While we don't need refined sugars in our diets, sometimes it almost feels like the human brain is programmed to crave sweet foods. In fact, some research suggests that sugars can exert an action on the brain comparable to that of some addictive substances, such as tobacco! Unfortunately, although they are so loved, they are also responsible for numerous diseases: tooth decay, diabetes, fatigue and obesity. Therefore, you will only benefit by reducing the sugar intake in your diet and that of the people you love.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare to Change Your Diet
Step 1. Set a consumption limit
Maybe you are convinced that sugar is present only in the recipes you prepare or in the coffee you drink every day, but in reality it is likely that you make a large consumption of it without even realizing it. Therefore, make a commitment to deliberately count how many grams of sugar you ingest each day, limiting its consumption to an amount that does not involve any health contraindications. The World Health Organization recommends not to exceed 25 grams per day, which is less than what you find in a single soft drink.
- Regulate your daily sugar intake by eating foods that contain less sugar, rather than eating a single dish rich in sugar and other foods that are free of sugar.
- Ideally, a 100g portion of food contains less than 5g of sugar.
- If a 100g serving contains more than 15g of sugar, that amount is too high to be considered healthy.
- If you still don't want to give up sugar, try some healthy alternatives, such as agave syrup, honey, coconut sugar, and so on. Natural sugars (although they are always sugars) are preferable for health.
Step 2. Calculate how much sugar you consume
If you don't want to give it up completely, create a weekly table to keep track of the quantities consumed. Decide how much sugar you can indulge in on a daily basis, bearing in mind that you shouldn't exceed 25g.
- For example, if you need a slightly sweeter coffee on Monday morning, don't hesitate to sweeten it a little more than usual. If, on the other hand, you're planning a dinner with your friends on Saturday, treat yourself to a dessert at the end of the meal.
- You have the freedom to decide whether to stick more or less rigidly to your schedule.
Step 3. Identify which sources to get the sugar you need for your livelihood
Eliminate or cut back on apparently healthy foods that actually add large amounts of sugar to your diet. Therefore, carefully examine the nutritional tables on all the products you have in your pantry to understand how many grams of sugar they contain. For example, 4 g equals one teaspoon of granulated sugar. Even the healthiest foods you consume can be surprisingly high in sugar!
- For example, a cup of packaged applesauce can contain a whopping 22g of sugar. It's like eating 5 and a half teaspoons at one time!
- Other foods that can be high in sugar are cereals, canned products, fruit juices and canned fruit, dairy products flavored with other ingredients (such as yogurt), foods that you can cook in the microwave or other ready-made meals, and fizzy drinks.
- If you can, don't consume canned or packaged products. For example, instead of sugar-rich breakfast cereals, eat oatmeal and add some fruit to make them sweeter.
Step 4. Learn to recognize and avoid sugars that come under other names
Usually in the nutritional tables there is a list of ingredients in which the presence of sugar is often indicated with another definition. Therefore, learn the different denominations so that you refrain from consuming sugary foods. Ingredients ending in -ose, such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose, dextrose, or maltose, are all variants of sugar. Here are others:
- High fructose corn syrup;
- Corn syrup;
- Molasses (cane molasses is preferable, as much of the sugar is removed in the form of crystals);
- Inverted sugar, muscovado or raw;
- Corn sweetener;
- Syrup.
Part 2 of 3: Changing the Power
Step 1. Limit your carbohydrate intake
Some people choose to completely eliminate foods rich in sugars and carbohydrates, such as rice, bread, pasta and potatoes, from their diet. If this seems like a pretty drastic measure, you can leave them in your diet, but try to eat them in moderation. This kind of food, in fact, drags you into a vicious circle that involves a strong desire for sweet foods, causing a sudden glycemic spike in the body. In these cases, the body releases a large amount of insulin to handle the rise in the blood sugar level, which subsequently collapses. As a result, the body begins to crave more sugar, restarting the cycle.
Bread, rice and pasta made from white flours are the most dangerous. You can replace simple carbohydrates with complex ones, such as sweet potatoes, quinoa and oats, whole-grain bread, rice, and pasta
Step 2. Prepare your dishes yourself
When you eat out, you can't know what ingredients are used. Instead, if you cook, you have complete control over everything you ingest. So, prepare natural dishes like vegetables, fruit, meat and grains with your own hands, and avoid canned or pre-cooked foods.
