How do I Reduce my Daily Sugar Intake?

There are many ways to reduce your daily sugar intake. One way is to read food labels and avoid those that have added sugar. You may also reduce your sugar intake by choosing naturally sweet foods such as fruit over unhealthy choices such as cookies. Gradually cutting back on the amount of sugar you add to food may help as well. Additionally, you may consider using artificial sweeteners in your food and drinks.

One of the best ways to reduce your daily sugar intake is to read the ingredient labels on the foods you purchase. Many prepared and junk foods have added sugar, so avoiding these foods is a step in the right direction. It is important to keep in mind, however, that these products may have sugar in them, even if the word sugar isn't on the ingredient list. Instead, the label may list fructose, lactose, sucrose, glucose, or dextrose, which are all types of sugar. If an ingredient list includes corn syrup or maltose, this also means the food product contains sugar.

You may have trouble lowering your intake of sugar if you crave sweets on a regular basis. You may, however, deal with this by choosing healthy sweets. For example, you may substitute fruit for cupcakes and sweeten your tea with honey rather than refined sugar. It is important to keep in mind, however, that these foods do contain sugar. This type of sugar is healthy, however, and less likely to contribute to health problems than refined sugar.

Reducing your daily sugar intake may also prove easier if you slowly wean yourself from it. For example, if you usually put 3 teaspoons (about 14.78 milliliters) of sugar in your tea, you may try cutting back to 2 teaspoons (about 9.85 milliliters) at first and then continue reducing. You may try this gradual reduction with other consumables as well. For instance, you may find that your favorite cookies are still tempting if you bake them with less sugar.

You may also take steps to reduce your daily sugar intake by choosing reduced-sugar foods. You may, for example, choose ice cream that does not have any sugar added or reduced-sugar breakfast cereal. In fact, many grocery stores carry a host of reduced-sugar items. Adding cinnamon or vanilla to foods that have reduced amounts of sugar may, in some cases, help to disguise the change in taste.

Artificial sweeteners may also help you to reduce your daily sugar intake. For instance, you may purchase cookies and soda made with artificial sweeteners. You can also purchase artificial sweeteners to use in your own cooking. For example, you may use an artificial sweetener in your coffee as well as when you bake a cake at home.