Using Less Sugar and Sweeteners
Here are some tips for reducing sugar in your diet to make room for more nutritious foods.
- Read ingredient labels. If sugar is listed as the first, second or third ingredient, the product probably contains a large amount of sugar as a sweetener. Identify all the sugars in a product (sucrose, honey, glucose, molasses, dextrose, corn sweetener, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, lactose, maltose, sorghum syrup, mannitol, fruit juice concentrate, sorbitol). Select items lower in added sugars when possible.
- Buy fresh fruits or fruits packed in water, juice, or light syrup rather than those in heavy syrup.
- Buy fewer foods that are high in sugars such as soft drinks, fruit-flavored punches and sweet desserts. Be aware that some low-fat desserts may be very high in sugar.
Add less sugar to coffee, tea, cereal or fruit. Get used to half as much, then see if you can cut back even more. - Use less sugar in the foods you prepare at home. Try new recipes or adjust your own. Start by reducing sugars gradually until you’ve decreased them by one third or more.
As you reduce the sugar in your baked goods, try adding spices like cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, ginger and mace to enhance the sweet flavor of foods. Spiced foods will taste sweeter if warmed.
Don’t worry – sugar isn’t your enemy. But reducing your sugar intake will help you cut calories and will allow you more room for more nutritious foods.