How to lower your consumption of sugar

According to the World Health Organization, it is recommended to consume 25 grams of sugar a day. But in general, our diet has much more sugar than that. Sugar is a product that the food industry uses across the board. And in foods that you wouldn't imagine!

The amount of sugar that the WHO recommends consuming daily is very small. To give you an idea: a full tablespoon of sugar can contain up to 25 grams. Or, in another equivalence: 25 grams of sugar is about six tablespoons of coffee. So in that one spoon, you should have all the sugar for your day.

The sugar in fruit is not harmful. It's the so-called free sugars (or added sugars) that must be taken with caution. And as it turns out, we are making the sugar of the fruit metabolize as free sugars when we squeeze the fruit and drink its juice. In addition, we consume more sugar that way because, generally, the juice is made from several pieces of fruit. It is healthier to eat one piece at a time.

It depends on the country, but there are places in the world where breakfast is the great feast of the sweet tooth: cereals, jams, chocolates... Be careful! Sweeten your coffee or tea moderately, eat unsweetened yogurt, and bet on healthy salty foods (vegetables, eggs, etc.). Remember: one sugar cube contains between 5 and 7 grams of sugar.

The healthiest thing would be to make our own sauces. It is very common for ketchup brands, for example, to introduce a large amount of sugar to their tomato sauce, just to improve the flavor. That's because tomatoes tend to have a certain acidity.

Many precooked foods have high sugar content. Even if they are salty foods! For example, this is the case with frozen pizzas. They are usually prepared with a lot of sugar. Obviously, the food industry is adapting to new times and trying to reduce sugar so look at the label carefully and decide. But (again), it would be best if we made our own pizza without added sugar.

If you consume soy or almond drinks instead of milk, don't expect them to be sugar-free drinks. In almond milk, for example, there can be up to 20 grams of added sugar in a glass.

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If the usual soft drink already has a serious problem with sugar (despite attempts to make it diet or zero), the energy drink is a full-on disaster. The sum of caffeine and high doses of sugar is the perfect stimulant for our brain, so an average energy drink can contain up to 52 grams of sugar.

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Balsamic vinegar contains sugar. Not in an excessive amount, but be aware that sugar is also used to sweeten its flavor.

They're salty cookies, but they contain a lot of sugar. Appearance is deceiving.

Honey is very healthy (and delicious), but 85% of its composition is sugar. The same thing goes for syrup and other sweeteners.

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We have to take time and read the labels of the food we buy. And we also need to know the sugar synonyms that some brands use. If food contains much fructose, sucrose, lactose, glucose, or starch, be careful with it.

They are a real temptation, but industrial sweets have so much sugar that they can only be consumed as a whim that we afford from time to time.

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Ice cream is a delight that many cannot deny themselves. But a regular ice cream contains at least 21 grams of sugar when only a maximum of 25 grams a day is recommended. However, no one is perfect, and some ice cream from time to time will not kill us.

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Low-fat yoghurt tends to have a higher sugar content, because the fat is replaced by sugar in order to preserve its texture and taste. Be careful when choosing your yogurt.

Consuming chocolate in large quantities can lead to other problems, but as far as sugar is concerned, it's best to eat it as dark as possible. A 70% dark chocolate bar usually contains about 5 grams of sugar. This is acceptable as long as you haven't eaten too many sugary foods for the rest of the day.

Teriyaki sauce has a very high sugar content. It is delicious but you have to be careful with the quantity.

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Fruit is the best dessert. Sweets are best left for special occasions.

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Sugar was traditionally not used in the production of (European) bread. But the industrial processing of this food and the eagerness to give it an attractive taste or crunchy texture has caused producers to add significants amounts of sugar to it. The best thing is to go to a traditional bakery where they make their own product, the old-fashioned way.

In short, we have to take less sugar. Health comes first. On the other hand, life is about happiness (and sometimes breaking the rules). With that a little bit of candy (just a little) we should be fine, as long as we keep an eye on our diet.