Many of us know that sugar isn't good for our body. From our gut health, hormones, heart health to autoimmune disease, we know refined sugar causes inflammation in the body. There are likely entire books written on this topic and even though I love to educate people about why sugar is bad for them, I want to give an inside look on where the sugar in our diet is coming from and how to reduce our intake!
I think most people underestimate the amount of sugar they actually consume. Why? Simply because we don't know where it is hiding in our food. We aren't intentionally sprinkling a little sugar on our breakfast and salad every day, but it is already in these foods. Both fast foods and products from the grocery store. It is everywhere!
(Heart & Stroke recommends you consume no more than 10% total calories per day from added sugars, and ideally less than 5%; that is, for an average 2,000 calorie-a-day diet, 10% is about 48 grams (or 12 teaspoons) of added sugars).
Let's start with breakfast. If you eat cereal, chances are there are at least 10g of sugar in your bowl. That is without milk or almond milk, when we add the unsweetened version of any milk which totals to about 8-10g as well. Then we have a coffee with some sugar 4-8g of sugar if we use sugar or cream (or both). So now by breakfast we have eaten 20-30g of sugar. That is the worst case scenario here, but see what we are dealing with?! Same goes with a yogurt with granola, depending on the brand that could be 15g of sugar alone.
Okay, then we have lunch. Let's eat a salad as I mentioned. We will have a nice salad with with spinach, chicken, avocado, dried cranberries and some raspberry dressing. There's added sugar in the dried cranberries and the dressing. Now if we have a sandwich, there could be sugar in the bread and in the condiments. It's literally hiding and we are so used to it that foods we don't think of as sweet are increasing our tolerance and cravings for sugar.
Dinner, can we get a break here? Most people do pretty well with dinner, until it comes to the sauces! Some sauces for stir fry and meats have up to 15g of sugar for 2 tbsp. Now you want a little ice cream for dessert? That's another 20 grams of sugar for 1/2 cup! Without even considering when we go out to eat, we have added up a lot of sugar in everyday foods. A lot of people think of sugar as only dessert, candy or chocolate, but as you can see it is hiding everywhere.
What do we do?!
Limit Dairy Products - when people start cutting back on dairy, they notice they lose weight fairly quickly. One reason is because dairy is inflammatory for most people, but the other reason is that dairy products contain a lot of added sugar. (Milk, yogurt, sauces, cheese, ice cream, chocolate, coffee cream, butter). What you can do > swap out dairy products for unsweetened nut milks, coconut yogurt (plain) and oil/vinegar based dressings.
Eat Healthy Fats - many products with added sugar are labelled "low fat," they reduce the richness and add sugar instead to make it more palatable. Not only do fats taste good, they can reduce cravings and keep us fuller for longer. Incorporate more healthy fats into snacks, meals and even desserts. Think nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut oil/milk.
Less Processed = Less Sugar - instead of grabbing cereal or pre-mixed oatmeal, eat rolled oats and add cinnamon (also helps stabilize blood sugar) & blueberries or almond butter. Avoid peanut butter unless natural because they add icing sugar to that too! You can also make sauces, dressing or marinades at home. Avoid eating out as much as possible. Once in awhile is okay, but there's even more sugar in fast food that I've mentioned in these foods.
Avoid Artificial Sweeteners - these can actually increase our cravings for sugar as they typically taste 100-400 times sweeter than sugar. Sweeteners can also be harmful to our gut health and cause digestive issues. If you want the best sugar-free, low calorie option, stevia or monk fruit is the only two I would recommend.
Eat Whole Foods - Foods in their natural state do not have refined sugar. Yes fruit and vegetables have sugar therefore can raise blood sugar, but do not carry the harmful inflammatory effects on the body. If you are transitioning from sweetened foods, honey and maple syrup are great natural alternatives when used in moderation and have some nutrients.
I hope you found this post helpful! Everyone enjoys a cake or a cookie from time to time, but we can all improve our daily intake of sugar with a few small adjustments to our daily diet to improve our overall health and well-being.
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