- When you go to the restaurant, don't feel uncomfortable making special requests. Try ordering a roasted steak instead of stir-fries and steamed vegetables instead of stir-fried.
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You can use an online nutrition calculator to make sure that the ingredients used in a particular dish allow you to have a balanced diet. Eating right is extremely important, so try to get all the macronutrients, taking into account the following percentages:
- 40% of the calories must come from proteins;
- another 40% from carbohydrates;
- 20% from fats.
- If you actually monitor your macronutrient intake, you may notice that the amount of protein you are taking is not enough, while that of carbohydrates and fats could be very high. Applications like My Fitness Pal help you become aware of what you bring into your body.
Step 3. Replace refined sugars with natural ones
The sugars contained in most processed foods are bad for your health, but those that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables offer numerous benefits. Replace snacks with nutrient-rich fruits, such as bananas and dates. You can do the same even when making desserts! Make a banana purée, bake some apples or a little pumpkin to sweeten cakes, ice cream or smoothies. Many varieties of fruit can be baked in the oven to make desserts. For example, try cooking an apple and add some cinnamon. You can also substitute some ingredients in your dessert, cookie and brownie recipes with applesauce to make them lighter - just check the applesauce nutrition chart to make sure it doesn't contain added sugar.
Step 4. Exclude fast food from your diet
Even the tastiest fast food foods, which don't seem particularly sweet, are often full of refined sugars. For example, a "grilled" or "roasted" chicken breast cooked in a fast food restaurant probably owes its flavor to the presence of sugar. The large chains of these restaurants try to give taste to the dishes in the fastest and cheapest way possible, using sugar as a shortcut to flavor them. Instead, choose a restaurant that spends a little more time preparing the dishes, or cook at home.
- In the United States, 3 out of 4 teaspoons of sugar are consumed through processed foods.
- Eating out is often unavoidable. It happens from time to time. In these cases, calmly and carefully examine the restaurant menu to choose the healthiest dishes. Your body will thank you.
Step 5. Avoid products that list sugar in the top 3 ingredients
The list of ingredients indicated in the nutritional tables arranges in descending order each substance present in the product itself according to its quantity. If you notice that sugar (whatever its name is) is among the top 3 ingredients, it means that its content is quite high. If the nutritional values indicate the presence of more than one type of sugar in the product, you should definitely avoid it.
- Beware of products claiming to contain natural or organic sugar substitutes. These sweeteners are still caloric, but they do not bring any kind of nutrients to your diet.
- Low-sugar products still contain them, so it's best to avoid them. Any substance used to replace classic sugar is equally harmful to health.
Step 6. Stop consuming sugary drinks
Keep in mind that, on average, a soft drink contains 9 teaspoons of sugar, while the World Health Organization recommends 6 per day. Diet sodas probably aren't high-calorie, but they're still full of artificial sweeteners that increase the risk of diabetes and obesity.
- While energy drinks can give you the boost you need to get through the day at work, they are high in sugars that could be harmful to your health.
- Sugary drinks are a fairly common pitfall in modern diets. Iced tea and sodas contain nearly half the recommended daily intake of carbohydrates and sugars. Therefore, be aware of how much sugar you take in liquid form!
- Even healthy, natural fruit juices that do not contain added sweeteners are high in fructose, a naturally sourced sugar. Sure, natural sugars are healthier, but it's always best to drink water.
Step 7. Don't skip breakfast and make sure it's healthy and balanced
A good breakfast of toast, whole grains or oatmeal soup (the so-called porridge) will give you the right boost during the day. These foods slowly release energy, so you will be less likely to crave sweet foods. In the first meal of the day, you should also have animal-based fats and proteins from eggs, bacon, sausage, and so on.
Avoid sugary grains, preferring whole grains that don't contain sugar instead. You can also try different varieties of porridge, such as amaranth or barley. Cover it with a handful of blueberries and it will be delicious
Step 8. Reduce the amount of sugar you use in the kitchen
Contrary to yeast, flour and fats, a decrease in sugar does not compromise the success of the final product, apart from taste. Instead of relying on sugar, use various spices to flavor foods, such as cinnamon and nutmeg.
