We’ve all been there. Cutting something off your life isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when it involves all our sugary delights. But these sugary delights have very negative effects on our body. So, to commemorate National Sugar Awareness Week, here are a couple of tips on how to cut out sugar from your lifestyle.
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Stick with Water or Water-Infused with Fruits
You know what’s refreshing, free, and has zero calories? Water! Sodas, energy drinks, caffeine, and other drinks only bring you unnecessary amounts of sugar. By avoiding sugary drinks, you can greatly help yourself, especially if you are aiming to lose weight.
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Rule of thumb: If you can’t grow it in your backyard, don’t eat it!
Processed foods are just additives and artificial substances on a plate. These contain preservatives, added sugar, salt, and fats that would just destroy your body. Ultra-processed food provides 90% of the added sugars in an average Americans diet. What are these ultra-processed foods? Soft drinks, cereals, pizzas, pies, and cakes fall under this category.
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Canned Food is a No-Go
Yes, fruits and vegetables are good for you, but if they come inside a can, chances are they have added sugar on it. It’s hard to take out natural sugar in your diet but avoiding added sugar is much easier. Rather than buying canned fruits or vegetables, just make it a rule only to buy fresh ones.
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“Healthy” Snack Food? It’s a Trap
As opposed to cakes and candies, I would agree that they have less sugar in them but these healthy snack foods like granola bars or protein bars are loaded with added sugar as well. Even dried fruit sometimes also contain high amounts of added sugar. If you really cannot live without it, look for “100% fruit” labels on them!
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Avoid Fast Food
I cannot stress this enough. Avoid eating at fast food chains as much as possible. Nothing good comes out of that ultra-processed food. When eating out, make sure that the restaurant only uses high-quality fresh ingredients in making their meals. Fortunately, a lot of restaurants, such as Mare Oyster Bar, give importance in making their food as healthy as possible. Granted that they may be a little more expensive than fast food, you will be doing your body justice by only eating fresh food! Eating wild, cold-water fish, is a great alternative in keeping your diet high protein without risking of getting added sugar in it!