We know it’s bad for us – it raises cholesterol, erodes our teeth, leads to heart attacks, cancer, diabetes – but that doesn’t always seem to matter. Sugary foods and drinks just taste so darn good!
As human beings, it’s not always easy to resist things that are bad for our health. However, Britain’s addiction to sugar is so serious that talk of a “sugar tax”, aimed at making unhealthy products less affordable (and thus less appealing), continues to gather momentum.
Earlier this year, a report by Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum showed that a 20% tax on sugary drinks could reduce obesity rates by 5% in the UK by 2025. That’s the equivalent of 3.7 million fewer obese people. Whether or not the government enforces an official sugar tax remains to be seen, and the reality is that we cannot afford to wait around for it to come into force. We need to take action ourselves.
Carly Tierney, a personal trainer at DW Fitness Clubs and an expert nutritionist to boot, gave us 11 simple but effective ways to curb your sweet tooth…
11 ways to remove sugar from your diet
- Learn where it lies
Okay, you know that chocolate, cake and cola are off limits, but sugar will still get you! It can lurk in the least obvious of places. Foods such as cereal, flavoured yogurt, granola bars, fruit, ketchup, salad dressings, pasta sauces and alcohol can all have high sugar content, so make sure you read the labels.
- Make small changes first
Rather than cut it out completely perhaps start with your drinks. Lose the sugar in your tea, switch from squeezed orange juice to flavoured water and start checking the sugar content in different brands of the same foods.
- Don’t skip breakfast
Breakfast keeps your blood sugar levels stable, meaning you’re less likely to reach for that chocolate bar. An ideal breakfast would be oats and a couple of eggs, for example. Earlier this month, Cancer Research UK revealed that Brits really do love their breakfast, so much so that 80% of people have eaten breakfast foods for dinner at least once. One in three of us eat “brinner” at least once a week, with eggs on toast being a particular favourite.
- Limit alcohol
Alcohol contains more calories than sugar per gram. Not only that but it leads to a vicious cycle for sugary cravings. We’ve all woken up the morning after a night on the sauce and tried to eat every scrap of unhealthy food in the house.
- Exercise
Exercise helps to reduce stress levels, which is a major contributor to sweet cravings. Exercise also supports blood sugar level control, leaves you feeling energised, helps you sleep and makes you healthier.
- Don’t give up on snacks
You can’t have that Mars bar but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat regularly. Snacks like two oatcakes with a slice of avocado and some cottage cheese, or a fat-free Greek yoghurt, berries and nuts, are perfect.
- Get your vitamins
Especially vitamins B and C, which help to produce energy from the food that we eat.
- Learn the other names for sugar
Fructose, corn syrup, sucrose, etc. Sugar has many guises and as this source suggests, there are at least 61 different names for it on food labels. Familiarise yourself with them!
- Save up your sugar for the good stuff!
The idea of cutting down on sugar is not to say that you never eat it again but rather that you save its consumption for treats like a slice of cake. Foods like soup, dressings, yoghurt and cereal don’t have to be, and really shouldn’t be, sugary.
- Buy products that are unsweetened
Add more natural flavours such as vanilla, cinnamon, lemon, lime and nutmeg; great for your waistline and just as tasty. We’ll give you a few practical examples shortly.
- Stick with it!
Giving up sugar can initially feel impossible. But if you learn to make your own dressings and get used to the food swaps, you can be sugar savvy. The health benefits outweigh any initial discomfort or frustration. You’ll notice that fresh foods taste better than ever as your food habits change and will find that your cravings naturally decrease.
