How do you cut down on sugar? Or better yet, get rid of it completely! Let’s get this one straight, white refined sugar is dangerous to your health, it is addictive and causes more degenerative diseases and deaths than tobacco! Refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta and flour fall into this category also as they are converted to sugar in the body. They contain no nutrients. They are just empty calories. When you eat them they quickly enter the bloodstream causing major imbalances within your body.
If you see any of the following foods you know you are eating sugar:
- Sucrose
- Treacle
- Molasses
- Golden Syrup
- Corn Syrup
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Fructose Syrup
- Invert Syrup
- Maltose
Cut Down On Sugar Intake
Sugar will give you a high, just like a drug, and then quickly follow it with a low, at which point you will crave sugar again. So what’s the answer? Luckily nature has provided us with a few alternatives. Xylitol is by far my favourite substitute and I have included a few recipes in the last section below so you can make some sweet snacks that are actually good for you!
Xylitol
This is a natural sweetener derived from fibrous vegetables and fruit. It is produced naturally in the body. Not only is it not dangerous for you but also will help the body to heal itself. Studies have shown that it helps to prevent cavities and reduces plaque formation. It helps reduce ear and upper respiratory infections and is perfectly acceptable for diabetics. Xylitol in its crystalline form looks and acts just like sugar. It is a little more expensive than your regular sugar but I find the health benefits far outweigh the costs.
If you do use xylitol in your cooking make sure that you do not feed anything made with it to your dog as some studies have suggested that xylitol could be toxic to dogs.
Stevia
Another alternative to cut down on sugar is Stevia. It is 250 times sweeter than normal sugar and contains zero calories! It is natural, non-toxic, non-glycemic, reduces plaque, kills fungi and viruses and is an anti-oxidant.
So there you go, two healthy alternatives to cut down on sugar. They can be used in your cooking, your cup of tea, or wherever you would use sugar normally.
