12 Easy Ways to Eat Less Sugar

You probably know by now that eating sugar is pretty much one of the worst things you can do to your health. But sugar is everywhere, so how do you avoid it? These 12 simple tips can help you eat less sugar – almost without even trying.

Excess sugar consumption has been linked to everything from cancer, to mood disorders, to obesity and diabetes. Eating a lot of sugar is downright destructive to your body in a number of ways.

Unfortunately, in the modern processed food diet, sugar is literally everywhere. From bread to cereals, to yogurt, salad dressing, and even dried fruit, sugar can be found in just about every type of food on grocery store shelves.

Given this fact, plus the fact that, let’s face it, we humans love sugar, it is no wonder that diabetes and other sugar-related diseases have soared over the past several decades.

So how can you avoid sugar – without feeling like you’re giving up all your favorite foods? While it may take a bit of discipline, there are some easy ways to start weaning yourself off this destructive substance.

Here are 12 relatively painless ways to eat less sugar – or to switch to healthier forms of it:

1. Stop Buying Processed Foods

This is probably the hugest change you can make in your diet when it comes to cutting out sugar. Practically everything you buy that comes in a box, bag, or can has added sugars….

2.  Make Your Own Spaghetti/Tomato Sauce

If you can’t quite take the step to cut out all processed or ready-made foods, at least cut out store-bought tomato sauce….

3. Choose Whole, Fresh Fruit Over Juice, Dehydrated, or Other Fruit Products

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4. Avoid Flavored Yogurt

News flash: most commercial yogurt has just as much sugar in most of a candy bar (or more!) Don’t eat it! Instead, buy or make your own plain yogurt and add fresh fruit and maybe some honey if you still need some sweetness.

5. Make Your Own Salad Dressing

One of the most common places sugar will hide is in your store-bought salad dressings. Make your own instead; this way you control the amount of sugar (as well as the salt and soybean/canola oil). It’s easy to make your own!…

6. Give Yourself A Quota

If you are weaning yourself back off of sugar, one of the easiest ways to do it is to give yourself a “quota” when it comes to sugar, and use it on dessert. If you normally eat dessert every day, then cut out all sweets besides dessert. Over the next few weeks, cut back the amount of desserts you have per week. Another way to help is to replace half of your desserts with fresh fruit.

7. Give Yourself Rules About Dessert

Leading in from the last point, once you’ve cut your sugar intake back to just desserts, you should then start weaning yourself off of desserts. Give yourself certain days of the week to eat desserts…. Say, for example, you only eat them on even days, or on weekends, or on special occasions.

8. Don’t Keep Treats In The House

This one should be a no-brainer. If you have a huge bucket of ice cream in the freezer, you’re going to eat it. Just don’t buy the sweet stuff….

9. Try Xylitol or Stevia

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10. Try Dark Chocolate

If your sugar addiction comes in the form of a chocolate habit, then switch to dark chocolate. It’s better for you, has great health benefits, and you probably won’t be able to eat an entire bar of dark chocolate like you can milk chocolate.

11. Avoid Mixed Alcohol Drinks

Do you know how much sugar is in a rye and coke? A cosmo? A gin and tonic? A lot! If you must drink, choose wine, straight spirits, or mix with soda water.

12. Cut Out Soda

Trade soda for water with lime or lemon in it and you’ll cut your sugar intake in a huge way. If you still need something bubbly, drink soda water, either plain or with lime or lemon.

For more tips, check out the full article on the PaleoHacks blog…