How to Kick the Sugar Habit

One of the most common complaints I hear from clients is that they just can’t control their sweet tooth. Though many of us want to lower our sugar intake, it’s hard to conquer those sugary cravings.

From dealing with my own sweet cravings, as well as those of my clients, I’ve devised a strategy for reducing the urge to eat sweets and gradually eliminate excess sugar from meals and snacks. Warning: this is not easy! But if you stick to the plan, you’ll find that you’ll be able to jettison many empty calories from your diet.

Here’s your step-by-step guide:

1.   Say goodbye to sugary beverages.

Sodas and other sweetened beverages provide about half of all the added sugar in the typical American diet. So if your day is filled with soda, sugary tea, coffee or energy drinks, this is the first place to cut back. Quitting your favorite soda can be hard, but many people find that keeping the ‘fizz’ without the sweetness can help.  Swap sweetened (including artificially sweetened) beverages for no-calorie sparkling or seltzer water. For flavor add a twist of lemon, orange or lime. If you’re a sweet coffee or tea fanatic, cut the amount of sugar you use by half each week, until you are down to 1 teaspoon or less per beverage.

2.  Nix sugar substitutes.

Perhaps you’re tempted to slash calories by switching to an artificial sweetener. Not so fast! Research indicates that sugar substitutes may not help with weight loss. What’s more, studies show that artificial sweeteners, precisely because they are sweet (even sweeter than regular sugar!), may encourage sugar cravings and sugar dependence. Reset your palate by eliminating sugar substitutes.

3.   Eat mindfully.

When the urge to grab that doughnut or chocolate bar hits, take a moment to “check in” with your feelings. Are you really hungry? Stressed? By staying in tune with what’s really behind your cravings, you can gradually take control. Sometimes a break from work, a short walk, or a chat with a friend can soothe the need for sweets.  When you do eat, do so without distraction. By turning our attention inward when we eat (that is, not toward the television, computer, or phone), we can experience the true intensity and pleasure of food.

4.   Know sugar when you see it.

Always read the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient list for packaged foods and beverages. If “sugars” on the label are more than 8 grams, go directly to the ingredient list and if you see a form of added sugars there, put the product back on the shelf. If there is no sugar in the ingredient list, it means that the food or beverage contains natural sugars; we don’t worry about them because your body processes them differently than added sugars. (See #5 below)

Common cues that equal added sugar in ingredient lists include sucrose, dextrose, sorbitol, mannitol, honey, agave, dextrin, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup and any other syrup.  For the most part, if there is an “-ose,” or “-ols” it means it’s a sugar. Sucralose is a sugar substitute.

5.   Go “natural”.

If you’re fretting that a life without added sugar will lose its luster, you needn’t worry. Naturally occurring sugars found in fresh and dried fruit, plain yogurt, whole grains and even roasted veggies are still on the menu. That’s because these foods (unlike candy and other goodies) provide important nutrients like protein, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber – you’ll be hard-pressed to find any of these nutrients in candy, cookies and soft drinks. Plus, fiber and protein take longer to digest, causing a less dramatic spike in blood sugar. They also make you feel fuller for longer. As you give added sugar the boot, make sure you’re incorporating servings of fruit, veggies and plain yogurt into your diet.

Want more healthy insights, recipes, videos or articles like this? Join us to receive 'inspiration in your inbox'- http://tiny.cc/join-me

Like us on Facebook too!  



Further reading:
The Truth About Sugar Addiction
Sugars and Sweeteners Quiz: Test Your Sugar Smarts
Video: Natural vs Added Sugars

By Katherine Brooking, MS, RD

Sugar - A BIG Problem In Packaged Foods

Natural Health News – A shocking new analysis from Canada shows how ubiquitous added sugar is in processed and packaged foods.

The researchers analysed of over 40,000 commonly available packaged foods and beverages and found that 66% – including some infant formulas and baby food products and many so-called ‘healthier’ foods such as yogurt, juice, breakfast cereals, and snack bars – have at least one type of added sugar in their ingredients list.

“People may be surprised to learn how many packaged foods and beverages have sugars added to them, especially foods that most would consider ‘healthier,'” says Dr. Erin Hobin, a scientist in Public Health Ontario’s health promotion, chronic disease and injury prevention division and an author on the paper.”

Added sugars were highest in the expected food products such as candy, sweet bakery products and soda pop. But we also found that the majority of products frequently marketed as ‘healthy’ options, like granola bars or yogurt, also listed added sugars in their ingredients. In addition, almost half of all infant formulas and baby food we studied listed added sugars as part of their ingredients.”


Many types of sugar

Writing in the journal CMAJ Open, the researchers from Public Health Ontario (PHO) and the University of Waterloo say they searched for 30 different added sugar terms – everything from ‘sugar’ to dextrose, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose and fruit juice concentrate.

The term ‘added sugars’ was defined as all sugars added to foods by the manufacturer plus the sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. These naturally-occurring sugars are considered ‘added sugars’ in this study because fibre slows down the absorption of sugar, and the fibre is removed during processing (e.g., fruit juices) or is never present in these types of foods (e.g., honey).

Excluded from the analysis were fresh fruits or vegetables, fresh meat, raw ingredients (water, baking ingredients, coffee, tea, fats and oils, etc.) and non-food items (such as natural health products or nutrition and protein supplements).

Most of them ‘hidden’

The variety of names for added sugars makes them particularity difficult to spot for all but the most dedicated label readers. Hiding them in plain sight, behind an alphabet soup of different names means many of us never really know how much added sugar is in our food.

And yet, added sugars are particularly concerning because they tend to be consumed in much larger quantities than naturally-occurring sugars found in foods such as bananas or a glass of milk. Added sugars can also be added to foods and beverages that normally contain little, if any, sugars.

Eating and drinking excess amounts of sugars are associated with a variety of health problems.

A snapshot of the sugar problem

For Canadians the survey  provides a baseline snapshot of the added sugars in packaged products commonly found in grocery stores. But, because many of the foods surveyed are produced by multinational corporations selling products all over the world, the study also gives an hint of what the added sugar picture looks like in other developed countries as well.

A number of health organisations including the World Health Organization, United States Dietary Guidelines Committee, the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada have all recently recommended limiting intakes of added sugars to a maximum of 5-10% of daily calories consumed. Many of us consume more than that.

“The number of products that contained added sugars was surprisingly high, particularly for beverages and baby foods,” says Dr. David Hammond, of the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health and Health Systems and senior author on the research paper.

“At the moment, it is very difficult for consumers to identify the presence of added sugars using nutrition labels and impossible to identify amounts of added sugars in packaged foods. Health Canada recently proposed changes to nutrition labelling, which may include ‘traffic lights’ for high sugar labels on the front of packs, to help consumers to identify and avoid foods high in added sugars.”