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Reduced Sugar Diet

Feb 8, 2011 | By Paula Quinene
Reduced Sugar Diet
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A reduced-sugar diet, whether the sugar is from simple carbs or complex carbs, can help lower your risk of insulin resistance, a condition in which your cells are no longer sensitive to insulin in your blood. Your pancreas must then produce more insulin to process your blood sugar. If this condition persists, it can lead to diabetes. Reducing the sugar in your diet might be as simple as limiting your intake of cakes and candy, or as complex as eating only slow-digesting sugars from high-fiber fruits and grains.

Step 1

Refrain from eating the obvious high-sugar foods, such as sugary cereals, breakfast bars, pastries, candy, soda, cakes and doughnuts. Review the ingredient list for sugar, can be disguised as honey, malt syrup, agave nectar, glucose, invert sugar, dextrose, fruit juice concentrates and evaporated cane juice.

Step 2

Check the label of your condiments, especially tomato ketchup. Find ketchup made without added sugars or sweeteners, typically available at health food or natural food stores.

Step 3

Limit your consumption of beer and fruit juices, as such drinks are high in simple sugars. The sugar in beer comes from malted barley -- during production, the starch in barley is converted to sugar, or maltose. Fruit juices, even with no added sugars, are a concentrated source of fruit sugar, or fructose.

Step 4

Replace your high-glycemic-index carbs, or refined carbs -- such as white rice, white bread and baked potatoes -- with low-glycemic-index, or whole grain carbs. Low-glycemic carbs do not raise your blood sugar quickly, as do high-glycemic carbs. The sugars in whole grain carbs are high in fiber, slowing their digestion. The sugars in refined carbs are absorbed into your bloodstream rapidly because they are made up almost entirely of simple sugars, or refined grains, leading to spikes in blood sugar.

Step 5

Cut back on the amount of sugar called for in your recipes by one-fourth. Gradually, cut out another one-fourth.

Step 6

Measure your jellies, jams and syrups if you must have such sweeteners with your breakfast or baked goodies. One tablespoon adds plenty of sweetness to your food. Eventually reduce your breakfast condiment to a ½ tbsp.

Step 7

Eat breakfast and keep your blood sugar stable by eating every two to three hours, reducing the likelihood you will binge with a sugar-loaded latte or a treat from the vending machine.

Tips and Warnings

  • Look for no-sugar-added products on the shelves of your local grocer, as such products have become quite popular.

References

Article reviewed by OmahaTyppo Last updated on: Feb 8, 2011

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