You’ve been in a close relationship with it for a long time. It was here to feel your pain and “satisfy” your hunger forever.
That’s the reason why many people find it hard to establish a distance with sugar.
In the other hand, I think we give too much credit and big attention to the “white killer.”
Every health issue or condition circles around sugar and people just can’t quit eating it. That’s because food companies constantly use it in their products to sweeten things up. The increased quantity of sugar in our diets make us more addictive and force our body to crave for sweets.
It’s everywhere. Check the labels of all the foods in your kitchen right now. See how many of them contain sugar in all of its forms and hidden names.
The over-consumption of sugar is very famous to the public everywhere in the world. That’s why 2017 is the year when you need to increase the effort and break up with sugar once and for all.
These seven tips will help you go through the process quickly and more efficiently.
Understand Sugar
The only thing people know about sugar is that it contributes to different health conditions. That’s it.
Sugar is a refined carbohydrate and the biggest source of calories in our diet. I mentioned a couple of times that our body uses carbs as energy, but the excessive amount that’s left unused is stored as fat in our liver and belly.
According to the World Health Organization, we need 5% of our daily calories to come from free sugars.
*Free sugars are those added to products or concentrated in there.
The amount for a grown man equals to roughly 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of sugar. For women, it’s less.
Consuming more means exposing yourself to health problems.
Ditch the Soft Drinks
First of all, there is nothing “soft” in these drinks. A single bottle contains approximately 16 teaspoons of sugar. That’s over 64 grams of sugar. These soft drinks include energy drinks with added sugars, flavored milk, carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, and juices.
They are a great starting point if you want 2017 to be a healthier year.
Here is the catch.
Our brain might be smart, but it tolerates the calories from drinks and foods differently.
Soft drinks don’t make us full. Instead, it makes us hungrier. The calories are there, and on top of that, you take foods that’s also loaded with calories.
Eat Fruit, Not Juice
Fruit sugars are not a challenge to our health when they are wrapped in a skin or peel. They are the nature’s way to make us eat more fruit.
These fruits, especially apples, oranges, and pears, contain essential fibers which are healthy in many ways.
Let’s do a test. Drink a glass of freshly squeezed juice from seven apples. The other day, same time, same hunger, eat seven apples.
What’s harder to do?
Exactly.
Eating the fruit as a whole make you feel more satisfied. It slows down the release of carbs into your blood stream allowing the body to use the energy efficiently and appropriately. According to scientists, this reduces the chances of weight gain and diabetes.
On the other hand, when you juice the fruits they are losing valuable vitamins and fibers. But, you don’t lose the 21 grams of sugar in each glass.
Be Aware of its Different Names
As you know, companies are smart. They found a way to hide the sugar in its purest form. They are using names like invert sugar, molasses, corn syrup, malt sugar, evaporated cane juice, golden syrup, fruit juice concentrate, dextrose, and more.
Check out this list:
Eat Whole Foods
The dressings, sauces, gravies, savory biscuits and breakfast cereals are foods with a hidden form of sugar. There are more of these foods, but you are going to find them if you read the labels.
According to a study, 74% of packaged foods in every regular supermarket in the US contain added sugars.
That’s why some foods in the market are different than the foods from your garden. They are made sweeter to make you addicted to them.
See Outside of the Box
Products full with sugar, like energy bars or breakfast cereals, are labeled as healthy and natural. However, they are here to seduce us to buy them.
Be careful. Make sure you go through the ingredients and nutrition labeling when possible. Don’t buy something without these labels.
Be Okay with It Sometimes
Hey, it’s not a sin. You are still a part of the living world. Enjoy the sugar in moderation. Don’t sweat it about a late-night chocolate, or a nice piece of apple pie.
When you break up with sugar once and for all, you are going to be able to control it. That’s how you achieve many great things for your health and staying fit.
Be okay with it sometimes. Release your soul and go with your intentions to drink an average can of cola. A minute after that, get back on track and move on.
That’s what sugar is all about. It’s a problem we don’t want to solve. However, 2017 is different, and that’s why you need to make a distance from it just to see the benefits.
After that, it’s easy to do anything with it.
Source: Huffington Post
