Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. All sugar is not created equal. So, when we talk about decreasing sugar in our diet lets be specific as to what type of sugar we’re decreasing to the point, we’re talking about added sugar.
There’s no universal definition for what types of sugar are considered “added sugars” (i.e., mono- and disaccharides, sugar, syrup, honey, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, nectar and other caloric sweeteners), but what IS universal is that added sugar (from the previously listed items) is sugar that is ADDED during processing and/or preparation. It’s not naturally occurring in the food that’s being prepared. Sugar may be added to products to enhance the flavor & palatability, to provide food a certain texture or color, or as a preservative increasing shelf life.
Sugar that’s unrefined, naturally occurring in foods like that in fresh fruit is bound up with fiber, nutrients and water, making it a nutrient rich source of calories rather than added sugar that provides empty calories. “Empty calorie” means the source of food providing calories contains little to no nutritional value.
One of the concerns with added sugar is that it displaces nutrient rich calories. For example, if you have a candy bar as your snack when you could have had an apple with peanut butter.
Below you’ll find 5 simple ways to decrease added, empty calorie, sugar in your diet.
Purchase less packaged, processed foods as shared above, with packaged, processed foods, it’s common for sugar to be added as a preservative & to enhance the taste. Placing less packaged foods in your cart is just one way to decrease added sugar. Which leads me to the next one, when you do purchase packaged, processed foods, be sure to.
Investigate Nutrition Facts Label + Ingredient List as of 2021 all nutrition facts labels include how many grams of added sugar are in the food product. If you come across one where the grams aren’t clearly stated on the nutrition facts label, put on our detective hat and investigate! Below the Nutrition Facts label lives an ingredient list. Scan the list! Consumer beware, ‘sugar’ isn’t the only name it goes by. There are several different sources of sugar in food products that’re represented by different terms on food and drinks, such as high fructose corn syrup, liquid fructose, syrup, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice to name a few.
Less out to eat, more meals prepared at home with meals out we simply don’t know what all is added to the foods during preparation. The meals are usually pretty tasty, and they get that way somehow, right?!? A good chance there’s a splash of empty calories here & a splash of empty calories there. With meals prepped at home, you know exactly what’s going into your food and you can make modifications to decrease empty calories if needed. If you’re a fan of going out to eat, remember you can always ask the server how something is prepared. That way, you make an informed selection on what you fuel your body with.
Sweeten up with the naturally sweet foods use dried fruits! My favorite dried fruit to sweeten up almost any dish is dried dates! Use less refined sweeteners like maple syrup or honey. These aren’t purely empty calories as they do provide some nutrients. Keep the flavor with fewer calories.
Focus on Whole Foods it all boils down to this! Focus more on choosing whole foods in your diet. When you do this, you will naturally decrease your empty calories intake. Empty calories is one of my all-time favorite topics to cover because once the light is shed on what empty calories are & how to identify them, so many moments happen. Clients discover common foods they assumed were healthy actually contained empty calories like flavored yogurt.
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