- As for the cakes, add a piece of fresh fruit instead of sugar. Bananas are often ideal, especially if they are very ripe and practically unusable for anything else.
- For desserts, take advantage of the natural sweet flavor of the fruit, without adding sugar. Steamed fruit is always delicious. Season it with some spices or accompany it with a little vanilla cream (without sugar).
- To garnish the fruit salad, add a light layer of plain yogurt. Other tasty ideas are baked apples or frozen berries.
- Toasted sprouted wheat bread or bagels accompanied by fruit wedges or a thin layer of low-sugar jam can nutritiously satisfy your craving for a sweet snack.
Step 9. Replace soft and carbonated drinks with plain or flavored water
Soft drinks and sodas are one of the main causes of sugar-related obesity, so it's very important to limit this bad habit if you have one. Switching from classic to diet sodas affects calorie intake, but risks fueling the irrepressible desire for sweet foods.
- If plain water doesn't suit you, try flavoring it naturally. To give it a citrus flavor, squeeze a little lemon or an orange. Dip cucumber slices or strawberry slices into a pitcher of water to make a refreshing summer drink. You can also buy a bottle equipped with a special infuser in which to insert the pieces of fruit that will flavor the water, remaining separate.
- Unsweetened herbal teas can replace the more intense flavors you want so much.
- There are those who miss the typical effervescence of carbonated drinks. In this case you can try drinking flavored sparkling water to eliminate the consumption of sparkling drinks. You have the choice of a wide range of flavors, from lime to cucumber, but make sure they don't contain added sugar.
Step 10. Eat healthier snacks throughout the day
Foods loaded with sugars are constantly present in the daily diet in apparently harmless ways: croissant in the morning, snacks in the afternoon or dessert after dinner. They quickly build up, but remember that it's not good to munch on anything without any awareness. To feel full all day, give preference to healthier snacks consisting of carrots, celery sticks, hummus, a handful of dried fruit or an apple. However, beware of nuts: they are very caloric and high in fructose.
Part 3 of 3: Honoring the Commitment
Step 1. Get rid of all the sugar-rich foods you have around the house
Don't fall into temptation on your way. If you keep sugar-rich products in your pantry, such as cookies, soft drinks, and white bread, you will soon be reintroducing them into your diet. Over the course of the day, it's easy to be repeatedly teased by cookies and a few fizzy drinks. If you make the decision to cut back on sugar in your diet, throw away or give away any foods whose nutrition tables clearly indicate they are not healthy for your new lifestyle.
- It won't be easy to accomplish your goal if you share your home with someone or if you live with family members who have no aversion to sugar. Talk to those who live under your roof to see if they would be willing to change their diet for health reasons.
- If they don't want to reduce their sugar intake, separate your food from that of the other roommates. Choose a pantry shelf on which to store your products and promise to eat only these.
- Store your food in a completely different place, from which it will be impossible for you to see the sugar-rich products of your roommates or your children when you want to prepare a snack or cook something.
Step 2. Keep the sweet tooth at bay
The human brain is programmed to feel the desire. In fact, carbohydrates, including sugars, activate the production of serotonin in the brain, which gives a sense of calm, relaxation and well-being. When you eliminate sugar from your diet, you can find yourself facing a real withdrawal crisis, but in these cases you have the possibility to take some measures to combat the craving for sweet.
- Wait for the withdrawal crisis to pass. As with any other addictive substance, you may feel a strong craving during the first 2-3 days of completely giving up on sugar. However, if you can resist the first 72 hours, you will find that it gradually fades away.
- Eat something else. You'll likely crave something sweet when your blood sugar drops, usually if you've been on an empty stomach for several hours. Many foods, including vegetables, contain sugar, so you can remedy this imbalance without giving in to eating sweet foods.
- Distract yourself with something you like. Listen to your favorite songs, go for a nice walk or immerse yourself in an interesting business project.
- While fruit is a much healthier choice, it still contains sugar. A protein snack seasoned with fats that are not harmful to health, such as hard-boiled eggs and almonds, will allow you to curb your desire for sweet, while giving you the right boost.
- According to some studies, chewing gum can effectively counteract the craving for sweet foods. Obviously, choose the sugar-free ones!
