Ways to help reduce your sugar intake

I recently bought my kid an amateur microscope. It is a simple apparatus, with some magnifying lenses at the end of its arm. We had fun putting various household objects such as sugar, salt and leaves under the microscope to see what the basic shapes of such household items are. 

Sugar, when put under the microscope, looks like small little "cubes", oblong and slanted at the ends. But at the end of the day, have you wondered what exactly is sugar, and why is it bad for your body? 

What is sugar? 

If we want to get really nerdy, the white stuff we know as sugar is sucrose, a molecule composed of composed of 12 atoms of carbon, 22 atoms of hydrogen and 11 atoms of oxygen. Sugar in fact occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and rice. So, you cannot avoid taking in some sugar in your day to day life. As such, the more important thing to understand is what kind of sugar is alright for your body, and what is not. 

Is there bad and good sugar? 

Yes! Eating a right amount of food that contain natural sugar is alright. Some of these foods, such as fruits, have a high amount of fiber, antioxidants and other vitamins that is good for you. While you are eating these foods, you also consume other stuff that is good for your body. 

What is not good for your body is added sugar, that is sugar that is added to make the food and drinks tastier. Based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline, our sugar consumption should be about 25 grams, or six teaspoons, of sugar a day. Considering that a can of soft drink contains about 40 grams, or about ten teaspoons of sugar, we seriously need to reduce our intake of sugar every day. 

Why is sugar bad for you? 

Firstly, a high consumption of sugar increases the risk of diseases such as obesity, heart diseases, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Hence, when you consume lots of sugar, you are also indirectly taking in a slow poison for your body! 

Sugar is also bad for you because it contains a high amount of calories, which causes weight gain. While we do not aim to have the figure of a supermodel, it helps to boost your self esteem and self confidence if you look good and feel good. In fact, the more you consume sugar, the more you feel like eating. Scientists have found out that one of the components of sugar is fructose, which increases your hunger and desire for food. By reducing your sugar intake, you are also reducing your overall desire for food. Hence, reducing your sugar level has a multiplier effect if you are determined to reduce your weight! 

Finally, do you know that sugar is not just bad for your waistline, but also for your skin? A lot of skin problems such as acne and eczema are exacerbated by sugar intake. And if it is aging skin that you are worried about, we have bad news for you. Diets high in sugar accelerate skin aging by increasing the breakdown of collagen fibers in a process called glycation. 

Ok, so how do I reduce my sugar intake?

Here are some tips to make it easier for you to reduce sugar intake

(1) Make it convenient

Humans are lazy creatures. The easier it is to do something, the more we will do so. The first thing to do if you wish to cut down your sugar level is to re-stock your refrigerator and kitchen with healthy food, drinks and snacks. Stock up on nuts, seeds and dried fruits in your refrigerator so that the next time you are hungry and wish to reach for a snack, there are only healthy choices in your home. 

(2) Make it tasty 

In order for you to feel like eating healthy food, such food should ideally also be tasty and appetizing. For example, I used to love sugary drinks and find it extremely hard to not reach for a sugared drink during most meals. After a while, I realised that if I switch from taking a sugared drink to drinking coconut juice, the switch will not be that hard to make. The good thing is there is an explosion of good and tasty choices in the market, so it is a matter of experimenting with different food to see which suits your taste buds. 

(3) Make micro changes in life

In order to make changes in life habits, start with a version of the habit that is easy for you. For example, if you add a teaspoon of sugar to your coffee every morning, use half as much sugar each week until you can cut it out completely without even noticing.  

(4) Make your own meals

If you cook your own meals, it will be much easier to control the sugar level and ingredients that go into your food. If you commute to work every day, take a salad for lunch and add lean meat to make it a tasty and healthy meal. There are also some good websites out there that teach you how to make good meals with little sugar intake. For example, I hit on this I Quit Sugar website that teaches you how to make tasty desserts such as Raw Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake without the use of sugar.

As the saying goes, a little goes a long way. Take small steps to take charge of your own health now. Your body will definitely thank you ten years down the road!