We all know that too much sugar is bad for us. And most of us attempt to ditch the sugar in various ways and to various levels of success.
It’s hard to avoid, though. Sugar is in so many of our processed foods and they have at least 70 Names for Sugar, just to throw us off the trail!
Not the Sugar Police!
Sugar was not always a big part of the human diet. For most of humanity’s existence, sugar was rare and expensive. Most of the sugar people ate came from fruits. And that is how it should be. Please keep reading. I’m not the sugar police and I admit to loving sugar. And consuming it. In moderation. And I tend to (usually) select more natural sweeteners such as honey. But there’s always chocolate. It’s a food group, right?
Artificial Sweeteners – Not the answer
The food industry tries to accommodate us by coming up with artificial sweeteners. (The cynic in me would have suggested that their motives are more about their profit than the consumers’ interests.)
But, have you ever noticed that diet soda does’t really satisfy that sweet tooth? I was a diet soda junkie for years, but I still craved sugar or other processed foods. (After all, much of what is in processed foods turns to sugar inside the body.)
I gave up diet sodas in 2003 when I learned that the aspartame was contributing to my chronic migraine crisis.
Artificial sweeteners actually can cause weight gain simply because they don’t satisfy the craving. Your taste buds might be somewhat fooled. But that sweet tooth knows better. And so you seek out processed foods to satisfy it.
How to ditch the sugar and keep the sweet. #ditchSugar #happyhealthypositive Click To TweetDitch the Sugar – There is a Better Way
I’m not going to tell you to quit all sugar. It’s just not practical or sustainable. Plus I don’t want to be that ‘Do as I say, Not as I do’ person! I am going to suggest that you consider consuming less of it. And I have some suggestions to help you with that:
- Seek quality, not quantity. Plan your indulgences based on sweets you really love. For me, it almost always has to be chocolate!
- Make sweets an occasional treat, not a daily habit.
- Cut out or at least cut back on processed foods – a source of hidden sugars.
- Skip the fruit juice – it’s just concentrated sugar. Go for whole fruit instead. The fiber helps control the sugar absorption.
- Seek out naturally sweet-tasting foods to satisfy your sweet craving: cashews, carrots, sweet potatoes, cooked onions, beets.
- Read your labels, checking for hidden sugars. Download my PDF listing 70 names for sugar.
So, tell me in the comments below: Have you tried to cure your sweet tooth? What have you found helpful?
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