- Do you eat too much sugar?
- Looking for ways to remove sugar from your diet?
- What should you use instead of sugar?
We average 130 pounds of sugar per person in the U.S. The question is, why do we eat sugary foods and drinks when we know it’s bad for us? Is it in our nature? Or is it because our brain releases dopamine when we eat something sweet?
Because I don’t eat sweetened foods a lot, I can feel that effect dramatically at times. When I do eat it, I feel slightly euphoric. I feel great – until I became sick the next day. The problem is that you can’t stay euphoric. While I was able to feel those happy hormones racing in my system because I hadn’t had much in the way of added sweeteners for a while, I would have had to start eating more and more sugar to get that same response. In other words, sugar is really addicting.
I much prefer the glow of good health to the momentary response you get from sugar. If you do, too, here are some tips for kicking the refined sugar habit if you’d like to explore that possibility:
1. Get properly motivated
You have to get your head ‘there’. Psych yourself up. Think about all the reasons you want to do it. Make a list, so you can look at it if you start to lose your motivation.
2. Stop drinking any form of soda pop and other sweetened drinks
The amount of sweetener in any type of soft drink is very high. A 12-ounce can contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. If you can drop the soft drinks, you will instantly reduce your sugar habit significantly. Another obvious food item to eliminate is candy. Just don’t go for the “sugar-free” options, unless it is stevia sweetened, as these sweetners are toxic in other ways.
3. Don’t eat or buy packaged foods
Even organic packaged foods often contain significant amounts of sugar. While many of them are preferable to their non-organic counterparts, the sugar content is something to be aware of. Don’t keep these foods at home, otherwise you may find them too hard to resist. Make your own snacks at home like homemade popcorn (not microwave, but stovetop popcorn), or eat fruit or vegetables for a snack. Eat hot cereal, or eggs and toast for breakfast. You will save money and be healthier!
4. Make wise choices when eating out
That salad you had at the restaurant? The dressing was full of sugar as well as unhealthy fats. Sugar is hidden in many dishes at restaurants, and their desserts can be tempting. If you are eating out, make sure you stick with dishes like grilled meats and roasted vegetables that aren’t as likely to be full of sugar.
Sneak your own homemade dressing to restaurants and enjoy a lovely salad, sugar-free. A quick recipe for salad dressing: 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2-4 teaspoons brown mustard, 1-2 finely minced garlic cloves, 3/4 teaspoon unrefined salt. Give it a shake in a jar and you are set to go.
5. Eat a well-rounded diet, especially concentrating on protein and vegetables
It’s amazing how much better I feel when I am eating plenty of protein and vegetables. I also don’t crave sugar when I am eating well. But it takes conscious effort to make it happen. Simply removing sugar can help improve your health, but for good health you need to fill up on good-for-you foods. Eating regular, hearty meals will ensure that you don’t eat a donut or cookie while you’re out, or reach into a co-worker’s candy jar out of hunger.
Buy a new cookbook that focuses on healthy, delicious recipes, or start following the many healthy food blogs out there. Get inspired and start collecting doable but delicious healthy recipes.
6. Challenge yourself to go completely “sugar-free” for two weeks
Sometimes when you simply try to “reduce” your sugar consumption, you end up eating only slightly less than where you started. Go completely sugar-free for two weeks and you will have started resetting your taste buds and gaining a lot of self-control.
7. Get a friend who is interested in reducing or eliminating sugar to join forces with you
It could be a spouse, a walking partner, or a co-worker. If you have someone who has the same goal as you, shares healthy recipes, and exchanges food/meals, it can make it much more enjoyable and doable. If you can’t find someone in “real life,” then find an online friend.
8. Deal with cravings
After a couple of days have gone by without eating any sugary foods, your craving for sugar should be reduced. The mineral chromium helps keep blood sugar level stable, but it gets used up by a high-carb diet. Putting more back into your body as a supplement restores blood sugar stability. It also eases the cravings for carbs that erupt during blood sugar drops….. Glutamine is an amino acid that your brain can use as an emergency substitute fuel when you haven’t eaten recently or have been eating too many carbs and your blood sugar level is too low. This glucose stand-in stops the impulse to run to the candy machine when it’s low blood sugar time. L-glutamine can stop carb cravings and get you feeling steady and even within 10 minutes (less if you open a capsule and place the contents under your tongue.
Just make sure you take proper amounts of the above supplements and ask your health care provider about supplements before taking them.
9. Go have fun!
As long as you have food in your stomach, life is not all about what you can and cannot eat. Take a walk and enjoy nature, go to the park with your kids, read a good book. In other words, enjoy life. Really, you can enjoy it without sugar. I promise.
10. Enjoy beautiful food without sugar
Along the same lines, there is no need to mourn the loss of sweets when there is such beautiful food to eat. Make hearty stews and soups, roast a chicken, make a beautiful main dish salad, roast squash, toast nuts, and enjoy a good unsweetened yogurt. There are so many amazing foods to enjoy — so enjoy them. Don’t feel deprived, simply enjoy different foods.
11. Use the 2 teaspoons of sugar rule
If you find it too hard to go completely sweet-free, start using unrefined sweeteners at home, such as pure maple syrup, raw honey or coconut sugar. These sugars have minerals and vitamins intact, making them less stressful on the body. They also are less addicting and some, like coconut sugar, don’t raise blood sugar very much. Stevia is an excellent choice for those wanting something sweet without calories or any rise in blood sugar. So, if you find it unappealing to live a completely sweetener-free life, enjoy a bit of raw honey and butter on toast, or a bit of honey in a cup of tea. Drizzle pure maple syrup into unsweetened yogurt and top with berries, or lightly sweeten a muffin recipe without guilt.
12. Pass it on to the next generation
Part of the reason adults find it hard to let go of sugar is because they got addicted and used to it at an early age. If you have children, start them on the right food with a low-sugar diet. They will thank you later.