Take a close look at your diet and you may be surprised how many of your daily calories come from refined flour and sugar. Sodas and sports drinks, bread, grain-based desserts and alcoholic beverages make up four of the top five calorie sources for adult Americans, according to the USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Added sugars alone make up 16 percent of calories in the average American diet. When you cut out flour and sugar and add healthy carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your diet, you'll boost your fiber and nutrient intake while preventing conditions such as diabetes and obesity.
Step 1
Eat oatmeal, barley, bulgur or other whole grains flavored with cinnamon and sweetened with chopped-up fruit for breakfast instead of store-bought cereals packed with extra sugar and refined flour. If you do eat cereal, look for ones containing at least 3 g of fiber per serving with no added sugars.
Step 2
Read the labels of breads and pastas, and look for either "whole grains" or "whole wheat" as the first ingredient listed. While whole-wheat bread contains almost the same number of calories as white bread, it has almost twice the protein content and more than twice the fiber content.
Step 3
Purchase products from the store that do not list sugar or high-fructose corn syrup near the front of the ingredient list.
Step 4
Drink water or unsweetened tea instead of sodas or sports and energy drinks, According to the USDA, these drinks are responsible for 36 percent of the added sugar intake in the American diet. If you have trouble drinking plain water, look for sugar-free flavoring packets to add in without contributing calories to your diet.
Step 5
Substitute half of the flour content of your homemade baked goods with whole-wheat flour. While you won't be cutting out flour completely, you'll add fiber to the finished product.
Step 6
Satisfy your sweet tooth with naturally sweet fresh fruit instead of sugary desserts. While fruits contain sugar, they also contain nutrients valuable to your overall health.
Step 7
Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women and two for men if you're of legal drinking age. Choose drinks without sugar-laden mixers like sodas or juices.
Tips and Warnings
- If you're not used to the texture of whole grain-pasta, start by preparing half whole grain and half regular pasta to gradually make the change.
- Cutting out sugar and flour is a good first step in improving your diet, but you should also limit your saturated fat, trans fat and sodium intake to reduce your risk of hypertension and heart disease.
References
- USDA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health: Carbohydrates -- Good Carbs Guide the Way
- "Fitness" Magazine; The Healthiest Cold Cereals; September 2006
- MayoClinic.com; Whole Grains -- Hearty Options for a Healthy Diet; July 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Recipes -- A Guide to Ingredient Substitutions; November 2010
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