3 Ways To Reduce Sugar And Get Healthy Without Giving Up Dessert

In today’s world, it’s almost impossible to get through a day without overdoing it on sugar. It’s everywhere! It’s hiding in our salad dressings and condiments, packed into all of our favorite snack foods, and even haunting our so-called “healthy” options like flavored yogurt, granola, and beef jerky. Sugar is so often pointed to as the culprit responsible for our ever-growing rates of fatal chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. But when it’s in everything we eat, it can feel daunting to try and make a healthy change. In this article, we’re discussing a handful of easy ways to limit sugar and take back control of your health and your life.

1. Swap Soda for Flavored Sparkling Water

Skipping soda isn’t a novel idea, but it’s worth repeating. One 12-ounce can of soda averages 39 grams of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar in a small amount of food. The American Heart Association suggests adults shouldn’t consume more than 24 to 36 grams of sugar a day. This means a single can of soda already contains over sixty percent more sugar than an adult woman’s suggested daily limit. By taking out this single beverage, not only are you significantly decreasing your likelihood of developing a chronic illness, you also make room to enjoy a higher quantity of sweet treats while still staying under budget. 

2. Dress Up Fruit For Dessert

For example, one 12-ounce can of soda is equivalent to almost half of an entire pineapple or nearly three full bananas. That’s a lot of fruit and a whole lot more food than a single can of soda. And if you stick with fruits with lower sugar contents, like mixed berries, you can stretch that even further. What’s more, not all foods are created equal. Thirty-nine grams of sugar from a soda is a recipe for a slew of chronic illnesses including diabetes. You’d need to eat four cups of mixed berries to consume the same amount of sugar. 

But even then, studies have shown that berries actually help control blood sugar and prevent diabetes. This is partially because fruit is a whole food. The sugar in mixed berries is delivered alongside a whopping 14 grams of fiber. Fiber is a superfood-level nutrient that slows the absorption of sugar into your blood which helps prevent diabetes. In other words, fruits are a delicious, whole-food alternative to packaged desserts that provide sugar in a way that your body can use as fuel rather than in a way that deteriorates your body. Plus, you get a heck of a lot more of it.

Chocolate-dipped strawberries, mixed berries, whipped cream, or even just a simple fruit salad are quick, easy, and delicious desserts with a fraction of the sugar content of a traditional sweet treat. On top of that, it’s a great way to add fiber and antioxidants to your diet, both of which have been proven to help ward off disease.

3. Swap Sugar For Stevia In Homemade Goods

Fruit is great, but it’s okay to crave traditional desserts too. Unfortunately, packaged and processed foods are packed with added sugar, ad most baked goods don’t offer other nutrients to temper the absorption rate of their sugar contents. By cooking at home, you can still enjoy things like muffins and cake occasionally and still maintain a healthy balance. Not to mention it saves a lot of money. When you cook for yourself, you control exactly what goes into your food. Swapping sugar in your traditional homemade desserts for other natural alternative sweeteners can help extend your daily sugar budget. Even recreating your classic favorites can be healthy when you add fiber. Preparing your own meals is an easy way to enjoy your favorite foods while protecting and nourishing your body at the same time.

Sugar Isn’t Evil

At the end of the day, sugar itself isn’t going to send you to an early grave. Sugar is the primary energy source in your body. Sugar is used to build muscle, form thoughts, digest your food, and carry out just about every other biological mechanism. What’s so harmful, is the way we eat it today. Packaged foods are not only overloaded with sugar but they’ve been stripped of the other nutrients needed for your body to use the sugar in it effectively. By swapping the sugar in prepared dishes and baked goods with alternative natural sweeteners and filling your sugar budget up with whole, naturally-sweet foods, living healthfully doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the foods that bring you joy.