Step 3. Don't shop when you're hungry
Don't think it's just common sense advice: it's a scientific research conclusion. People who shop when they're hungry tend to buy appetizing but unhealthy products at the supermarket. If you have a sweet tooth, you will be more likely to indulge yourself with your favorite snacks than when you are full.
- If your stomach rumbles when you need to shop, grab a snack to get by until you have a chance to sit down to eat a full meal. If 5 minutes before entering the supermarket you nibble something that does not affect your diet, you will avoid going home with bags full of unhealthy products.
- Many grocery stores offer various options whereby you can pre-order your groceries and pick them up without breaking the bank. It's a great way to keep tabs on the nutritional value of the food you consume, but also to not buy foods you don't need and save money.
Step 4. Think about the feeling of well-being you will feel next
When you cut sugar out of your diet, you will likely be prone to cravings for at least a couple of weeks. However, if you manage to overcome the initial hurdle, you will find that you feel physically healthier and in a good mood. There is a relationship between sugar consumption and the onset of fatigue, depression, anxiety, poor sleep habits, hormonal and digestive problems. While craving for that donut you saw in the pastry shop window, think about how you will feel once that craving has passed. Rest assured that, as with any other addiction, the uncontrollable craving for sweet foods will subside once the body gets used to the absence of sugar.
Step 5. Be aware of the risks associated with sugar
Taking this substance is linked to numerous health problems, many of which could prove fatal if you don't learn how to manage this consumption. Whenever you crave for sweet, remember why you made this decision: sugar causes acne, infertility, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis, vision loss, and kidney disease. Additionally, it is associated with mood swings, depression, fatigue, and memory loss. According to research, it can cause fatal heart disease even among thin people who appear to be in excellent health. Furthermore, sugars are known to be empty calories, meaning they have a calorie intake with no nutritional value. As such, they are closely related to the phenomenon of obesity, much more so than fats.
- Although the causes of diabetes are complex, type 2 diabetes is notoriously produced by the combination of a genetic predisposition and lifestyle choices, including nutrition. Sugar intake does not necessarily cause diabetes, but it does lead to a higher risk, especially if there are already cases in the family.
- While not the only cause, sugar is certainly one of the factors that greatly affect tooth decay, a disease that can cause severe pain and involve rather expensive treatments. Foods high in sugar can cause both tooth decay and gum disease.
Step 6. Give yourself a break from time to time
If you completely eliminate sugar from your life, you risk thinking about it all the time. Instead, keep its intake within the parameters recommended by the World Health Organization, which is 25 g per day. Make an exception once a week - pick a day when you think you need it and transgress. Maybe every Monday you feel the need for a rich and tasty donut to prepare you for the work week, or maybe you need to unplug with a huge tub of ice cream when you get home from work on Friday.
Many dieticians believe that if you have the ability to break the rules during a restrictive diet, you are more likely to stick with it over time
Advice
- Set your goals and stick to them. Don't make exceptions become the rule.
- When eating out, share sugary dishes with other diners. This way you can still indulge in a dessert without eating it entirely on its own.
- Read the labels of all foods. Even the most unexpected products contain added sugars: baby food, canned vegetables, potato chips. These are "hidden sugars" that cause damage to health because we take them without realizing it.
- The black pepper sprinkled on the strawberries sweetens them. There is also a plant called fennel, loved by diabetics, which has the same effect. Strange but true!
- Try using stevia, a natural sweetener popular in Japan and South America. You can find it in organic food stores, herbalists and well-stocked supermarkets. Do some research to decide whether to add it to your diet and try it to see if you like its taste.
- On average, Americans consume nearly 75 kg of refined sugars per year.
Warnings
- In addition to being careful not to overdo the sugar, you shouldn't eat too little of it either, as a lack of it could make you faint.
- Don't turn yourself into a sugar demonizing fanatic. The goal is to substantially reduce your intake, but sometimes certain foods and occasions will lead you to ingest more than usual. The key is to act in moderation and put your sugar consumption in perspective. For example, a package of sauce contains a lot of sugar, but if you use only one drop, the amount you are going to take will be really negligible.
- You should calculate your BMI, or body mass index. If you plan to go on a diet or make other changes to your diet, make sure you don't go underweight.
