Low-sugar diet: Strategies for giving up sugar
Adopting a low-sugar diet not only helps prevent disease, but also improves overall health, from glucose control to mental and physical well-being.
Benefits of reducing sugar:
- Weight control: A low-sugar diet helps reduce caloric intake, promoting weight loss and preventing abdominal fat gain.
- Improved metabolic health: Reducing sugar in the diet can reduce the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
- Better mental health and energy: Reducing sugar improves the stability of energy levels and can reduce emotional ups and downs and anxiety.
The diabetic diet: a health model for everyone.
Strategies for adopting a low-sugar diet:
- Identify hidden sources of sugar: Many people do not realize the amount of hidden sugar in processed foods such as sauces, breads and dressings. It is essential to read product labels and look for products with less than 5 grams of sugar per serving.
- Avoid making fruit juices: when fruits are liquefied or processed, their fiber content is lost, which is important for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. In addition, when juicing, you are more likely to need to add sugar or artificial sweeteners to improve the taste. To avoid this, prefer to consume fruits in their natural state.
Are artificial sweeteners better than sugar? You will find a specific publication on this topic here. - Plan meals and snacks: Planning meals will help you avoid resorting to processed and high-sugar options. Prepare healthy snacks such as nuts with plain yogurt and fruit to keep you satisfied between meals.
Common mistakes when trying to follow a low-sugar diet:
Sugar is often replaced by products that, although sugar-free, may contain artificial sweeteners, preservatives or unhealthy ingredients. It is essential to opt for natural alternatives and avoid “low sugar” products that are not always healthy.
To create a long-term habit, it is key to give up sugar with a gradual transition, gradually reducing sugar in the diet to avoid metabolic and emotional shock.
Finally, it is easy to fall into the trap of consuming products that are labeled “healthy” but actually have large amounts of sugar. Be sure to read labels and check the amount of added sugar in each product.
Daily sugar recommendation:
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that added sugar consumption should not exceed 10% of daily calories. For a 2,000 calorie diet, this equates to about 50 grams of sugar per day, but for additional health benefits, the WHO suggests reducing it to less than 5% of daily calories, or about 25 grams of sugar per day.
In my experience, it is best to avoid consuming more than two tablespoons of sugar per day. Además, the diabetes diet: a health model for everyone.
Written by: Nutritionist Andrés Izurieta
Bibliographic citations:
Schwingshackl L, Neuenschwander M, Hoffmann G, Buyken AE, Schlesinger S. Dietary sugars and cardiometabolic risk factors: a network meta-analysis on isocaloric substitution interventions. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020.
Jafari A, Faghfouri AH, Nikpayam O. The effect of low-fructose diet on anthropometric and metabolic factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024.
