How To Be (Mostly) Sugar Free Without Going Crazy

When it comes to a sugar-free diet, the jury is still out. While the crusade by health advocates to have us ban all sugar from our diets has been hard to ignore, cutting out all sources of sugar has remained up for debate. Our body requires a certain amount of sugar to function and while portion watch is essential, cutting out fruit does little in the way of promoting a balanced diet.  What is far more pressing is the need to ditch the white stuff - refined sugar. With a plethora of studies and research linking refined sugar to increased rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify those mid-afternoon cookies and sweets. So how to kick the white stuff to the curb without going to extremes.  

1. Make your own desserts and swap cane sugar with honey and maple syrup in your cooking. Not only will they offer a more natural and healthy option, they will also help combat those sugar highs (and lows) by releasing into the blood stream at a slower rate. 

2.Cut out all artificial sugar substitutes such as agave. Artificial flavourings wreak havoc with the body leaving you substituting one unhealthy option with another. They will also do little to curb your sugar cravings. 

3.Watch your coffee intake. If you have your coffee with sugar it’s time to cut back or consider swapping for a serving of tea instead. Alternatively, act as the Europeans do and have your coffee sans the sugar. As most coffee lovers will tell you, sugar has no place in a good blend. 

4.Make a conscious decision to cut out unnecessary sugar from your grocery list. Out of sight out of mind has never rung truer. If your pantry isn’t packed with sugar-laden cereals, biscuits, muffins and other unhealthy snacks, you will simply learn to live without them. 

5.Avoid low-fat dairy products such as yoghurts, cheeses and milks. They are filled with sugar to substitute for that full-fat taste and if we have learnt one thing lately it is that sugar and not fat is the problem. 

6.Learn your food labels and find the hidden culprits. While we should be going back to basics and eating foods with as few ingredients as possible, get to know the multitude of sugar labels such as agave, corn syrup, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, cane sugar, cane crystals, fruit juice concentrates, molasses, turbinado sugar and brown sugar.