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How to Break Your Sugar Habit.

Research shows that a diet which is high in sugar is the cause of many illnesses. You can lose weight without feeling deprived by eating less sugar.

Dr. Michelle Hauser, certified chef and nutrition educator and clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School, says that, ‘the harmful effects of sugar are primarily due to the weight gain from added sugar in the foods we eat and sugar-sweetened beverages. She goes on to say, ‘most of the deaths are related to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.'

How Much Sugar can you Actually Have?

Women can have 4-5 teaspoons per day
Men, 6-7 teaspoons per day.

Sugar Aliases:

Sugar comes in many forms:

honey,
brown rice syrup,
corn syrup,
molasses,
maple syrup.

It is easy to control the amount of extra sugar you spoon onto your food however, it is sometimes hard to spot sugar hidden in pre-sweetened packaged and processed products. It is therefore very important to read food labels to know exactly how much sugar is in the foods you buy.

Break the Sugar Addiction

If you’re trying to give up sugar it is important not to eliminate all sugary foods at once. If you deny yourself, you'll tend to only crave sweets even more. "Steer yourself away from sugar and eat these foods, which are digested more slowly. They'll help to even out your blood sugar and you won't have spikes and crashes all the time," Dr. Hauser says.

Here are some suggestions to help you break the sugar habit:

1. Keep Sugary Foods Away

Don't tempt yourself by stocking high-sugar foods such as cookies and chocolates in your pantry and fridge. As a substitute for these things, keep fruit around. Dates are a great naturally sweet food and great for sweet cravings.

2 . Watch for Hidden Sugars in Foods

Be aware of hidden sugars. When companies take out the fat, they add the sugar. Avoid products that list sugar as the first ingredient.

3. Eat Breakfast

Start out your day with a filling, nutritious meal combined with protein, carbs and a healthy fat. This will give you more of a chance to fight the cravings.

‘When you get used to eating fewer super sweet things, you crave them less,’ Dr. Hauser says, ‘you become more satisfied with less sweet things.’

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References

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