Sugar, sugar, sugar! While sugar is great for making sweet treats and killing that craving, eating too much sugar is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Not only does excessive sugar consumption make you gain weight like crazy but it also has many other detrimental effects. Too much sugar increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes, accelerates your skin’s aging process, has a terrible impact on your dental health and increases the risk of developing gout.
All in all too much sugar is extremely bad for you! So how do you go about living sugar free? Here are some helpful tips to help reduce your sugar intake and lead a healthier ( and happier) life.
Check your labels
Sugar is added to almost all processed food so be sure to read the labels on a product before you buy it. As a general rule food that is high in sugar contains 22.5g or more of total sugar per 100g whereas products that are low in sugar only contain 5g or less of total sugar per 100g.
There are lots of different ways added sugar can be listed on ingredients labels so these are the terms you should watch out for:
- sucrose
- glucose
- fructose
- maltose
- fruit juice
- molasses
- hydrolysed starch
- invert sugar
- corn syrup
Cut out the sugary drinks
So many popular soft drinks contain a crazy amount of sugar, in fact soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and fruit drinks can contribute up to an astounding 44% of the sugar in your diet. Think of how much sugar you are consuming in just one soft drink! Since our bodies do not recognize calories from drinks in the same way it does from food, drinks will not make you feel as full, so people who consume lots of calories from drinks end up eating just as much food as they normally would despite all those extra calories.
Avoiding sugary drinks will drastically reduce your sugar intake, help you lose weight and improve your overall health. When choosing your beverages rather go for one of these better, lower-sugar drink options:
- Water: It’s free and has zero calories. Sparkling water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime.
- Water with mint and cucumber: Amazingly refreshing in warm weather.
- Herbal or fruit teas: Drink them hot or cold with ice.
- Tea and coffee: Stick to unsweetened tea or flat white coffee.
Avoid sugary sauces
While it seems like a savoury sauce would be naturally sugar free, for the most part they are not. Sauces such as tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and sweet chili sauce are found in most kitchens, however you probably aren’t aware of their shockingly high sugar content. One tablespoon of tomato sauce may contain up to 4g of sugar. If you want to add some flavour to your food try one of these low to sugar free options:
Fresh or dried herbs and spices.
- Fresh chili will give your food a sugar-free kick.
- Yellow mustard: Tasty and contains virtually no sugar or calories.
- Vinegar. Some balsamic vinegars and creams may contain sugar so be sure to read the label.
- Pesto, I even have a recipe so that you can make pesto at home: Fresh basil pesto recipe
Eat whole foods.
When we speak about whole foods what we mean is foods that have not been processed or refined. They are also free of additives and other artificial substances. At the other end are ultra-processed foods. These are prepared foods that contain salt, sugar and fats, but also substances not usually used in home cooking.
While lightly processed foods, such as bread and cheese, only have minimal ingredients added, all of which you might find in a standard kitchen, ultra-processed foods are stuffed full of sugars and unnatural ingredients like emulsifiers, colourants and preservatives. And it’s not just junk food that is ultra-processed, try to avoid foods like:
- soft drinks
- chips
- chocolate
- ice-cream
- sweetened breakfast cereals
- packaged soups
- chicken nuggets
- hotdogs
Try to cook from scratch when possible so you can avoid added sugars. You don’t have to cook elaborate meals – just try marinating meat and fish in herbs, spices and olive oil before cooking to get delicious results.
I really hope that this article helps you to be more conscious of how much sugar you are putting in your body and inspires you to lead a healthier and sugar free life. Bon Appetit’!
