Sugar Reduction Diet

Sugar contributes little, if any, nutrition to your diet and is high in calories in relation to its volume, states Clemson University's Cooperative Extension. Eating too many calories can contribute to obesity, which, in turn, raises your risk of obesity-related illnesses such as stroke, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. When planning a healthy diet, pay attention to the calories, fat and sugar content of the foods you eat.

Names of Sugar

Sugar goes by many names in processed foods. If a label has the word "sugar" in the ingredient list, you can be confident that food contains sugar. Other names include cane, raw and brown sugar. The "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" lists molasses, agave nectar honey, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, sucrose and maltose among other names for refined sugars. In addition to analyzing the ingredient list of foods you eat, use the nutrition label to determine how many grams of sugar a food contains.

Maximum Intake

A 2009 scientific statement from the American Heart Association by Rachel K. Johnson, Ph.D., and colleagues, published in the journal "Circulation," recommends that an adult woman eat only 100 calories, or about 25 g, of added sugars per day, and a man should eat no more than 150 calories, or 36 g, of added sugars. As an example, 12 oz. of a carbonated beverage has almost 10 tsp. or 160 calories of sugar, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One teaspoon of sugar has 4 g of sugar and 16 calories. Adding 3 tsp. of sugar to your coffee twice a day is almost 100 sugar calories.

Benefits of Eating Less Sugar

Refined sugars add unnecessary calories to your diet, which may make losing or maintaining weight difficult. Eating less sugar can help stabilize your blood sugar levels and keep your energy level constant. Dr. David Kessler in "The End of Overeating" suggests that sugar is addictive. When you systematically reduce the amount of sugar you eat, you may break the sugar habit and find it easier to consistently avoid high sugar foods like cakes, candy, sodas, sugar-filled cereals and processed foods.

Strategies

You can either reduce the amount of sugar you eat all at once by avoiding any food that has added sugar, or you can systematically reduce sugar in your diet. Read food labels and choose foods without sugar in the ingredient list. Instead of cooking with white sugar, substitute unsweetened applesauce or an artificial sugar substitute, if desired. Make your own cooked cereal rather than buying presweetened oatmeal packets. Replace sodas with diet soda, unsweetened teas or plain water. Pay attention to unexpected sources of sugar in foods such as jams, ketchup, Asian sauces and frozen dinner entrees.

Considerations

If you suffer from pre-diabetes or diabetes, always consult your doctor before changing the fundamental make-up of your diet. Plan your meals carefully in order to avoid refined sugars. You may find yourself cooking more foods from scratch and eating out less frequently when seriously reducing your sugar intake.