SUGAR HABIT: LEARN TO SAY NO

Are you addicted to sugar? If you think you are, you most likely have an addiction to this ‘sweet poison.’ Some signs of sugar addiction are you crave sugar, lose control, and eat more than planned.

Sugar is seen as a reward, which makes people want more of it. If you eat a lot of sugar, your reinforcing that reward, which can make it tough to break the habit.

Sugars are considered simple carbohydrates, which means they turn into glucose in the bloodstream at a fast pace causing blood sugar levels to spike. This is the burst of energy you may feel after eating a candy bar. Unfortunately, the high is followed by a quick decrease in energy and a sense of exhaustion.

KICK THE HABIT

To kick the sugar habit, many people consider doing a sugar detox diet, which completely wipes out the sugar in ones diet to recharge the body and mind. For some, this may work but others, this may leave them with strong cravings and most likely fall back on eating sugar.

One way to kick the habit is to retrain your tastebuds. You have to have your tastebuds not crave the sweets. Do this by eliminating a common sweet in our diet. Add less sugar in your diet (i.e. less sugar in your coffee). Overtime, you will find that you do not crave the sugar as you did before.

Choose good for you sweets to kick the habit. This includes fruit such as smoothies or fruit puree to oatmeal. Fresh berries are a great way to enjoy the sweet without the added calories.

Making small and manageable changes to your daily diet is the most effective way to reach your goal kicking the sugar habit. Add more fruits and vegetables, drink more water, and pass on desserts after every meal. Check the food labels too. Sugar has many names so it will take some practice and work to kick the habit. Cut out a little sugar each week and overtime you will be
surprised at how much you DON’T miss sugar!

Did you know that there are over 40 different types of sugars used in processed foods?!?

MAJOR SOURCES OF ADDED SUGARS:

• Regular soft drinks
• Sugars
• Candy
• Cakes
• Cookes
• Pies
• Fruit Drinks (fruitades and fruitpunch)
• Dairy desserts and milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, sweetened milk)
• Other grains (cinnamon toast and honey-nut waffles)

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS JUST RIGHT?

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance. For most American women, that’s no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar. For men, it’s 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons.
On the Nutrition Facts panel, the line for sugars contains both the natural and added types as total grams of sugar. There are four calories in each gram, so if a product has 15 grams of sugar per serving, that’s 60 calories just from the sugar alone, not counting the other ingredients.

TIPS TO KICK THE HABIT

  • Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by 1/2 and wean down from there, or consider using an artificial sweetener.
  • Purchase sugar-free or low-calorie beverages.
  • Buy fresh fruits or fruits canned in water or natural juice. Avoid fruit canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup.
  • Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, add fresh fruit (try bananas, cherries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots).
  • When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar called for in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often you won’t notice the difference.
  • Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts such as almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.
  • Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar; try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
  • Substitute unsweetened applesauce for sugar in recipes (use equal amounts).
  • Try non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose or saccharin in moderation. Non-nutritive sweeteners may be a way to satisfy your sweet tooth without adding more calories to your diet. The FDA has determined that non-nutritive sweeteners are safe.

Dishin’ Out Healthy – Health Educator: Nichelle

The first wealth is health. – Ralph Waldo Emerson