How to reduce sugar in your diet. Tips to replace it
When we prepare a coffee, a smoothie, a juice or even an infusion or a tea, the most common is to sweeten them with refined sugar, commonly known by the popular name of White sugar. In fact, it becomes the sugar that most nutritionists, endocrinologists and dentists fight, since its consumption tends to be quite negative for our health.
Sugar has become over the last decades in one of the foods most consumed by society. In fact, more and more food industries and fast food chains that add sugar to any type of food (both sweet and salty) to enhance the flavor of all your dishes and meals.
However, you have to be careful. It has been shown that excessive consumption of sugar can be very addictive in the long term and is one of the main reasons why there is a 30% of the world population with overweight.
The dangerous consequences of the consumption of refined sugar in health
In this sense, it goes without saying that sugar has a series of contraindications, and that its consumption should be reduced to a minimum if we want to eat a rich and healthy diet. Do not you believe it? If so, here we leave some of the disadvantages that have the intake of this food:
- Weight gain. Most sweets and processed foods with sugar are characterized by a high rate of unsaturated fats. For this reason, the consumption of sugar will always be related to a considerable increase in weight.
- Heart diseases. Sugar also increases blood cholesterol levels, a problem that affects the arteries, something that can eventually cause chronic hypertension.
- Appearance of caries. Sugar increases blood glucose levels, a component that when it comes in contact with tooth enamel, causes it to deteriorate resulting in a multitude of cavities.
- The consumption of sugar is also closely related to the onset of diabetes. Especially in those people where their relatives have suffered from this disease.
If you want to discover more we encourage you to read the related article entitled The consequences of sugar abuse, where you will learn a little more about what are the unhealthy effects of regular and habitual consumption of sugar in our health.
Is it possible to replace sugar? Some useful tips
Surely after reading these lines, you have fallen into the importance that has significantly reduce the consumption of sugar. However, at the beginning it will be a very difficult process to carry out since this food is quite addictive. Therefore, what you can do is replace it following the following tips:
Fructose is a great ally
Have you got an irremediable desire to take a sweet just when you get up or when you get to work? If so, we recommend that you stay a little and replace it with any piece of fruit. Its high fructose content will give you that sweet sweetness that will help you fight your "abstinence syndrome", While at the same time satiating your hunger and ingesting all kinds of vitamins and minerals. Everything is advantages!
Honey is useful for sweetening beverages
Surely many of you use sugar to sweeten any tea, coffee, juice or tea. A good way to replace it in using instead a small amount of honey. Thanks to her you will get that sweet touch that you seek so much, without abusing so much sugar, that so many negative effects have on our health.
- How to take honey to enjoy its properties
Use of natural sweeteners such as stevia
The stevia It is one of those natural sweeteners that does not contain any type of contraindication for our health. You can find it in most supermarkets at a very contained price. And best of all, they will bring that sweet touch to any drink or meal without having to abuse the sugar.
Other useful tips to reduce sugar consumption quickly
We also propose other useful tips to reduce sugar consumption:
- Opt especially for fruits, instead of sweets and sweets.
- To sweeten some drinks, such as milk or infusions, preferably opt for honey, molasses or maple syrup. The stevia is also interesting.
- Try to consume coffee without sugar, although at the beginning its strong flavor can prevent you from enjoying it as you did before.
- Your breakfast includes fruits, cereals and dairy products. It is advisable to eliminate sweets and pastries
