Why and how to cut off sugar intake for a healthy diet?

Excessive sugar intake is one of the worst things you could do to your body. Chances are you’re still consuming more added sugar than you realize from some everyday foods. It can cause several harmful health conditions which provides the best reason to cut off your sugar intake.

These includes:

• chronic inflammation
• nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• dental plaque and cavities
• prediabetes
• obesity and metabolic syndrome
• heart disease
• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• hormonal change

Reducing the amount of sugar in your diet is not as difficult as you may think. This article will show some steps where you can start the process.

Cut off the regular sugar

This is obviously the first step to take. Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee, or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there. Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts like almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.

Cut off sugar loaded beverages and desserts

Cool drinks and desserts are loaded with sugar. Prepare homemade cool drinks like smoothies and detox waters. Try to completely stop consuming any of these. Instead, go for fruits, dried fruits (in moderation), nuts, cold water with lemon/ginger extract, and herbal teas.

Read the labels

Once you regulate sugar intake from homemade food, it’s time to be careful about store-bought items. Sugar has many names and is in many different syrups and concentrates. There are at least 61 different names for sugar on food labels. Do an online research on the topic and choose wisely next time you are in a store.

Eat whole food

It’s not just junk food that contains a high amount of sugar. Common food items like bread and sauce can have them too. Try to take in more whole foods like fish, meat, grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, and eggs as they are free of additives and other artificial substances. Whole foods have not been processed or refined. They are also

Do not blindly trust “healthy” snacks

Most people know that candy and cookies contain a lot of sugar, so they may look for “healthy” snack alternatives. But snacks like granola bars, protein bars, and dried fruit can contain as much, if not more, sugar than their unhealthy rivals, such as chocolate bars. Choose home-made snacks and fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth.

More home made food

Try to cook your meal as much as you can as you may have a tendency to order unhealthy food from restaurants and online food services. Never shop while hungry to avoid future regrets.

Do not rush

Remember a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. A healthy lifestyle is not a destination but a journey. Do not stick to unrealistic diet plans as they will backfire. Cutting off sugar should be done gradually and slowly especially if you are a sweet tooth person.