Living Sugar-Free: Introduction
Sugar consumption in Germany is far too high. We eat an average of around 100 grams of sugar every day, which makes us the front runner in Europe. Besides quick energy and a brief moment of enjoyment, a diet high in sugar only brings us disadvantages.
Our brain needs almost 150 grams of glucose every day - but also healthy foods such as grains or vegetables can be converted into glucose through their starch.
Living sugar-free: what does sugar-free mean?
Sugar occurs both in processed foods (industrial sugar), but also in natural foods such as fruit (fructose) or milk (lactose).
Even a cucumber consists of 1.7 percent sugar. So we can dispel the myth of a completely sugar-free diet right away. If you manage to reduce your daily sugar consumption to below 25 grams, you can be satisfied. Especially when the sugar comes from unprocessed foods.
Among other things, the following terms on food packaging are paraphrases for sugar:
- Glucose
- lactose
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
- Barley malt
- honey
- Agave syrup
- Rice syrup
Living sugar-free: what are the harmful consequences of sugar?
- Sugar makes you dependent and never permanently full (at most fat)
- Sugar is responsible for many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease
- Hormones get out of balance
Living sugar-free: 4 practical advantages
- Lose weight: You will definitely succeed in losing weight without sugar. Unlike fats or proteins, sugar is carried directly into the blood. It is not for nothing that we speak of “empty calories”. The blood sugar level rises rapidly and the insulin transports sugar into the cells for fat storage. Xylitol, for example, is a calorie-free alternative to sugar. Try the delicious chocolate drops from Zuckerthat goes well with snacking as well as quark or muesli.
- Sleep: Sweets and sugar consumption make you tired and sluggish. However, it tends to disturb your sleep. For power and a clear head, you'd better avoid eating too sweet.
- Taste: Sure, you use sugar to add more flavor to your diet. Ultimately, however, you are only distorting the true taste of the food. You no longer taste the natural sweetness of fruits or vegetables.
- Skin texture: Sugar causes blemished skin including pimples and acne. Take sugar-free recipes and your complexion will thank you for it.
Living sugar-free: in 4 steps
- Check your sugar consumption: Awareness of what your diet actually is is always the first step in making the change. How much sugar do you consume and which foods do you use? When it comes to sweets, for example, you can use chocolate with no added sugar in the first step or on wine gum without sugarput. So if you don't want to do without sweets, you now have delicious alternatives.
- Check food: You now know that there is sugar in almost every food. Even in those where you least expect it. You can create a nutrition plan so you don't have to think about what to eat for breakfast every day.
- Informing the environment: A saying goes: you are what you eat. But above all, you eat what those around you eat. Many delicious recipes also do without sugar. When you bring your friends and family onboard, it's much easier to persevere.
- Pre-cooking: Based on your dietary change, you will make it easier for yourself if you cook recipes in larger quantities and then divide them up over one or two days. This way, you won't be tempted to quickly resort to really unhealthy answers to cravings.