Reduce Added Sugar

Currently, there are no federal guidelines regarding the amount of sugar you should consume. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we consume less sugar overall as part of a healthy lifestyle- no more than 6 teaspoons (tsp.) or 100 calories a day of sugar for most women and no more than 9 teaspoons or 150 calories a day for most men.

Added sugar in foods such as desserts, candy, cookies, soda, and many cereals are providing empty calories. Empty calories are calories that contain no nutritional value. Taking in these added/extra calories overtime can lead to unwanted weight gain and can also impact blood sugar levels for those diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Reducing your sugar intake may be easier than you think. Here are some tips to get you started!

Cut down on adding sugar (table sugar, syrup, honey) to foods (cereal, cookies, pancakes) and beverages like coffee or tea. Try decreasing the amount you typically add and cut it in half and then continue to decrease from there.

Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, try fresh fruit (bananas, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots).

Remove soda. Choose a seltzer that's naturally flavored or you can add a splash of 100% fruit juice (such as Pomegranate, orange, grape…) to flavor a plain seltzer or just choose plain water if you don’t like the bubbles.
Avoid fruit canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup. Choose fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruits that are in water or natural juice.
When baking your favorite cookies, brownies or cakes, decrease the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. You can cut it by ½ the amount or slightly less and you will likely not even notice.

Note: You do not need to count the naturally occurring sugars found in fruits and milk toward your daily intake of added sugar.

Bottom line is that it is important to be aware of your sugar intake and reduce it if you find that you are taking in more added sugar than the AHA recommends. Use the tips mentioned above and work toward consuming less sugar overall.
Resources:

Tips for Cutting Down on Sugar. Accessed January 24, 2018 http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Tips-for-Cutting-Down-on-Sugar_UCM_461811_Article.jsp#.WmkQbyMrJok

Comments

4 Tips To Avoid Stress Eating During Finals

It's the week of finals and suddenly there's so much to do and not enough time to do it. With projects, papers, studying, all-nighters, and early wake-ups, indulging in your favorite (and maybe not so good for you) foods seems like the perfect way to relieve some of that finals stress. When we turn to food to relive stress, it tends to be food that comforts us and makes us feel good, which a lot of times is a carton of ice cream, a slice of pizza, or your favorite piece (or bag) of candy. The truth is, finals may not only be a stressful time of the semester but a time where weight gain occurs in stressed out students. The combination of a large amount of sedentary time studying and test taking, little to no exercise, and stressful or late-night eating is a recipe for weight gain. Another truth is that we may not even recognize that we are in fact stress eating due to being completely preoccupied. So how do we avoid this stress eating before it takes place? Here are four tips to...

To Juice or Not To Juice?

Depending on who you talk to, juice is either part of the latest health trend or on the list of things to avoid. Understanding what juice does and doesn’t offer can help you decide if it is right for you. The Up Side: Fruits and vegetables offer a variety of health-promoting nutrients, many of which are still available in the juice squeezed from them. Juices can be a convenient and tasty way to get those nutrients. Juices also offer a way to get fruits and vegetables that you may not usually eat in the whole form. For example, cranberry juice is a popular alternative to whole cranberries and a great way to get some important antioxidants. People who don’t normally eat spinach may find that when juiced with other vegetables and fruit, they enjoy it. The Down Side: With about 50-115 calories per cup, fruit and vegetable juices are not low calorie drinks. For that reason, drinking a lot of juice could potentially make weight management more difficult. Research suggests that people who dri...

Plant Forward

A New Way of Eating There’s a relatively new term buzzing around the food world that you may or may not have heard of, plant forward. What does that mean you ask? Plant forward focuses on more vegetable centric dishes with meat playing more of a supporting role. Think blended burgers, stir-fry’s or grain bowls where meat is almost like a condiment. Flavors are bold and it’s all about the dish’s deliciousness whether it happens to be vegan or vegetarian, or not. Diners aren’t interested in completely removing meat from their diets so embracing a diet that is mostly plants with some meat here and there provides a comfortable middle ground. The Challenge with Red Meat Conventional animal agriculture is resource intense and less than stellar for the environment. Ruminant animals release methane gas into the atmosphere which is about twenty five times more intense than carbon dioxide. Let’s face it, our country’s enormous appetite for beef is not so great for our health and the heal...

Choosing Healthy Foods

Search This Blog