It’s SUGAR SEASON! Holiday treats are upon us – nipping at our heels and adding to our waistlines. Um, nope. HOLD UP. Not this year, let’s make informed decisions and start cutting the sugar from our diets! First: did you read my first 2 blogs on sugar? If not, please circle back and read them. Here is the link: https://kendraepstein.com/blog/. Ok, so now that we all know why we should cut down on sugar, here are a few easy ways to do it!
Some quick tips:
- 10 GRAMS: Open up your refrigerator and pantry. Start looking at the sugar content in your foods. Get rid of any food that has more than 10 grams of sugar. TEN GRAMS IS YOUR BENCHMARK. Be ruthless. You work out VERY hard. You put a LOT into your career, family, hobbies, and friendships…well, guess what – your health is the backbone of everything you care about. I know it’s tough to throw out food but the consequences of eating it are never ending. If you don’t start now, then when?
- FIRST THREE INGREDIENTS: Stop buying foods that have sugar listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. You can do this – look at the label and feel good about your decision.
- MANY NAMES AND FACES: Increase your awareness of the different forms that you now know sugar can come in – there are roughly 60 different names for sugar (I know, holy moly!). Start by checking for ingredients that end in “ose” (that is the chemical name for many types of sugar). For example; sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, lactose, and maltose.
- NON-PROCESSED IS THE GOAL: Cut out the processed foods (or at least try very hard to minimize them) and focus on eating non-processed foods with natural sugar like grains, fruit, vegetables and beans.
- GENTLE: Barley malt and rice syrup are gentle sweeteners that don’t contain fructose…enjoy cooking with these at home.
- AVOID: sugar-laden drinks (stick with green tea, herbal tea, and water…add lemon, lime, or orange to your water for flavor).
- TRICK OR TREAT: outwit your taste buds -‐ try adding cinnamon, ginger, clove or nutmeg to your
- SWEET VEGGIES: eat more vegetables that are sweet when cooked (like corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squashes, sweet potatoes and yams).
- BEAT THE CRAVING: reach for fruit with a tablespoon of peanut butter, unsweetened yogurt with a dash of honey, or make a healthy dessert like chocolate avocado pudding, banana based ice cream, or even BAKE some fruit!
Start small and be strong with sugar reduction – mostly because you have the right to insist on feeling good. Frankly, being healthy and having natural energy is our top priority. What will you do with this knowledge? I’m not saying never eat sugar again, but it should be when YOU intentionally want to consume it, as a treat — and not subtly and sneakily laced into your daily diet.
Feeling stuck on sugar? Don’t despair. If you think you need a little extra help give me a shout – I’m here to help. J kendrahepstein@gmail.com
To Your Amazing Health,
Kendra
* This information should not be seen as medical advice and is not meant to take the place of seeing a licensed health professional. You should discuss any dietary supplement use and should not discontinue any prescription medication without first consulting your doctor.