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Are you looking to break away from your long-term complicated relationship with sugar? Hey, we know the feeling. In just a few short hours after consuming sugar, we’re sucked into the black hole of sugar highs, unexpected hanger, sugar comas, fatigue and desperate longing—and yet, we continue to welcome sugar into our lives, with open arms (and mouths). So if you’re sick of your love-hate relationship with sugar (glucose) and want out, keep on reading to help you find a way to cut sugar out of your life!
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Replace, neutralize and break away!
Whatever your thing is for your sugar kick, whether it’s soda, frozen yogurt, gum, chocolate, you know it needs to be cut out. However, going cold turkey may not be the best method for you. Instead, try to replace the addiction with a cleaner option as often as you can. Make sure it’s a cleaner option that you’re less emotionally attached to. Try swapping your sugar-filled soda for a flavored sparkling water or fruit-infused water first. What you’re doing is gradually replacing which means you’re gradually neutralizing. Once your addiction is neutralized, you can break from the bad habit once and for all.
Another good substitute for sugar is stevia. Stevia is an excellent substitute for sugar as it’s a no-calorie sweetener that’s made from the leaves of a plant. Stevia leaves get their sweet taste – about 10 to 15 times sweeter than sugar – from natural compounds called steviol glycosides. Another good natural alternative to sugar is xylitol, which is a sugar alcohol with a sweetness similar to sugar. It’s extracted from corn or birch wood and found in many fruits and vegetables.
Become a label master
The nutrition label of a product highlights all the ingredients in order of quantity. The higher up on the list, the more prevalent the ingredient. A good rule to follow is to avoid products that contain sugar in the first three ingredients. Read nutrition labels and become more aware of the products that fuel your sugar addiction and which ones will help you cut sugar out of your life.
Cut out liquid sugars
One of the easiest ways to lower your sugar intake is to cut out liquid sugars. Eliminate soda, juice, sweetened coffees and instead, opt for flavored water. Flavor your water with strawberries, lemons or cucumbers, sweeten black coffee with sugar and a chemical-free sweetener like stevia, and opt for low-sugar drinks like pinot noir.
Cut out sugar and drink more water instead
As soon as you wake up, aim to drink two large glasses of water to help flush out your system and lower your blood glucose levels. It’s really important to do this, especially if you have been drinking alcohol and might be dehydrated. When you’re dehydrated, the volume of blood decreases, and the blood glucose remains the same, meaning you have more concentrated blood sugar. therefore, we recommend drinking 10 glasses of water a day. In fact, drinking water can increase blood volume and decrease glucose concentration.
Look for the sneaky sugars
A hidden ingredient in a lot of processed foods is sugar. A handy tip is to look for the ingredients that end in “ose” like sucrose, maltose, dextrose, fructose, glucose, galactose, lactose, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose solids.
Watch your blood sugar levels and cut sugar out
Keep in mind that sugar on a nutrition label only identifies “added sugar”—it doesn’t explain how the food will affect your blood sugar. It’s really important to understand how a food will impact your blood sugar because crashing blood sugar levels causes insatiable sugar cravings. You can calculate net carbohydrates by subtracting fiber from total carbohydrates. Go for foods higher in fiber to keep blood sugar balanced and add fat or protein to meals that contain more than 25 net carbohydrates to help support the body’s blood sugar balance
Kick-start your morning with protein
Seriously, starting your day with protein will help you cut sugar out of your life! This is because eating protein can help lower NPY (neuropeptide Y) a hormone produced in the brain and nervous system that “stimulates” the appetite for carbohydrates and sugar.
We hope you enjoyed our article on the best ways to cut sugar out of your life. If you did enjoy it, please check out our other health-related articles like the health benefits of coffee, beets, avocados, lemongrass, and even the health benefits of coconut oil.
Happy Healthy Living!
