In an effort to pursue a healthier lifestyle many families are looking for ways to cut sugar. 

 There are many reasons for us to reduce our kids’ intake of sugar consumption.  One reason is to avoid tooth decay.  Take it from me, visiting the dentist to get crowns because of huge fillings that led to broken teeth is not how they want to spend their adult hours or money.   

Another reason to cut back on sugar is how it affects children’s behavior.  This may or may not be proven depending on who’s study you read, but I believe sugar intake is linked to behavior and moods.   

Even for adults, consuming large amounts of sugar causes a rush of energy in our body as the sugar hits the blood stream all at once.  Unfortunately, the sugar rush doesn’t last and we quickly “crash”.  This leaves us feeling drained and irritated.  That’s when we reach for the afternoon cup of coffee. 

There are  medical reasons to cut your sugar intake too.  Increasing insulin levels is how the body responds to sugar.  Over time high insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance and that can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. 

Here are five easy ways to cut your sugar intake: 

1.  Avoid sweetened breakfast cereals.  A serving of plain Cheerios only has one gram of sugar.  Compare that to one serving of Frosted Cheerios with fourteen grams of sugar. 

2.  Kick the soda habit. Pop is loaded with sugar.  You can choose a diet soda and miss the sugar but some studies have shown that our bodies still respond to the artificial sweeteners.  Try moving over to iced tea or herbal tea and up your water intake. 

3.  Choose foods that do not have added sugars.Foods like jelly and ice cream are loaded with added sugars but are also available without ‘added sugars’.  They’re still sweet and taste great but do not raise your sugar level as much as their highly sweetened counterparts.  Look for ‘all fruit’ spreads and ‘no sugar added’ ice cream.   

4.  Choose whole grains. Simple carbohydrates turn into sugar in your body.  Complex carbohydrates take more effort for the body to use up.  The more whole grains that you choose — the better for your body.  A good rule of thumb is to choose brown bread, rice, and pasta whenever possible. 

5.  Sweeten naturally when possible.It will help you break the sugar habit if you start to turn to naturally sweet alternatives in place of sugar.  Do you know that you can make deliciously sweet lemonade by juicing two plump apples with a half of a lemon? Pour the fresh juice over ice and enjoy without any added sugar at all.   You can sweeten your tea with honey or use applesauce to replace some of the sugar called for in your cake mix. 

Every little bit helps.