How to Cut Down on Sugar Without Compromising on Taste
It is an indisputable fact that sugar is the silent killer type. It lulls us into a false sense of security through the sweet taste it provides and the versatility it offers, only to suddenly strike unannounced, wreaking havoc on your teeth and making the require extensive dental care to get healthy again.
Even worse, excessive consumption of it can cause health issues s such as obesity and certain forms of diabetes – something you might have a tough time dealing with given the addictiveness of sugar and how we seem never to have enough of it.
But to cut down on its consumption would mean to compromise on taste, right? Not necessarily. There are numerous ways in which you can lower the amount of sugar you consume without losing much in terms of taste.
They include switching to natural sweeteners, choosing ayrans over sweet yogurts, replacing your desserts with a glass of fine wine, prioritizing salty foods as snacks, and even simply preparing your food on your own instead of buying it preprocessed from the store.
Explore the advice below to learn how to cut down on sugar in an easy and convenient way.
Prepare Your Food On Your Own
If you really want to cut down on your sugar consumption, there’s only one thing you need to do: start preparing your food at home instead of buying processed foods from the store. That is largely because a number of food industry giants tend to add copious amounts of sugar or artificial derivatives to make their products more delicious and even addicting.
You’ll be amazed to find out how quickly your cravings for processed foods will go away once you start doing cooking on your own. Not only is home cooking much healthier for you, but it also gives you total control over the ingredients, letting you substitute sugar with something much less damaging. For example, when baking on your own, you can opt for cacao organic chocolate chips, raw coconut oil, or unsweetened apple sauce instead of preprocessed ingredients or ready-made baked goods from the supermarket.
Use Natural Sweeteners
If you’re the kind of person that is worried about the health effects of artificial sweeteners, you’re not alone. However, if you take your time and do your research, you might actually find out that natural zero-calorie sweeteners can be just as effective as the artificial ones at satisfying your sweet tooth without the worry of long-term health effects.
This can be especially useful for people that consume a lot of ice cream or sugary desserts, with the positive side effect being a significant reduction in one’s overall sugar consumption. You can try to replace your usual table sugar with raw honey or molasses or use stevia extract instead of artificial sweetener when baking.
Choose Ayrans Over Sweet Yogurts
If you’re a big yogurt eater, you might have noticed that most of the brands available on the market are very sweet and don’t really provide any nutritional value. Instead of consuming this type of yogurt, try to give ayran a try instead.
Ayrans, which are basically yogurt-based beverages consumed in the Balkans and Turkey, use yogurt as the main ingredient but add to it several types of salty ingredients such as cucumbers, garlic, and dill. While these definitely aren’t going to replace your usual yogurt, they’re a great way to get your daily dose of protein and calcium while keeping the sugar level in check. After all, who says milk-based drinks need to be sweet and sugary to leave you speechless with their taste?
Switch Your Desserts to a Glass of Fine Wine
Sugar is also used in large quantities in desserts and sweets, so if you really want to cut down on the amount of sugar you consume, why not simply replace your dessert with an accompanying glass of fine wine? In fact, it can actually be a lot more satisfying than simply eating sweets. And the best news? There’s very little sugar in wine!
Another great thing about this strategy is that wine, especially red when consumed in moderation, is quite beneficial for your heart, rich in antioxidants, and also regulates blood sugar. But even if health reasons are not your main motivator, wine can be simply delicious to indulge in after a hard day of stressful work.
Prioritize Salty Foods As Snacks
If you’re always looking for snacks when you feel hungry, but can’t seem to find anything that will satisfy your cravings, consider making your own salty snacks at home and bringing some with you everywhere you go. This one simple change will completely transform the way you snack and will soon make a huge difference in your overall health.
Instead of snacking on candy bars or sweets, try snacking on vegetables with natural dips or raw nuts dipped in salt. You can also make plain popcorn at home and season it with salt and other spices. It won’t take long for you to realize that salty snacks are actually much better than sugar-filled ones, even in taste.
Conclusion
It is a fact that sugar is an unhealthy part of our diet and that we should try to limit its consumption as much as possible. However, this doesn’t mean that we have to compromise on taste. If you’re tired of the same old sweet tooth, try implementing the advice above and see how much better you feel.
There are plenty of ways to cut down on sugar without having to give up your favorite foods – the ones mentioned above are just a few examples of what you can do. However, one of the best recommendations you can stick to is switching to preparing your own food instead of buying processed foods in supermarkets. Apart from allowing you to manually reduce your sugar intake, this habit will also enable you to eat healthier overall.
Further, sugar addiction is nothing to be ashamed of, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you feel like you need professional assistance. Good luck with your diet!