For many families, finding a meal plan that pleases everyone can be difficult. It’s simpler to go with what makes everyone happy – which can end up being a lot of added sugar.

Let’s face it: sweets just taste good. The taste of sugar releases hormones that calm and relax us, and “sweet” is one of the first tastes humans prefer from birth.

This is why sugar is added to many processed foods, including bread, yogurt, juice and sauces. Too much sugar, including these “hidden” sugars, can lead to health problems such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

To help their families live healthy lives, most people need to plan meals and snacks with less calories from added sugars.

It is recommended that everyone limit their intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of their total daily calories. For example, if someone eats 2,000 calories daily, no more than 200 calories should come from added sugars.

If you would like your family to reduce its daily sugar intake, the following tips will help:

1. Read the label. Added sugars are called by many different names. Look for foods that don’t have high levels of the following:

  • Brown sugar
  • Corn syrup
  • Fructose
  • Molasses

2. Toss the table sugar. Cut back on the sugar you add to things you eat or drink, such as cereal, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and taper down from there.

3. Add fruit. Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, try fresh fruit (bananas, cherries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots). Fruit is naturally sweet and can help satisfy your cravings.

4. Swap out the soda. Buy sugar-free or low-calorie beverages. Water is always the best choice

5. Reduce sugar in your cooking. When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often, you won’t notice the difference.

6. Try extracts. Instead of using sugar in recipes, use extracts like almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.

7. Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar. For extra flavor, try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.

 

Dr. Lubna Maruf, M.D., is Medical Director of QualChoice Health Insurance in Little Rock.