guest post by david dAck, running specialist and fitness writer
Reducing your sugar intake is perhaps the single best thing you can do your health and well being, and here’s why.
Excess intake may contribute to tooth decay, elevated triglyceride levels, type II diabetes, and heart disease.
Whew! Are you already freaking out? That’s a lot to take in.
Don’t lose heart!
By gradually reducing the refined sugar in your daily intake, you’ll experience an almost instantaneous drop in body fat and an increase in energy levels—this means inches lost and more happiness and health!
Sound good?
Let’s do this!
Eat Lots Of Veggies
If you want to ramp up your nutrient intake, look no further than veggies. Vegetables score high on fiber, vitamins, phytochemicals, and so forth.
But they’re not all created equal. Some contain more sugar than others.
If you want to keep your sugar intake on the low, avoid the starchy variety, like peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, and lima beans.
These pack in a lot of carbohydrates, which means that consuming them may rev up your daily sugar intake and destabilize your blood sugar levels.
Instead, go non-starchy. Here’s the list you need:
- Broccoli
- Artichoke
- Cucumber
- Chayote
- Radishes
- Onions
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Squash
- Eggplant
- Salad greens
- Turnips
- Cabbage
- Okra
- Brussels sprouts
Remove Sugar From Your House
Sift through your cupboards, fridge, freeze, or any “secret compartment” and toss away all the soda, cookies, candy, pop tarts, and any other sugar-rich bites and snacks.
When you have tempting, unhealthy foods lying around, you’ll be more likely to indulge. Never rely on your willpower. Instead, set your environment in a way that helps you to succeed.
Have An Alternative
Declaring your living space, a junk food free zone isn’t enough. Instead, load up your kitchen with healthy snacks. This can not only help avoid excess sugar intake but also meet your daily nutritional needs.
Healthy bites include:
- Fruits
- Prechopped vegetables
- Low-fat yogurts
- Dried seaweed
- Cheese
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Hazelnuts
- Avocados
- Berries
- Almonds
No Sugary Drinks
According to the National Institutes of Health, the third-largest source of calories in the typical American diet comes from sweetened beverages. It’s also one of the most common sources of added sugar.
That’s why boycotting these drinks should be one of the first things to do if you want to eat less sugar.
Depending on the brand, a 12-ounce can of soda pack in about 8 to 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s about 130 to 150 calories from sugar alone and more of the suggested limit per day.
Swap it out for non-sweetened tea, black coffee, or sparkling water. Add flavor to plain water by tossing in cucumber, lemon, mint, or fruit then letting it sit overnight in the fridge.
Cut Back On Bread
Although bread is a staple item in the typical western diet, there’s a strong case against for taming on sugar, and here’s why. Typical white bread is rich in simple carbohydrates and refined sugar while low in fiber and nutrients.
Don’t take my word for it. According to research out of the University of Navarra in Spain, consuming more than four slices of white bread a day may increase your risks of becoming obese by roughly 40 percent.
Don’t try to quit it cold turkey. Start by limiting your bread intake to one slice per meal, while avoiding bread baskets at restaurant and sandwiches.
Can’t live without bread? Then learn how to bake low-carb, gluten-free, bread.
You can also substitute white bread with healthier grain options such as quinoa, barley, whole wheat, or brown rice bread.
Read The Labels
Now that you know how much sugar is bad for you don’t stop there. There are roughly 60 different aliases for added sugar in one form or the other.
To avoid gorging on it, avoid products that contain the following ingredients:
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
- High fructose corn syrup
- Lactose
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Turbinado sugar
- Molasses sucrose
- Corn sugar
- Cane sugar
- Raw sugar
- Maltose
- Corn syrup
- Brown sugar
Keep in mind, the higher up sugar appears in the label list, the more there in the product. If more than one name appears on the ingredient list, think twice about adding it to your cart—it’s undoubtedly far less healthy than you hope.
Sleep Well
Sleep debt is another major contributor to increased sugar intake.
Sleep deprivation messes up with your hormones. It decreases the release of the hormone that suppresses appetite while increasing the production of the hormone in charge of hunger.
Make proper sleep a priority and aim to get at least seven to nine hours per night.
To make that happen, sleep in a completely dark room, avoid stimulants and screens in the hours before going to bed, and get on and out of bed at the same time every day, even on weekends.
Conclusion
There you have it. The above tips cover some of the best measures you can take right away to start reducing your daily sugar intake. The rest is just details. And if you’re looking for more awesome fitness and diet tips, make sure to give Runners Blueprint a visit.
In the meantime, thank you for reading my post.
Keep eating healthy.
