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| Reduce Sugar Intake |
High sugar intake causes a host of health problems,
including; weight gain, higher blood pressure, inflammation, diabetes, fatty
liver disease, increased risk of heart attack and stroke. When my husband and I
first got married, I never saw my husband drink water for the first four years
of our marriage. All I saw him drink was coke. Though I pleaded with him that
this was bad for his health, my pleas fell on deaf ears! Sure enough, a few
years later, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and we’ve been dealing with that
ever since.
My husband and I have now tried to find ways to drastically
reduce sugar in our diet in a quest for a healthier body.
Here are some things we have done to reduce sugar in our
diet:
1. We have Eliminated Sugary Drinks
My husband still has soda cravings, so instead of drinking
pop filled with sugar, he now uses a soda stream to make fizzy water and drinks
that include a dash of lemon or apple cider vinegar. This has reduced his sugar
intake significantly.
2. We Avoid Sugary Deserts
Opt for healthier desserts like nuts, plain yoghurt
sweetened with a bit of fruit, one serving of fruit, dark chocolate. We throw
in nuts, seeds and yoghurt in our smoothies for a fuller feeling.
3. We Make Our Sauces from Scratch.
Store-bought sauces usually have added sugar, so we make
ours from scratch. That way, we can be sure about what goes into our bodies.
4. We Have Increased Our Intake of Good Fats and
Proteins
Olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, whole milk, eggs and
full-fat yoghurt will leave you feeling fuller longer than foods with reduced
fat that are likely loaded with sugar and keep you from unnecessary snacking.
Rather than using coffee creamer, use a tablespoon of coconut oil in your
coffee and see the difference. It’s yummy, and it’s good for your health. I
also eat avocado and eggs with almost every meal. This way, I don’t need to
snack.
5. We Eat Unprocessed and Unrefined Foods
Try to cook foods from scratch and eat foods closer to their
natural state. Processed and refined foods are usually loaded with lots of
sugar and or ingredients that are unhealthy for us.
6. We Read Every Label and Check for Sugar an
Canned Foods
If you take time to read labels, you’d be shocked at what’s
included in the things we buy from the store. I wouldn’t eat anything with
names of ingredients I can’t pronounce.
7. We Avoid Processed Snacks
Instead try healthy low sugar snacks like nuts, seeds,
no-sugar-added jerky (I make my jerky myself), hard-boiled eggs( I eat two each
morning), fresh fruit( one serving daily), as fruit also contains sugar. It’s
best to limit how much we eat.
8. We Make Our Own Fruit Popsicles
Instead of buying ice
cream, make your own fruit popsicles or ice cream so you can control how much
sugar goes in there.
9. We
Have Cut Down on Starchy and Sugary Breakfast
Foods like pancakes, cereals, muffins and granola bars are
bad for you. Opt for a healthy breakfast like oatmeal and yoghurt sweetened
with fresh fruit and nuts, scrambled eggs with cheese, vegetables and avocados.
Eating a lot of protein and fibre-rich foods for breakfast will keep you
fuller, longer, and prevent you from unnecessary snacking.
What do you do to reduce your sugar intake? Please tell me
in the comments below.
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