Sugar appears in a lot of foods, for better or worse. Here’s how you can easily reduce it from your diet.

Sugar makes a lot of our favorite foods taste better, but it’s one of those components that sneaks up on you, present in just about everything, from cakes and pastries to seemingly healthy juices and yogurts. While there’s nothing wrong with consuming a healthy amount of sugar, it’s important to keep an eye on the amount you consume. What would be helpful is how to realistically reduce sugar from your diet.

While sugar isn’t as evil as the media makes it out to be, it does have an effect on our body and how it feels; consuming too much sugar spikes our blood sugar and can result in feeling sluggish (aka a sugar “crash”).

Learn the difference between natural and added sugar

Not all sugar is bad and not all sugar is made the same. Naturally occurring sugar, like the one that comes from fruit (fructose), is processed differently than the one that is added in (sucrose). Added white sugars tend to hit the bloodstream quickly, leading to crashes while not sating your hunger or giving you the energy you need.

Keep an eye on your intake

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Sugar is added to almost every type of processed food, so it’s important to keep an eye on the amount of sugar you consume. While you may not be eating a doughnut on a daily basis, you may be drinking juice and soda, which contains tons of sugar. The easiest way to cut this off is to try your best to drink more water and little by little, cutting back on your juice or soda intake.

Eat balanced meals regularly

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Sugar is very addictive; the more we eat it, the more our bodies crave it. In order to avoid those sugary cravings it’s important to eat regularly, especially if you consume meals that are whole and balanced. Think of fruit options that can replace sugar or herbs that can make meals tastier without increasing the sugar you’re consuming.