Sugar is our reward. You finished dinner - you get dessert. Need a pick me up? Have a quick snack. Doesn’t matter if it’s salty or sweet, your body turns it all into sugar. While we do need SOME sugar occurring naturally in our diet, as women we shouldn’t have more than 6 added teaspoons daily yet most Americans eat 19 or more teaspoons of added sugar daily. To put this into perspective – one 12 oz can of coke contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar. Each 6 teaspoons equal 100 calories. 16 little wheat thin crackers contain 4 grams of added sugar (that’s a teaspoon right there) and that’s actually the most you should allow when purchasing.
Food labels don’t always distinguish between natural and added sugars. Instead, they lump it into an amount, sometimes saying how much was added. Now go to the ingredient list and look for the other names that sugar goes by such as:
• Agave Nectar
• Brown rice syrup
• High fructose corn syrup
• Dextrose
• Evaporated cane juice
• Glucose
• Lactose
• Malt syrup
• Molasses
• Sucrose
Doesn’t matter if it’s salty or sweet, your body turns it all into sugar!
Don't forget the hidden sugars!
6 grams of sugar in a tablespoon of bbq sauce, 3 grams in a tablespoon of ketchup. Lower fat foods and dressings have more sugar. It’s everywhere!
Think you’re addicted to sugar and wondering what to do?
First of all, if you are dieting being hungry can make you crave sugar. So, load up your plate with proteins and healthy foods which will keep your blood sugar stable and reduce cravings. Also use fruit – up to three helpings a day – for a natural sugar boost. Try adding fruit to unsweetened yogurt or oatmeal or top some frozen fruit with heavy cream (whipped up with no sugar). Eat whole grains, avoid the white stuff (white bread, pasta, white rice, white potatoes, etc.), eat an apple with some peanut butter (get your fiber and protein). Drink water – dehydration can bring about sugar cravings. Exercise can help reduce that as well. Get more sleep. Don’t use artificial sweeteners as they can dull your taste buds to natural sweets like fruit.
There are many claims that if you're constantly craving sweets, you need to get more magnesium, chromium, and zinc in your diet. You may want to explore this with your doctor, although most people can take regular supplements without any side effects (except reducing carb and sugar cravings).
Find new ways to reward yourself. A side effect of reducing sugar in your life will be weight loss. All those empty calories that were putting on the pounds will go by the wayside. That’s a reward right there!
