Five ways to cut down your sugar intake
While science has found and concluded that a limited intake of sugar (especially naturally occurring ones) is mostly fine for you, excess of sweetness could be detrimental for your health. Eating too much sugar can contribute to health issues such as tooth decay, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, among others. Here are some benefits and ways of cutting down your sugar intake.
But first, why should you lower down your sugar consumption?
Here's why you should lower down the sugar content in your daily diet: 1) It can help you shed unwanted weight. 2) It can considerably reduce your risk of developing diabetes. 3) Excess sugar consumption makes you lethargic. Hence, cutting down on it will improve your general energy level. 4) It will improve heart health. 5) It will also improve your skin health.
Swap table sugar with healthier alternatives
As it goes through endless levels of processing, table sugar is not only devoid of nutritional value, but it also leads to unwarranted weight gain. And, while it is tough to eliminate it completely from your diet, you can switch to healthier alternatives. Some of the best, natural alternatives to sugar are jaggery, honey, rock sugar, date sugar, and coconut sugar, among others.
Eat more whole foods
Processed and packaged foods are typically filled with artificial sweeteners, color and other additives. On the other hand, natural and whole foods (such as fruit, veggies, grains, legumes) are free from processing, and thus don't contain any artificial sugars or additives. So, try and include more and more of whole foods in your daily diet, to cut back on your sugar consumption.
Say goodbye to sugar-filled drinks
Don't just pay attention to the sugar in your foods. It is also equally important to reduce your intake of sugar-loaded drinks, if you are looking to cut back on sugar. Let go of excessively sugary drinks from your daily diet. They include sodas, colas, energy/sports drinks, etc. Instead, go for healthy, low-sugar drinks such as natural fruit juice and unsweetened tea and coffee.
Read labels; Plan your meals
Read labels: Sugar comes in many forms such as cane sugar, coconut sugar, rice syrup, honey etc. So, check for such ingredients in your food products, before buying them. Plan your meals: When you do not plan your meals, you are more likely to grab on fast food and processed food (which are loaded with sugars). Hence, plan your meals in advance. Stay healthy!
