Health Nut Suzy – Just say No to Sugar

Just say No to Sugar

Sugar increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease among other illnesses, like cancer whose cells love sugar. It is imperative that we take a serious look at how much sugar we ingest daily and make the appropriate changes.

Here are 5 ways to limit sugar intake…

Buy unsweetened food or drink products! Once you know where sugar hides, you can start making changes. Buy foods labeled, no added sugar or unsweetened.

Don’t go cold turkey

Cut back slowly!

• Example#1- If you normally put two packets of sugar in your coffee, for instance, try one for a week, then half, and finally add only a splash of milk.
• Example#2- For your yogurt, mix half a serving of sweetened yogurt with half a serving of plain, and eventually move on to adding natural sweetness with fresh fruit.

Never eat artificial sugar

When reducing sugar intake, you may be tempted to switch to artificial sugars for your sweet fix. But, resist reaching for the diet soda, sugar-free candy and packets of artificial sugar in your latte. When you eat something sweet, your body expects calories and nutrition, but artificial sugars don’t give your body those things.

Don’t drink it

Avoiding soda is a good idea. Even drinks that are considered healthy can contain more of the sweet stuff than you’re supposed to have in an entire day.

• Enhanced waters (eight teaspoons per bottle)
• Bottled iced teas (more than nine teaspoons per bottle)
• Energy drinks (almost seven teaspoons per can)
• Bottled coffee drinks (eight teaspoons per bottle)
• Store-bought smoothies (more than a dozen teaspoons for a small size)

Add more flavor

• Use vanilla bean and vanilla extract, spices, and citrus zests to add sweetness to foods without having to use sugar, and for zero calories.
• Order an unsweetened latte and add flavor with cocoa or vanilla powder
• Skip the flavored oatmeal and add a sweet kick with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

To cut down on sugar, you should read the nutrition facts label on all products you purchase. The nutrition facts label tells you how many grams of sugar is in each serving. The World Health Organization Guidelines recommend only 25 grams of sugar per day. That’s 10 grams less than amount found in sodas. A 12 ounce can of cola has 35 grams of sugar, which is 10 grams over the allowance.

Track your sugar intake

Check the labels of all packaged foods that you eat. If you’re taking in more sugar than you mean to, take a look at where the sugar in your diet comes from and you might see some obvious ways to cut back. For example, just trading in that afternoon cola for an unsweetened iced tea could cut 50 grams of added sugar out of your diet in a single swipe. If you eat out, you can often get detailed nutrition information on restaurant websites. Don’t worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruit or unsweetened dairy products, but make sure to count any sugar that you put into your coffee or honey that you drizzle over your oatmeal.

Learn sugar aliases

When you read food labels, you’ll need to look for more than just the word, sugar. Sugar hides under several sneaky names, including, brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, malt sugar, molasses, raw sugar, sugar molecules ending in ‘ose’ (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).

Enjoy this sugar-free drink recipe!

Green Tea Watermelon Spritzer

Ingredients

4 cups chilled watermelon (cubed and seeded)

1 ½ cups chilled Gold Peak Green Tea
½ tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice
¼ cup seltzer

Directions

Step 1: Cube the seeded watermelon
Step 2: Chill the green tea and watermelon in refrigerator
Step 3: Add the green tea, watermelon cubes and lemon juice to your blender
Step 4: Blend on high speed for 45 seconds, or until the mixture is completely smooth
Step 5: Stir in seltzer
Step 6: Pour into a glass and serve with a slice of lemon or watermelon

Allergy Warning: Contains Citrus

Meet the Coach

Susanna K. Green is an entrepreneur and the proprietor of multiple successful businesses; Sweet Nectar Publishing, Health Nut Suzy, and Central Florida-Operation Detox. Susanna is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Coach. In addition, she is a Published Author and Instructor who has written many health and wellness books as well as published multiple online wellness courses. She is the Editorial Director for ‘The Lyfe Magazine’ where she writes the monthly wellness article. Susanna is a Reiki Master Teacher and hosts a monthly Reiki training. She is also a Relaxation Massage Therapist. You can find Susanna’s products and services on her website at www.healthnutsuzy.com

Susanna’s philosophy is, “When you love your body, it will love you back.”

Susanna’s strategy is to offer you tools, knowledge and guidance to help you identify underlying issues and create healthy lifestyle choices that will be sustainable.

Susanna’s goal is to get to the root cause of your problem, instead of just masking the symptoms.

Want more awesome recipes? Go to www.healthnutsuzy.com and subscribe for my FREE Liquid Detox Recipes eBook.

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