 The American Heart Association currently recommends that most women should consume no more than 100 calories of additional sugar per day; and men, no more than 150. Yet the recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that Americans take in an average 355 calories of added sugar per day.
A myriad of other studies have also confirmed that too much sugar in our diets contribute to all sorts of health complications, beyond just obesity.
So it makes sense to try to curtail sugar intake. But where do you start?
Read labels
Americans eat a lot of processed food. Many of those foods have loads of added sugar. Pay attention to what you eat by reading labels carefully looking for ingredients such as molasses, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, and sorghum.
Cook with whole ingredients more
When you actually add all the ingredients as you cook, you know exactly what is in your food. Cooking from scratch yourself will help you be more mindful of what you eat. And play with spices to add pizazz, rather than always reaching for a sugary topper.
Cook in more often
Who doesn't love to eat out? But much like when you eat a lot of processed food, when you eat out your meal choices are laden with extra fat and sugar that you aren't likely to use when you cook in. And when you eat in, you will be less tempted to add dessert and coffee at the end or have a soda with your meal.
Reframe your thinking
This one seems obvious, but desserts are not a necessary food group. You don't need dessert every night. And if you just can't kick the habit, reframe your thinking. You can still have something sweet, but make it a bowl of berries or baked apples with cinnamon. It takes a while, but you can retrain your brain. Make dessert a special treat rather than a daily habit.
Ditch the soda and sugary drinks
Americans consume A LOT of sugar simply via what they drink. Much like desserts, your body does not gain anything from guzzling soda every day. Water, milk and no sugar added juices (in moderation) will suffice. Cutting down on your daily soda and Frappuccino intake can significantly cut the amount of sugar you consume.
Don't do it all at once
Sugar can be a hard habit to break. And our bodies and palates can be very used to taking in all that sugar. So change your habits a little at a time and you and your body will adjust to new routines and new tastes. Cold turkey almost never works. And it's okay to treat yourself now and then. It's all about moderation and adapting long term healthy dietary habits that you can sustain.
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