of regular sugar. Due to the higher sweetening index, you tend to use lesser quantities of natural sweeteners than regular sugars to achieve the same sweetening effect.

8. Shift to Naturally Sweet Treats:

Cupcakes, pastries, ice creams, muffins, brownies – the list itself makes the mouth watery. But have you imagined the weird effect they have on your body? These desserts cause your blood sugar levels to spike. Making you crave for more sugar, which can leave you feeling tired. Instead, substitute these sugar-filled desserts with naturally sweet ones like fresh fruit, dates, and fruit salads which have more nutritional properties and lesser quantities of sugar.

Conquering Sugar Consumption

Excessive sugar consumption hampers your bodily functions and has harmful long-term effects on your wellness and health. Reducing your sugar consumption is not as easy as it is projected to be. It requires immense dedication and control. The first step towards reducing sugar consumption is acknowledging that you are indulging in mindless sugar consumption and understanding the need to reduce the sugar intake. Once you get into the track, the rest of the steps will follow eventually. Tweaking your lifestyle little-by-little and bringing about small changes like the ones listed above will go a long way in helping you build a sugar-free, healthy diet plan.