The vast majority of people consume far more sugar than is good for their health. The way in which our food-culture works involves way too much sugar and it is easier to consume than you may realize. Following these steps for reducing your sugar consumption can help to improve your health and protect the health of your teeth. Here are a few tips for reducing your sugar consumption and maintaining a healthier lifestyle.
How Sugar Consumption can Impact your Health
Sugar consumption impacts the health in a variety of ways. When sugar is consumed on a regular basis, it can lead to weight gain and the development of diabetes. Sugar consumption has also been one of the leading culprits in the development of heart disease. Tooth decay is incredibly common when paired with large amounts of sugar consumption. Bacteria in the mouth feed off of the sugars you consume, which allow them to escalate more quickly and damage the teeth. Sugar consumption can lead to the development of cavities, tooth sensitivity, and many additional oral health problems.
Handle Cravings with Chewing Gum
Chewing gum can go a long way toward handling your sweet tooth cravings. It is important to choose a sugar-free gum if you decide to use this step. This can also be beneficial to the health of your teeth. Chewing gum helps to stimulate saliva production, which helps to flush out harmful particles from the surface of the teeth.
Avoid Processed Foods
Processed foods tend to contain far more sugar than you may think. Added sugars are even present in unexpected places, such as soup or salad dressing. You should read labels carefully in order to remain aware regarding the levels of sugar that are present in the foods you are eating. It is generally better to avoid eating processed foods altogether, though this is not always possible. Buy unsweetened products, rather than those that have been artificially flavored or added sugar. You should also be careful about fat-free or low-fat foods. These foods tend to contain excessive amounts of sugar, even more than is often present in full-fat alternatives.
Make Improvements when Baking
There are many modifications that you can make to recipes while you are baking in order to provide healthier alternatives. You can reduce the amount of sugar that the recipe calls for. By reducing this by anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount that the recipe states. You may not even notice the difference. Even if you do, you will likely adjust to the taste fairly quickly. Another option is to switch out sugar completely and replace it with unsweetened applesauce. With this approach, you should use the same amount of applesauce as the recipe calls for in sugar.
Reduce your Levels of Stress
High levels of stress often result in higher levels of comfort food consumption. In order to prevent stress from impacting your sugar consumption reduction, you should find healthier methods for relieving your high stress levels. In order to reduce your stress levels, you can begin exercising more frequently, meditating, visiting a therapist, or undertaking many other new activities.
Get Healthy Levels of Sleep
Sugar is often used due to the energy spike it can provide. This becomes more commonly used when an individual hasn’t obtained adequate levels of sleep. When you decide to reduce your overall sugar consumption, you need to ensure that you are obtaining healthy levels of sleep to prevent this from impacting your plan.
Don’t Shop when you’re Hungry
Minimizing the overall amount of sugar that is present in your house can go a long way toward minimizing your sugar consumption. This will ultimately make it far less convenient to obtain a sugary treat, which reduces the likelihood that you will consume sugar. You should also take care to eat prior to shopping. When you shop while you are hungry, you are more likely to purchase unhealthy foods.
Add Protein and Fat, Rather than Carbs
You should focus on adding proteins and fats to your diet, rather than eating a diet high in carbs. This will help reduce your appetite and keep you full for longer. In addition, healthy fats can provide energy similar to that of carbs. Carbs tend to contain more sugar, which is why avoiding them can be especially beneficial.
Cut Back Slowly
It is incredibly difficult to completely quit sugar at one time. This often results in excessive cravings that can be difficult to handle. In addition, quitting your sugar consumption cold turkey tends to not provide permanent results. Cutting back your sugar consumption in steps tends to be far more effective over the long term, as well as allows you to adjust more gradually to reduced levels of sugar.
Stay Hydrated
A large array of people drink tons of calories and sugar with their choice of beverages. Soda, in particular, can be addictive and results in many unhealthy consequences. Consider replacing your beverage of choice with water. This will reduce your sugar consumption, keep you hydrated, and flush out food particles from your teeth.
Replace with Natural Alternatives
Natural sugars tend to be more beneficial to the health than sugars that are added to foods. By switching out these added sugars with fruits, cinnamon, honey, or other natural sweeteners, you can make it far easier to reduce the sugar consumption in your diet.
Stick to your Goals
It is often difficult when you first begin to reduce your consumption of sugar. However, keep in mind that it will get easier over time. Your taste buds are likely to adjust over time, which can make foods you used to love taste too sweet. This helps to provide long-term results to your dietary changes.
Reducing sugar consumption is extremely beneficial, especially when it comes to your teeth and smile. If your teeth have sustained damage due to the consumption of sugar, you should visit our office to obtain the appropriate services to restore them to their prior health. Contact us at Jenson Dental in Brigham City, UT to learn more about how to protect the health of your teeth!
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