Helpful tips on reducing the amount of sugar in your diet

“Sugar is inflammatory, and inflammation is now believed, correctly, to be connected to all degenerative disease. Diets that are lower in sugar and processed carbs will reduce inflammation, blood sugar, insulin resistance, and triglycerides.” Dr. Jonny Bowden

Here are some helpful tips on reducing sugar in your diet.

1. Don’t add sugar to your foods. Sounds basic but eliminating adding sugar to your cereal, coffee, tea, or morning grapefruit, is the first place to start.

2. Sugar is sugar, become a food detective. Don’t be fooled by “healthy” names such as raw, brown, or turbinado. They are all fancy words for sugar.

3. Reduce processed carbohydrates. Processed carbs such as breads, bagels, crackers, and snacks, are loaded with white flour that quickly converts to sugar once it is ingested. That sugar then gets stored as triglycerides, a nice way of saying fat.

4. Stay away from “fat free” marketing. This usually means they have removed the fat (more on that later) and added loads of sugar. Read your labels!

5. Reach for low-glycemic fruits and vegetables. Load your grocery cart with lots of choices of fruits and vegetables so they are available when you are craving something sweet. Out of sight out of mind can work in your favor when it comes to wanting something sweet and making the right choice.

6. Read your labels. Look for sugar on your packaging, it’s disguised in many ways. Glucose, sucrose, maltose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup are all different forms of sugar and can be used multiple times in one product.

7. Reduce the amount of fruit juice. I have always been a fan of eating your fruit for breakfast instead of drinking it. 100% juice is a real sugar hit and should be consumed moderately. Healthy choices such as unsweetened pomegranate and cranberry are a good alternative but should also be diluted with sparkling or regular water as a refreshing but not heavy juice drink. Remember there is no better alternative to water for thirst.

8.. Don’t turn to artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners can increase cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. They can also deplete the bodies stores of chromium, a nutrient crucial for blood-sugar metabolism.