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 Feeling guilty about over indulging in sugary foods? It’s not our fault really – we were all born with an innate preference for the sweet taste.
Theories suggest that this was an evolutionary advantage – sweet foods are generally higher in energy therefore fuelling up on sweet foods such as fruit was a good way to fuel up for times of scarcity.
However these days, food scarcity isn’t a problem – it’s the opposite. And it’s doubtful that people are overindulging in fruit – more likely fruit flavoured candies… So here’s how to conquer your sweet tooth to avoid the negative health effects of too much sugar.  1: Don’t skip meals or get too hungryLetting yourself get too hungry can lead to cravings, so don’t skip meals and if needed, have a snack between meals to beat bad hunger pains. Good snacks include pots of low fat yoghurt, fruit, a small handful of nuts or a low fat muesli bar. 2: Cut down on sugar to retrain your tastebuds Processed foods often contain added sugar and salt to enhance flavour. Compared to 20 or even 10 years ago, the amount of processed foods available for consumption has increased dramatically, along with their consumption. Consequently, we’ve become used to eating sweeter foods.
To re-adjust tastebuds, cut down the amount of sugar you have in your diet. Tips to reduce sugar in your diet are:
 Wean yourself off sugar in hot drinks
If you have two teaspoons of sugar a day in a hot drink, in a year you would have consumed 728 teaspoons of sugar. This equals almost three kilos and 10920 calories! Some breakfast cereals have a high sugar content. For example, Nutri-Grain has 9.6g of sugar per 30g. Compare this to Weetbix which only has 0.8g. Check the label! When shopping, check out the ingredients list, if sugar is one of the first few ingredients on the list, look for an alternative product if possible. 3: Go natural Go for the natural sweetness of fruit. Fruit contains the type of sugar fructose, which is more slowly digested than sucrose (table sugar), so it’s released into the blood stream slowly. This means it doesn’t cause large peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels that you get with sucrose. Fruit also contains fibre, antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals so is a much more nutritious choice than a handful of lollies.  4: Replace a bad habit with a good oneHabits are hard to break, so it makes sense to replace one bad habit with a more constructive one. If it is a nightly tradition to have a slice of cake with your cuppa, swap it for a healthier habit. Instead of the cake, grab your boyfriend/husband/flatmate and go for a walk. When you come back, the craving should have passed. While it may take a little will power conquer your sweet tooth, you’ll be glad of the effort you put. Reducing your intake of high GI sugary goods should leave you feeling more energetic and you’ll be healthier overall. Nicola
www.eatwellnz.com
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