When it comes to healthy living and developing a healthier lifestyle, the first suggestion is to cut down on sugar. It’s because when you’re consuming added sugar, you’re inviting empty calories to your body. Added sugar has no nutrition at all, but they have the full potential of messing with your health! Even if you consider yourself fit and healthy, cutting down on sugar will significantly improve your health. People who have a habit of consuming sugar or people with a sweet tooth might face some problems in reduce sugar, but there’s a way out for them too! Read on to know more and find out what alternatives, benefits, and tips you can use and switch to a healthier lifestyle!
Why Should You Reduce/Cut Back Sugar?
- For weight loss: The first and the most important reason is that it helps in weight loss. When you decrease or cut down your sugar intake, you see a significant change in your weight. Sugar is a high-calorie ingredient and including it in your diet means including extra kilos to your body.
- For Stable Energy Levels & Mental Health: Sugar can make a sudden drop and rise in your blood sugar levels, making you feel moody or even hungry. Also, a high-sugar diet may accentuate the symptoms of mental health problems.
- To decrease sugar-related aches and joint pains: excess or overconsumption of sugar may lead to muscle aches and joint pain. Also, people with joint pains that aren’t sugar-related should stay away from sugar as it may trigger the cause of pain.
- For A Good Oral Health & Healthy Teeth: When you stay away from sugar, you stay away from cavities. Yes! Sugar can be really bad for your oral health and can also lead to plaque formation and cavities. It can also cause gum diseases in severe cases, so it’s best to avoid sugar if you want to have shiny teeth and a healthy mouth.
How To Reduce Your Sugar Intake: Alternatives & Tips
Natural & Healthy Alternatives For Sugar:
- Stevia: Stevia is one of the most popular and very beneficial sugar substitutes. If you’re wondering what is stevia, we are here to help you! Stevia is a natural sugar substitute that comes from a plant and is almost 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. It has zero calories, and just a tiny amount of stevia can make any food sweet and delicious! It’s suitable for diabetic people.
- Honey/Maple Syrup: Using honey or maple syrup is a hundred times better than using processed sugar. Top your food/beverage/dessert with honey or include honey in it while making. It will taste as sweet without adding unnecessary calories to your food.
- Jaggery: Jaggery is known for its sweetness and rich flavor. It has a better nutritional value than refined sugar and contains many essential vitamins. The key here is to consume jaggery in moderation.
- Cinnamon: You can use cinnamon as a sugar substitute for beverages. Replace sugar with cinnamon and put it in your cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy! It’s an excellent option for people who love the cinnamon flavor. It can be considered a good diet-friendly option for people looking for weight-loss.
- Date Paste: Dates are packed with rich minerals and fiber and have a delightfully sweet taste. You can opt for date paste as a sugar alternative and live healthier easily. It’s easy to prepare date paste at home; all you need to do is blend dates, water, and vanilla extract, and voila! You can use this multipurpose date paste in smoothies, cakes, dressings etc.
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Tips on Reducing Sugar Intake Effectively:
- If you’re a dessert fan, enjoy fruit-based desserts with natural sweetness instead of cakes and cookies.
- If you’re a fan of carbonated sugary drinks, then make a shift towards club soda and slowly throw it out of your routine.
- Choose breakfast cereal and snacks that don’t contain added sugar (always check the ingredient list).
- Limit your sauce consumption. Sauces have a high amount of sugar and calories that can mess up your health.
- Enhance food flavors with spices instead of sugar. You may use cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Use sugar alternatives like honey or stevia to sweeten your meal/beverage. It’s only necessary to note stevia side effects which may lead to low blood pressure or allergic reaction in some cases.
With so many sugar alternatives and tips on cutting down on sugar, we hope it’s now easy for you to decide and proceed with motivation. Whenever you’re stuck between two products, just go through the labels and check what’s sugar-free! This way, you will be mindful about bringing and consuming foods and beverages that are sugar-free. When it comes to adding sweetness, you should always have a natural sweetener at home to fulfill your sugar cravings. Are you ready to shed kilos and look your best? We bet you are! It could be a task to say goodbye to sugar, but it will be worth it.