5 Straightforward Ways to Cut Sugar From Your Diet

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds that as of 2000, Americans are consuming over 150 pounds of sugar each year.  The American Heart Association recommends only six teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and nine teaspoons of added sugar per day for men. Very easily, Americans can far exceed this recommendation when eating breakfast. One 12-ounce glass of orange juice contains over eight teaspoons of sugar.

Here are a few recommendations on how to reduce the amount of sugar we eat:

1. Artificial sweeteners aren’t the answer

Don’t be tempted to think artificial sweeteners are less harmful than regular table sugar. Although non-caloric, these artificial sweeteners are thousands of times sweeter than sugar, making us more and more tolerate of sugar in our diets. Artificial sweeteners have been associated with increased risk for weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.

2. Emphasize whole foods

Plan your meals around meats, fruits and vegetables, limiting grain consumption, even if the product is identified as whole grain. Most foods advertised as whole grains are still highly processed.

3. Examine food labels

Take time to review nutritional labels. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just made changes to its food labels, including line items for both total sugar and added sugars in products. As you will notice, there is no recommended daily allowance for sugar. It is up to consumers to understand how much sugar they should be consuming.

4. Count the ingredients

In addition to reviewing the nutrition label, scroll down further to check how many ingredients are in the foods you’re purchasing. In general, the fewer the better. Also, if you can’t pronounce the ingredients listed in the product, you might want to put it back on the shelf.

5. Don’t believe all packaging

Words like “natural” and “organic” don’t necessarily paint an accurate picture. Flip to the back of a package to review the nutrition label and ingredients list to verify.