How To Cut Back Sugar (12 Ways To Cut Back Sugar In 2023)

Adults often consume more sugar than needed. Whether it’s through eating obvious sweet foods and snacks, or maybe it’s sneaky and hidden in other processed foods or foods prepared outside the home. Having too much sugar in our diets can contribute to obesity, as well as increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, depression and some types of cancer. Sugar may also increase inflammation in the body. Chronic, low-grade inflammation has been linked to nearly every lifestyle disease and ageing, including arthritis, G.I disorders, and metabolic syndrome. Sugar can also age the skin quicker, cause dental cavities and poor oral health, and cause an increase in appetite and hunger leading to higher calorie consumption. With so many positive reasons to reduce or give up sugar, what’s stopping you from doing it?

Try the techniques below, or if you feel or think you might have a sugar addiction, read about what you can do to overcome it here.

Our Comprehensive List Of Tricks To Reduce Sugar Intake

If You Use Dairy Free Milks

If you use dairy-free milks (oat, nut, in drinks (coffee, tea, smoothies) make sure they have no added sugar or sweeteners, or make your own.

Removing Processed Cereals

Swap out your processed sweetened breakfast cereal for a healthier option, or make your own, or have a protein rich breakfast instead.

Swapping Snack Types

Swap a sugary snack like a cookie or bar, for some blueberries with greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt.

Removing Sugary Drinks

Swap soft drinks for carbonated water with a squeeze of lemon or lime and some fresh herbs, like mint or basil.

Mid Morning Brunch And Snacks

Swap a mid-morning pastry or donut for an organic rice cake spread with almond butter, or apple slices with almond butter.

Make Your Own Dressing

Make your own salad dressings instead of using manufactured dressings that often have a lot of added sugar.

Skip Dessert

Skip dessert, or just have a piece of fruit with some cinnamon or plain natural yoghurt.

Stop Unnecessary Snacking

Stop snacking in the day by having 3 main meals with 20-30g of protein, plus plenty of fibre from vegetables. These foods will give you more satiety and keep you satisfied until your next meal.

Eat Fresh Fruit

Eat your fruit, instead of drinking it. Pure fruit juices may contain natural sugars (fructose), but drinking fruit juice can easily drink more fruit than if you were to eat it. If you’ve ever juiced an orange, you’ll see you often need 2 oranges to get a glass of OJ.

Read Food Labels

Learn how to read food labels. You’ll be able to spot and avoid products with added sugars. There are many varieties of sugar that can feature on a food label. Learning how much sugar is in an item of food can help you better understand what and how much you are consuming.

Eat Full Fat Foods

Certain foods labelled ‘low fat’, such as yoghurts, dairy and non-dairy drinks, salad dressings and sauces, are often ‘low fat’ because they are often high in sugar. Choosing healthy regular fat foods, or making your own is the better option.

Reduce Sugar Cravings With Chia Seed Pudding

Make a Chia pudding for a snack or dessert, and use a small amount of honey to sweeten if you desire. The chia seeds also have protein and can be a very filling snack.

Swap Artificial Sweeteners With Naturally Occurring Sugars

Avoid artificial sweeteners too. They still taste sweet, so are not teaching your tastebuds, and you, to desire the taste of healthier food. They can actually increase your desire for sweet foods! They are also linked to weight gain, diabetes and cancer, and they can negatively impact gut health.

Conclusive Thoughts On Reducing Your Sugar Intake

To cut back on sugar intake, consider these effective strategies: If you use dairy-free milks, opt for brands without added sugars, swap sugary cereals for healthier alternatives or homemade options, replace high-sugar snacks with choices like blueberries and Greek yoghourt, trade sugary drinks for carbonated water with fresh herbs, switch mid-morning pastries for organic rice cakes with almond butter, create your own salad dressings to avoid excess sugars, skip desserts or opt for a piece of fruit with cinnamon, curb snacking by prioritising three protein-rich meals with ample fibre, choose whole fruits over fruit juices to avoid excessive sugar, learn to read food labels to identify and avoid added sugars in products, manage sugar cravings with protein-rich chia seed pudding sweetened with honey, and finally, avoid artificial sweeteners which can lead to increased cravings and have potential health risks. These steps provide a comprehensive approach to reducing sugar consumption and promoting better overall health. For more information about healthier eating, check out out health coaching page!