4 Fantastic Sugar Swaps For All The Family
You’d be hard pushed to find a child that didn’t enjoy a sugary treat. Children would eat candy all day long if they could. In fact, some adults would too! Hands up who had an Easter egg for breakfast during the holidays? Be honest…
All jokes aside, with tooth decay at an all-time high (and sugar being the main culprit), limiting sugar intake is something we really need to get a handle on.
But the thing is, we can’t limit sugar intake by cutting our favorite treats out completely. Have you ever tried that with your kids? It doesn’t go down very well, does it? What we can do instead, is swap your high sugar faves for low sugar alternatives – and still keep your taste buds happy.
By adopting the below ‘sugar swaps’, you and the rest of your family can reduce your sugar intake without feeling like you’re being deprived of the sweet treats you love.
Say goodbye to your sugary breakfast cereal
As we mentioned earlier, there is a huge temptation to eat something sweet for breakfast. If you ask any child whether they’d prefer coco pops or wheat bran for breakfast, guess which one they’d choose? Even many adults are vulnerable to the tempting allure of chocolate cereals. We are human, after all!
But these chocolatey, sweet cereals are a huge source of unnecessary sugar. So throw out the frosted flakes, chocolate pops, and honey crunch and swap for wheat biscuit cereal, shredded wholegrain, oatmeal or muesli with no added sugar. A tough battle for parents with young children, we know, but swapping a chocolate cereal for a whole grain cereal will literally cut your breakfast sugar levels in half.
If you want an even healthier option, then add a dollop of honey to some greek yogurt and add a splodge of peanut butter – it’s delicious! And for adults, sprinkle on some bee pollen for the ultimate immune boost!
Say no to soda
Did you know that one can of Coca-Cola contains a whopping 39 grams of sugar? That’s 10 teaspoons! Fizzy sodas are packed with a tremendous amount of sugar so we recommend swapping for a low sugar option. The healthiest option would be, of course, the elixir of life – water!
But we get that that’s pretty boring – especially for kids. So how about trying some sparkling water with a splash of low sugar fruit juice? As we explain in our article, ‘6 Surprisingly Sugary Foods’, fruit juice (even the high-quality ones from supermarkets) are still packed full of unnecessary sugar so if you want to go for an even healthier option then try adding some freshly squeezed juice. You can either juice some berries to make a tasty au-naturel mixer or squeeze some lime, lemon, or grapefruit juice into your yummy, homemade fizzy drink.
Be careful of snacks
While chocolate, cake bars, and chips seem enticing, they really don’t do you any favors when it comes to your teeth and gums (not to mention your waistline!)
And we understand why you might want to surprise your children with little treats. But remember, your children’s teeth are still developing so giving them too much sugar when they’re young can create teeth and gum problems later in life.
So how about, instead, giving them a handful of grapes, sliced apple, nuts or popcorn. Even trail mix, although still high in natural sugar, is a better option than candy or chocolate bars.
Also remember that the more you snack, the more you want to eat. It is much better to eat three well-balanced meals and abandon snacks altogether.
Make your own sauces
You may not realize this, but spaghetti sauces are full of sugar. A single cup of pasta sauce (245 g) contains 16 grams of sugar (4 teaspoons). So we recommend making your own sauce from scratch.
We know, it’s so much easier to grab a jar of commercial spaghetti sauce from the grocery store and throw it into your family lasagna, especially when your time is limited. But how about making it a fun family experiment? Use all your favorite herbs and spices, mix with some chopped tomatoes and sweet vegetables to get the desired taste, and voila – your home-cooked spaghetti dish has been created.
But, of course, if you really are low on time and love your pasta sauces then try and choose a sauce with the lowest sugar content.
We know it’s not always easy to follow a low sugar diet, especially when you have kids. It’s more about finding ways of cutting down where you can and swapping high sugar foods with foods that have lower sugar content. It’s not something that you can change overnight. Just start by making baby steps.
If you and the rest of your family have a sweet tooth, we recommend trying our all-natural tooth and gum formula, which is an excellent remedy for neutralizing acids in the mouth after eating something sweet.
This nutrient-rich formula contains no toxic or artificial ingredients that interfere with natural healing so your teeth and gums can soothe, strengthen, and heal themselves naturally. And it tastes great too!
Click here to try our natural tooth powder.
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