Live healthy by going on a sugar detox diet –Healthy tips to bid goodbye to fat
Sugar is undoubtedly one of those addictive substances, which is as addictive (if not more) than toxic drugs like morphine and cocaine. You’ll be rather surprised to know that the human brain reacts in a similar way when we consume it and at the same time, the harm caused to our health (especially to our waistlines in case of sugar) is havoc.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the world is getting conscious about their health and they have the ‘weight-loss’ mantras as their fingertips. The current generation is heavier than what we had ever been and this is why we’re being diagnosed with chronic illnesses like heart attacks, Type II diabetes and different types of mood disorders. From uncontrollable urge to have sugar, excess fat, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels to brain fog, mood disorders, energy problems, sugar is at the root of all health issues.
How much sugar are you taking in?
The total amount of sugar that people take in through their normal daily diet is the actual culprit in making you develop such chronic diseases for life which are mentioned above. From sodas o sweets and all those savory foods, on an average, people have around 140 pounds of sugar in a year. 10,000 years back, we didn’t get access to this level of sugar extracts as we do these days. Can you believe that our ancestors consumed just 20 spoons of sugar in an entire year?
What to know on sugar portions in your normal diet?
Well, one teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams of sugar. An average man is supposed to have 9 or less than 9 teaspoon of sugar in a day and a woman should have 6 teaspoon in a day. To help you understand better, the flavored yogurt has somewhere between 15 and 20 grams of sugar which means 3.75 to 4.5 teaspoons per serving.
If you choose to sprinkle a little bit of healthy granola (which seems healthy for you) on top of any food, you’re actually adding 2-4 teaspoons of sugar. Now if you add tomato sauce on your pasta, you’re adding 3.5-6 teaspoons of sugar and this is enough to exceed the level of sugar intake that’s advised for both men and women. Added to that, if you take a dessert post-dinner or something else which contains sugar, you’ve almost over exceeded your daily goal. This is the way in which you can add up on consuming sugar and mostly in sneaky way which you don’t even realise.
Cut back on your sugar intake – The expert tips
Curb the number
As per the American Heart Association, women shouldn’t consume more than 25 grams of sugar in a day and men shouldn’t consume more than 36 grams. When you start breaking down regular food productions and start getting conscious about the sugar content in it, you soon realize that this is a Herculean task. If you wish to reduce the sugar intake, you have to become little detective. You need to do nutrition label reading and once you begin to understand, you’ll be surprised at the results.
Focus on the ingredients and not on the labels
These days, we get too many food products which surprisingly meet our already high expectations by giving us the purest ingredients. But don’t allow words like ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ fool you. Before you buy a product, flip it over and go through the list of ingredients carefully. If you find words like glucose, corn solids or corn syrup, choose something else. If you find sugar as one of the ingredients, remember that it is highly processed too.
Use honey instead of sugar
This is the golden sweetener which is not only the best alternative for sugar but it has also got a number of health benefits. Honey was used since the last 8000 years and it was then valued as a medicine with the best medicinal properties. Even now you get medical grade Manuka honey which has got several benefits for health. Apart from jaggery, honey is another good alternative which can be taken to ditch sugar intake and yet retain the sweet flavor of foods. All those sugary toothed people should find solace in honey and jaggery.
Eliminate all sorts of processed foods
You will be rather shocked to know the total amount of sugar which you find in processed, pre-packaged foods like breads, cakes, cookies, chips, crackers, peanut butter and also in frozen dinner. The few names which you need to be wary of in the list of ingredients are corn syrup, agave, maple syrup, sucrose, maltose, dextrose and fruit juice. Try to make yourself believe that it is always better to cook yourself and not purchase anything and this can be the best trick.
Bid goodbye to soda
Do you drink diet soda just because someone told you they’re good for people on a diet? If answered yes, you should stop it immediately! Diet soda comprises of artificial sweeteners which have a worse impact on you than sugar. Say goodbye to energy drinks too as the makers pack 20 teaspoons or even more sugar in a single serving! So, can you imagine the harm that you can unknowingly cause yourself when you consume such products which claim to be ‘healthy’!
Skipping meals is a big ‘NO’
Your blood sugar level tends to drop whenever you skip a meal thereby making you crave for too much nutrition. When this happens, you tend to reach for an easy and quick snack. But hey, before you take in that snack, remember that this is where the added dose of sugar creeps in. Hence, you should try to eat smaller amounts every 2-4 hours so that the levels of blood sugar remain constant.
The US Food and Drug Administration has made it compulsory for all manufacturers to make a list of the ingredients present in a product. Make sure you go through the list and take a careful decision.
