Say goodbye to sugar with these 5 tips
Here are some tips to cut back sugar from your life little by little.
White sugar on a spoon. / Photo: Unsplash – Reference image
The Woman Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez Toro
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Leer en español: Dile adiós al azúcar con estos 5 consejos
According to NHS, sugars should only contribute with 5% of the energy you get from your food or drinks, so that is about 30g a day of sugar that can be listed in many ways. Even though glucose, sucrose, maltose, honey, and others are not the same, none of them are really that good for your body.
A long time ago we used to think that fat was terrible for our bodies and even though we have to be smart while consuming it, more studies are making clear that sugar is what we should really fear.
Of course, it is almost impossible to cut back sugar from our lives, since it is present in healthy foods such as fruits. But the ones found in sugar-based carbohydrates are very problematic.
According to the Bewitchen Kitchen, the obsession with sweet and high intake of it is linked with obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. This is why we decided to write down some tips on how to cut sugar from your life little by little:
1. Avoid simple carbohydrates
These are found in pasta, bread and some other foods that turn into sugar in your system. Try to replace them with complex carbohydrates that can be found in beans and legumes that also give you the fiber you need.
2. Drink water
When you feel like eating dessert, try to drink lots of water. Water can help you reduce those cravings and after drinking it you will realize if you are really that hungry, allowing you to think further on what to eat.
Also read: Foods for osteoporosis: take care of your bones
3. Be careful with your snacks
As we said before, sometimes we only snack because we are trying to deal with anxiety or boredom. However, if you still decide to do it, be careful with what you eat. Replace biscuits, pastries or “healthy granola bars”, which have a huge amount of sweet, for fruits or vegetables.
4. Get more sleep
According to Our Path, when we feel tired we tend to consume more food since we need to get the energy that we did not get from sleep and according to the site, sleep restriction leads to higher consumption of sweet foods and desserts in teenagers. This is why going to bed earlier and getting eight hours of sleep can work if you are trying to cut back the sugar.
5. Read ingredients, not only labels
Don`t believe those labels that say “natural” or “organic”. Read the list of ingredients and make sure it does not have sugar in any of its forms or names.
