Gaby
Many of us love to snack on chocolate bars, candies, cookies, and other treats from time to time. But let’s face it: this kind of eating isn’t healthy, as all these goodies are loaded with added sugar.
According to researchers, the average person consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar each day. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges the global population to cut their daily intake of added sugar down to 12 teaspoons, and eventually even to 6 teaspoons.
This strict recommendation is based on numerous studies indicating that consuming too much added sugar can lead to a variety of health issues. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart and liver diseases, cancer, and even depression.
Giving up excess sugar can be quite challenging, as it hides in many products: from obvious sweets (sodas, pastries, and candies) to those you might not suspect of being overloaded with sugar (breakfast cereals, bread, yogurt, tomato sauce). According to some estimates, added sweeteners are found in 74 percent of packaged foods sold in supermarkets. This was highlighted by Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco, and a leading researcher at SugarScience, which studies the impact of sugar on human health.
So how can we limit our intake of added sugar? Here are five tips from Laura Schmidt.
Stop Swallowing Sugar
The expert recommends avoiding liquid sugar, starting with cutting out sweetened beverages: sodas, energy drinks, and even nectars that manufacturers pass off as juice.
Ms. Schmidt noted that liquid sugar can easily become a habit, leading people to consume unhealthy drinks in large quantities without even realizing it.
Eliminate Temptations at Work
Regardless of the circumstances, it’s important to reduce the consumption of sugary products in the workplace. Employers should help with this. For instance, they could mandate that healthy, sugar-free alternatives be sold instead of sweetened beverages in the office or on company grounds.
“Clinical trials have shown that when employers stop selling sugary drinks, employees who regularly consumed them lose an average of about two centimeters from their waistlines over 10 months,” Ms. Schmidt pointed out.
Additionally, it’s wise to avoid cookie and candy jars that management provides to employees as bonuses.
Practice Sugar Refusal at Home
According to Laura Schmidt, it’s essential to inform all family members that unhealthy sweet products and drinks will not be kept in plain sight. Everyone in the household should understand that these items cannot be consumed instead of main meals. To start, it’s a good idea to collaboratively create a “smart plan of what will and won’t be kept in the kitchen.”
Even if you can’t completely eliminate sugary junk food and soda right away, this will still be an important step in the right direction.
Calm Your Cravings
It’s also necessary to devise a plan for coping with the psychological stress that comes from giving up sugar, as reported by CNN.
There are plenty of psychological techniques (strategies) available online that can help manage sugar cravings, and they’re easy to learn, said Professor Schmidt. The goal of therapy that helps overcome stress caused by sugar withdrawal is to teach individuals not to view sweet foods as an emotional escape or reward. Those escapes should shift to other areas: travel, walks, and sports.
Give Sweet Products Their Proper Place
The expert advises reserving sweet products for dessert, ensuring they don’t infiltrate every part of your diet.
According to Ms. Schmidt, one way to control sugar intake is to prepare desserts and sweets yourself.
In addition to these expert recommendations, there’s one very important tip: carefully read food labels. Look for the line that indicates the amount of added sugar. This will help you keep track of the grams of excess sugar consumed throughout the day.
