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6 Benefits Of Reducing Sugar In Your Diet

Ice cream and a cupcake are delicious and tempting and is hard to say no to. However, these sugary treats are unhealthy and may be even aging you.

Most people link sugar to putting on weight, tooth decay, acne, but many people do not realize how sugar is causing a decrease in your lifespan, increase in anxiety, and is even linked to high blood pressure.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, reports that the average American consumes anywhere between 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugars in just one year. And according to the American Heart Association this means that people are consuming five times the amount of recommended sugar intake.

That is A LOT of sugar!

People are consuming this much sugar because they are simply unaware that they are even eating sugar. As crackers, pop, ketchup, bread, and almost all store bought and packed foods contain some kind of sugar.

This is because starchy foods like bread are broken down in your body as simple sugars which basically has the same affect of the sugar that you put in your coffee.

For this reason, it is a good idea to cut down on the amount of sugar that you consume each day and you will be surprised at all the amazing things that will start happening to your body.

Look Younger

Sugar is large factor of people looking older and not having the clear and youthful skin that they want.

This is because of a natural process known as "glycation"; this is when there is too much sugar in your body and when protein molecules can cross link with sugar molecules. And this will produce advanced glycation which your body does not recognize. This will result in the surrounding proteins becoming damaged; which means that your skin will become less firm and elastic.

But there is good news!

This is because the process of glycation can be slowed down and even stopped, by simply cutting down on your sugar intake.

Yes cutting down sugar is not easy, but taking baby steps can also make a huge difference. Just by cutting out a soft drink can cut down 10 teaspoons of sugar. Imagine if you cut out pop completely what the difference would make for your skin?

It could make you look more youthful again.

Lose Weight

If you reduce sugar intake you will be surprised when you step on the weight scale as the number will continue to drop. And you will also see weight disappearing from those trouble areas, like your belly.

This is because sugar is made-up of mostly of fructose which then immediately converts to fat in the problem areas. In addition, sugar also affects a hormone called insulin which slows down your metabolism which will slow down your weight loss goals.

Stops the Sugar Cravings

The addiction to sugar is thought to be just as addictive as cocaine. This is why it is sometimes very difficult for some people to stop consuming sugar.

Sugar becomes addicting because once you have a taste of sugar it will cause hormones and neurotransmitters to tell your body that it needs sugar and carbs in your diet in order to function.

This is because these neurotransmitters give us a short period of time where our mood improve and anxiety decreases. Therefore, our mind and body will want to continue to feel like this.

But the good news is that it only takes at most a week for your sugar cravings to disappear.

Sleep Better

Many people have trouble having good sleep through the night and many people even have insomnia.

But did you know that sugar may be the cause of you not getting enough sleep through the night?

Therefore, by cutting out sugars and carbs it will help lower your blood sugars levels that may be causing you to not get a good night's rest.

For that reason, it is important to not eat or drink something that has sugar before bed. Instead have a bowl of oatmeal or cereal that has no sugar to help with your hunger.

Boost your Health

As we discussed above, sugar increases glucose levels in the bloodstream. This also results in carbohydrates to increase; which will raise blood sugars faster.

Therefore, this can cause high blood pressure which can unfortunately lead to heart disease and even a heart attack.

In addition, when you consume too much sugar this can also be the cause and development of chronic inflammation in your body. This can pose many health risks and even worsen conditions like arthritis and diabetes.

A great thing for replacing foods that have a lot of sugar content is having a piece of fruit instead or even having infused water to substitute soft drinks.

Have More Energy

Have you ever had a 3:00pm energy decline?

And as a result you have another cup of coffee or even worse open up an energy drink?

Yes it does give you a boost of energy for a moment. But a few hours later you will find yourself in the same energy slump that you had at 3:00pm.

This happens because the sugars are broken down very quickly and results in a quick drop in your blood sugar levels; which is why you will usually feel tired again.

Instead, replace sugar with simple carbs as a way to boost your energy when you hit that 3:00pm slump. Even green tea and black coffee without sugar and milk can give you that boost that you may need.

Sugar Free Snack Ideas

Many people think that finding alternative healthy snacks that does not contain much sugar is difficult.

However, you would be surprised at how many healthy snacks there are and they are also simple to make.

To give you a little help we provided some healthy sugar free snack ideas that you can enjoy!

Soft-Serve Banana Ice Cream

Source: Recipes.SparkPeople.com

Ingredients:

• 4 peeled frozen bananas

Directions:

1. Place frozen bananas in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to break into smaller pieces, then turn on and run for about five minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. The bananas will start to resemble soft serve in a few minutes. Transfer to a bowl and place in freezer for about 15 minutes, if you'd like, or serve immediately.

Mock Kettle Popcorn

Source: Recipes.SparkPeople.com

Ingredients:

• 8 cups air-popped popcorn
• 1 packet Splenda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt substitute, like butter

Directions:

1. Spray the popcorn with a butter-flavored cooking spray.
2. Spray the top layer, shake or stir the bowl, spray again, repeating 2 or 3 times.
3. Add a packet of sweetener, and sprinkle with the salt-substitute

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