6 Ways To Cut Down Sugar In Your Diet

One of the most prevalent elements in many of our daily meals is sugar. It is used in a wide variety of foods- like cereals, and granola, to a variety of delectable desserts. Not to forget that the cup of tea or coffee we are addicted to has a high content of sugar in it. But is this consumption healthy?

Dietician Sheena Agg warned, “Eating excess sugar is bad for health. It not only hampers your weight-loss journey but also poses other threats such as the heightened risk of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.” Additionally, she wrote, consuming too much sugar can lead to cavities, which harm teeth. As a result, cutting back on or quitting sugar consumption is a good option.

The expert mentioned, “Completely eliminating all kinds of sugary items from your diet is not the ideal way to go. You can get withdrawal symptoms, which can be very bad sometimes.” Therefore, she suggested we reduce the quantity of refined sugar in our diet, to begin with, then gradually eliminate all added sugar from our diet.

Here is a list of things we can avoid: 

1.  Avoid industrialised products like packaged candies, chocolates, biscuits, etc.
2. Choose natural dairy products like milk, curd, cheese, etc instead of dairy whiteners and cheese powders.
3. Eat enough during meals to avoid feeling hungry later on.
4. Drink enough water to counter cravings.
5. When you are buying packaged products, read the nutrition label carefully.
6. Use fruits and berries as natural sweeteners instead of sugar crystals.
7. The last point raises another set of questions concerning the sugar content of fruits.
8. The dietician addressed certain myths around this as well.

She mentioned that the consumption of sugar is often taken negatively, but the major focus is on the added sugars that are found in sweets and processed foods. This is different from the sugar we find in fruits.

Sheena explained, “When it comes to sugar, there are four main kinds: glucose, fructose, sucrose, and lactose. And they’re all different.” She suggested that natural sugar, or fructose, is the best form, and taking the other in high amounts should be avoided. The regular one that we use daily is sucrose.

According to the expert, sugar in fruits is accompanied by important minerals, vitamins, and fibre. Lastly, one should have at least two servings of fruit per day.