Sugar is linked to nearly every disease and illness on the planet from heart disease to obesity to depression. It’s inflammatory, it’s highly addictive and it offers us no benefit. It drives overeating, causes fatigue and even accelerates aging, so it’s no wonder that you want to reduce added sugar in your diet.
If you live in the southern U.S. like I do, quitting sugar will be quite the task. Nearly each time you venture out of your home, it is offered to you or your children. Sugar is at the center of most events: Muffins with Mom, Donuts with Dad, Gatorade and Oreos post game and cupcakes to celebrate testing. It’s literally everywhere all the time.
These things could be good ole fun if they happened once a month, but unfortunately, in most parts of the U.S., they happen multiple times per week. You really have to commit to not eating sugar regularly to navigate through these never-ending situations.
Did you know that Americans eat more sugar than any other country?
While it seems strange now, years ago sugar wasn’t part of every meal the way it is now. Our sugar consumption has skyrocketed and made its way into nearly every dish. When you go out to eat, it’s on your meat, in your sauce and even on your veggies.
One result of this (and ultra-processed food) is that our children now have diseases that used to only affect adults, like fatty liver and Type 2 Diabetes.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could normalize not eating sugar regularly? The food industry is hard at work though, so not consuming sugar takes a lot of strategy and work. It means not keeping treats in the house most of the time and not feeding your kids sugary snacks as part of their daily routine. It also means politely passing a lot of the time.
Personally, I like to have some healthy treats to partake in too, so I keep flavored waters in my car and dark chocolate in my purse to help in tough situations. Here are eight important ways to reduce sugar in your diet.
How to Reduce Added Sugar in Your Diet
1.) Give up Candy and Sugary Drinks for Good
Everyone has to do their own cost benefit analysis, but at this point in my life, I just don’t have room for soda or candy. These two things don’t just contain sugar, they contain highly concentrated sugar with no nutrients whatsoever.
I (along with many others who don’t realize it) am highly affected by sugar, so I a.) am unable to stop. and b.) feel awful after eating or drinking something that is straight sugar like that. Because these items contain no fiber, protein or fat and people tend to consume them quickly, they create a substantial blood sugar spike.
Because of the way they make me feel, it’s not hard for me to stay away from things like this. If you quit them for a good amount of time, I think you will feel the same. Candy and soda usually contain artificial flavors and colors, which are two other things you just don’t need in your life.
If these are your absolute favorite things, and you are able to have some and then stop (you have a superpower btw) then maybe this is your version of my chocolate cake, and you can occasionally treat yourself to some. They are just a low-hanging fruit for me, so I skip them completely.
2.) Use Half the Sugar in Recipes
Southern dessert recipes tend to contain way more sugar than necessary! You know the ones where you taste the sugar and not the actual dessert? Try cutting half the sugar in your favorite recipe chocolate chip cookie or muffin recipe. You may not even notice.
After you get used to 1/2, move the bar to 1/3. You’d be surprised at how often this works out just fine, and you are sure to feel less sluggish afterward.
Check out my favorite low-sugar chocolate chip muffin recipe that only contains about 12 grams of nutrient-dense sugar per muffin.
3.) Sweeten Foods Yourself
Along those same lines, you can easily sweeten your own coffee creamer and yogurt in ten seconds flat. When you add a splash of sweetener, it will almost always end up containing less sugar than the store-bought versions. You can also choose to use a nutrient-dense sweetener like maple syrup, dates or honey instead of sugar, which doesn’t offer any nutrients.
Another example is a box of store-brought brownies or roll of cookie dough verses homemade brownie mix or dough. If you make them yourself, you get to control how much sugar goes in them as well as eliminate the preservatives.
4.) Utilize Nutrient-Dense Sugars
Nutrient-Dense sugars are still sugars, but they offer your something in return. Honey, for example, is a good source of antioxidants and has antibacterial properties. Maple syrup is a great source of manganese, which is essential for healthy bones. It also contains zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium.
Dates contain fiber and contain potassium, magnesium, and iron. Bananas and applesauce can also used to as sweeteners in recipes. I like to think of it as getting a little benefit from my splurge.
5.) Make Your Own Sauces and Dressings
I recently realized that a vinaigrette dressing at my favorite restaurant had 25 grams of sugar per serving. Knowing what I know, I assumed it had some sugar in it, but I was expecting five grams not 25. If in doubt, look up your favorite restaurant items online. I want to save my sugar consumption for things like chocolate cake, so I stopped ordering the dressing ;).
Most sauces have tons of sugar, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, especially if you consider the small serving size. High fructose corn syrup is made from Roundup Ready Corn (yuck!), but that’s a topic for another day.
BBQ sauce, in particular, tends to be particularly high in sugar, so that’s a good one to try your hand at. You can easily make delicious salad dressings and sauces with no sugar or with small amounts of honey or maple syrup.
Some exceptions to the rule are things like mustard, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, which usually do not contain any sugar. Ketchup is often offered with 50% less sugar if you aren’t up for making your own. There are some store-bought brands that are known for low sugar content, but they usually cost a small fortune. Primal Kitchen is a popular example.
6.) Beware of Sugar Swaps
In the past, doctors advised to replace sugar with sugar-free substitutes. While many professionals have gotten away from this advice, some still follow it unfortunately. Things like Splenda and Aspartame can be just as problematic as cane sugar and were recently linked to an increased rate of cardiovascular disease.
The newer no-calorie sweetener options like stevia and erythritol are not without controversy either. While some sugar substitutes may be slightly healthier than traditional sugar, I try to focus on reducing sugar and using whole, natural substitutes when necessary.
7.) Count Sugar Grams
If you are a nerd like me, counting sugar grams can be helpful. It takes the feelings and guess work out of it. I find that I usually take in about twice as much sugar as I would have guessed. Counting grams is a way to create measurable goals for your sugar consumption.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 36 grams for men and 25 grams for women and older children. The recommendation for young children is much less or none.
While your goal will depend on where you are and what you hope to accomplish, this recommendation might be a good place to start if you are consuming more than this.
8.) Save Sugar for Truly Special Occasions
Everything can’t be a special occasion. If we have cake at every retirement party, baby shower, holiday and staff meeting then we are in trouble.
If you really want to reduce sugar in your diet and break sugar addiction, think about only having sugar at major holidays like immediate family birthdays and major holidays. This would average out to about once per month.
One of my favorite health gurus, Dr. Mark Hyman, says he has a few squares of really dark chocolate daily, a dessert made with a nutrient-dense sweetener once per week and saves full-sugar desserts for really special occasions.
I think he’s onto a good plan to still enjoy some sweets but avoid the downward spirals and diseases that come along with added sugar. I hope you will join me and try some of these ways to reduce added sugar in your diet.
