Source: Zohra Boudrissa
Sugar today, health problems tomorrow. Well, maybe not tomorrow, but if you regularly consume sugar, you could be setting yourself up for a plethora of conditions in the future. Diets high in sugar have been associated with conditions including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, fatty liver, cellular aging, and dental issues.
Our previous sugar series articles discussed Trading Refined Sugar for Natural and Hidden Sugars in Your Food.
If diagnosed with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or fatty liver or dental issues, doctors will prescribe medication as well as lifestyle changes. These changes will most likely be adding more whole foods into your diet like fruits and vegetables, and you guessed it, removing processed sugar.
We recommend being proactive and choosing small changes you can actually commit to and then build from there.
- Replace candy and other sugary snacks with whole snacks like dried fruits and vegetables
- Instead of drinking juice or soda drink infused waters with slices of cucumber or lemon
- Read food labels and choose marinades, ketchups and sauces with zero added sugar
- Sweeten your own foods
- buy plain yogurt and add your own berries or honey
- start out with plain oats or cereals without sugar added (like Arrowhead Mills Puffed Millet or Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs) and add your own fruits (bananas and strawberries are great) and sweeteners like honey
- Make your own smoothies and sweeten with bananas or dates
- Stick to the perimeter of the grocery stores – that’s where you’ll find the whole foods
- Don’t buy it! If you don’t buy sugary snacks you won’t have them to consume
- Cut it in half - if you can’t completely cut sugar consumption, start by reducing your intake. Only consume half of what you normally would, once you’re good with that consumption, cut it in half again until you no longer need the sugary items.
Want to learn more about healthy eating or food in general? Check out some of my favorite food documentaries:
- Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (currently available on Amazon Prime)
- Forks Over Knives (currently available on Netflix)
- Food Matters (currently available on Amazon Prime)
