7 Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake

Why is America the fattest country on earth? Sugar addiction!  The food industry has 56 names to disguise sugar.  The average American consumes 19.5 teaspoons of “added” sugar/day.  One sugar packet= 4 grams of sugar.  Here are 7 tips to reduce and/or eliminate added sugar

1. Be wary of foods labeled fat-free: Fat-free foods are usually loaded with sugar to compensate for no fat especially baked goods.
2. Opt for fresh fruit over dried fruit: Dehydrated fruits and sauces contain concentrated sugar and don’t fill you up as much so you eat more and in many cases, 3-5x’s the sugar.
3. Choose plain over flavored yogurt: Add your own fresh fruit or honey for sweetness which will have much less sugar. Also, watch baby yogurts which are known to be loaded with added sugar.
4. Don’t give infants juice or sweetened foods in their first year: Give babies more veggies and less fruit to train their taste buds to like less sweet foods from the beginning.
5. Cut down your weekly dessert intake: If you have dessert every night, start with cutting back to 5 nights/week. It’s easier on the body and mind to wean off the excess added sugar cravings.
6. Leave sugar out of recipes if possible: Try to either eliminate, reduce or substitute honey, agave or even maple syrup instead of processed sugars.
7. Drink water instead of sweetened beverages: Nearly two-thirds of kids in the USA ages 2-19 consume at least 1 sugar-sweetened beverage/day which includes soda, fruit drinks and energy drinks, coffees and teas.