Cutting sugar intake is important for a healthy lifestyle, especially if you are prediabetic, diabetic, overweight, or spend extended time, sitting, for your profession. The empty calories from added sugars in desserts, some drinks, and candy can lead to weight gain, spikes in blood glucose levels, and weaken the immune system.
Delhi’s leading Nutritionist Avni Kaul shares that sugar cuts generally need a deliberate measure and involve strong willpower, because Sugar is Super Addictive. In fact, sugar can be called synonymous with pleasure. When you consume sugar, dopamine is released in the brain which gives you a pleasurable feeling. Eventually, your brain starts searching for more foods that release dopamine, leading to an addiction of sorts. With the continuous demand for dopamine by the brain, one tends to feel like consuming sugar again and again.
Nutritionist Avni Kaul today shares some special tips that can help you and your family to cut your sugar intake.
- Start reducing table sugar intake
Stop keeping sugar on your dining table and discourage yourself and your family members to add extra sugar to milk, coffee, or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there. Try to consider the usage of crushed jaggery (Gur) which is healthier than sugar.
- Be careful of Sweetened drinks
Limit the intake of sweet drinks and soda at home. Discuss with your family members and especially the kids, the adverse side effects of commercially produced sweets and soda drinks. Tell them how these drinks laced with artificial sweeteners spike sugar level in the body and how such a spike in sugar level imbalances body metabolism. Also, tell your family members how they can identify the sugar quantity in drinks and foods by reading their labels. Instead of readymade sweetened juices, opt for homemade juices if one is really craving for them. Fruit juices made at home from oranges, mango, apples, and pineapples are great alternatives.
Note: Sometimes sweetened drinks use different names and try to hide sugar in plain sight. Hence look for these names in food labels that generally refer to sugar like – high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, glucose, lactose, maltose, dextrose, malt syrup, molasses, and agave nectar.
Such steps will help you and your family to overcome the habit of taking sodas and artificially sweetened drinks.
- Controlling Food Craving with Healthy Snacks
When we experience high-stress levels, we experience a higher likelihood of picking up high-sugar and high-fat foods. However, that doesn’t mean that such cravings cannot be controlled.
When you experience food craving, opt for a salad, sweet-salty chaat made with chopped onion, tomato with puffed rice (Murmura), peanuts, or even a seasonal fruit rather than consuming ice-creams, sweet shakes, fast food or bakery items.
If you feel a strong craving for sweetened foods, then eat fresh fruits like apples, bananas, grapes, guavas or dried fruits like dried apples, coconut, raisins, or dates.
P.S. In case you are diabetic please, consult a qualified nutritionist regarding the consumption of fruits and juices.
