5 Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake – Part 2 of Blog Series

August 17, 2016

In our last blog, we discussed naturally occurring sugar vs. added sugar and how much you should actually be taking into your body on a daily basis. If you haven’t yet read it, it’s a great place to start! This blog may have been eye-opening for many that there is a danger in sugar and it is hiding everywhere. As consumers, it’s important to be aware of what you are buying and putting in your body. And, now that you know, you can make the necessary changes for living a healthy lifestyle. To continue on the theme of sugar, we’re going to talk about ways to reduce your sugar intake. Whether you are always health-conscious or looking to make a change, a few tips that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle will make a big difference.

Drink Water

Added sugar tends to show up A LOT in drinks. Harvard School of Public Health says that half of your daily fluid intake should come from water and recommends that only 10% of your daily caloric intake should come from beverages (Click here to see their full reference guide and recommendations). In this case, think past the traditional soda and juice, but be wary of any drink that you consume such as iced teas, coffee drinks, energy drinks, smoothies, chocolate milk, mixed alcoholic drinks and more – even if they promote themselves as “organic” or “low-sugar”, read your labels. When you order drinks while you’re out, always always go unsweetened or find flavor in other varieties, like Polar Seltzer. You may be surprised at the flavor you enjoy!

Understand Names of Hidden Sugar

When you read food labels, it may look like sugar’s not there, but it could be hiding under one of many sneaky names. Some common names for sugar includes high fructose corn syrup, dried cane syrup, invert sugar, molasses, sucrose (or any word ending in “-ose”), brown rice syrup, honey, and maple syrup. Beware. Now you know!

DIY

Don’t buy what you can make yourself even better. For example, store marinades are PACKED with sugar. You can easily and quickly make your own with fresh herbs and spices. Take a look at items like mayo, ketchup, BBQ, Tomato Sauce, salad dressings, etc. You may find that you’re saving time, money and sugar by going DIY.

Add Flavor

Sugar doesn’t necessarily add flavor – in fact, it masks the natural flavors in many of your foods and drinks. Try adding flavor other ways such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sage, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, etc. There are a million different naturally occurring flavors to add and your taste buds and your body will thank you!

Go UnSweet

When you’re at the grocery store, look closely at the products. Many varieties have an “unsweetened” version….from applesauce, milks, oatmeal, nut butters, dried and canned fruit, and one of our favorite products, Peeled Organic Dried Mango! By making this simple switch, you’ll reduce your sugar intake on a daily basis and no one will be the wiser!

So, there you go. Try out a few of these and let us know how it’s going! And, if you have more ideas to reduce your sugar intake, please send us a quick note. We’d love to hear from you.

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