Sugar can be found in all kinds of food products, even ones you wouldn’t expect, like pasta sauce, low-fat granola bars, and salad dressing. If you’re hoping to cut sugar out of your diet once and for all, here’s how to reduce sugar in food naturally and eat a healthier diet.
1. Watch Out for Sugar Substitutes on Ingredient Lists
When you start shopping for your sugar-free diet, you’ll probably check the nutrition information to see if sugar is listed as one of the ingredients in the product. But just doing this isn’t enough. There are many sugar substitutes used in a variety of foods. Some of the most common of these sugar substitutes are high-fructose corn syrup, syrup, corn sweetener, molasses, sucrose, dextrose, and honey. If you see any of these things on an ingredient list, the food won’t be good for your low-sugar diet.
2. Use Less Sugar when Cooking and Baking
One of the easiest ways to reduce the sugar in your food is to cook your own meals instead of going out to a restaurant. Here are some tips to help you cook and bake with less sugar. First, when you’re baking, use half the sugar the recipe calls for and replace the missing half with fruit, like mashed banana. The fruit will give you same sweetness as sugar, but it will make your dessert much healthier.
If you’re cooking something that calls for sugar or a sugar substitute, try using natural oil like coconut oil instead of the sugar. Coconut oil is full of health benefits, and it also tastes delicious. You’ll be amazed at how the flavor of your dish changes when you use a tasty natural oil.
Finally, if you’re making a simple dish like a sandwich, make sure you only use low-sugar bread. Some breads have a surprisingly high amount of sugar in them. The biggest culprit of this is white bread. Always check the ingredient list before you buy your loaf of bread.
3. Eat an All-Natural Diet
Another easy way to reduce the sugar in your diet is to only buy natural products, like fruits, vegetables, plain chicken, fish, and lean beef. When you buy processed foods, there’s always going to be chemicals and additives. But when you only get natural products, you won’t have to worry about what’s on the ingredient list. Plus, if you have an infant, many of the foods in this all-natural diet will be perfect for them. For example, banana is one of the best healthy first foods for a baby, since it has plenty of vitamins A, C, and folate. Another one of the best healthy first foods for a baby is avocado, which is loaded with potassium, vitamins A and C, and folate. Avocado is also a great all-natural food for adults.
This guide on how to reduce sugar in food naturally and these tips to help you cook will help you eat less sugar. You’ll feel much healthier and happier when you kick your sugar habit.