Reversing Diabetes: Reducing Sugar in Your Diet

• Check the ingredients list. Food manufacturers are not required to list added sugars separately on food labels, so the nutrition facts panel lumps the hidden sweeteners together with the natural sugars found in whole grains, fruit, dairy products and even vegetables. Make sure you scan the ingredients list and look for sugar's many aliases, including these variations: agave nectar, brown sugar, cane crystals, cane sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, corn syrup high fructose, crystalline fructose, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose, fruit juice concentrates, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, and syrup.

• Look for these lower-sugar label claims. "Reduced Sugar" or "Less Sugar" means a food has 25% less sugar than a similar full-sugar food. A food that is sugar-free has less than ½ gram of sugar per serving. "No Added Sugar" means no sugars were added during processing, however, foods that say "Sugar-Free" or "No Added Sugar may still contain sugar alcohols, a type of sugar that isn't fully absorbed. Although it won't raise your blood sugar like regular sweeteners, it does add calories.

• Buy fewer foods in boxes or cans. If your food comes in a can or box, chances are the factory that processed this food has added extra sugar (not to mention salt, preservatives, and artificial food colorings) to your food. If it is bought in raw form, nothing extra needs to be added to it. Consider swapping some of these processed foods for some healthier choices around the perimeter of your grocery store, such as fresh produce, seafood, and dairy sections.

• Buy fresh fruit— or unsweetened canned or frozen. Perfect example of why you should use fresh fruit. When peaches are canned in a factory, they are typically packed in heavy syrup that contains SEVEN teaspoons of added sugar in one cup of fruit. Instead, buy fresh, frozen or canned fruit packed only in water or its own unsweetened juices.

• Focus on drinks. Some experts estimate that Americans get 10-20% of calories each day from drinks— almost all of it from added sugars. Soda is the common offender, however most fruit juices have been sweetened as well so always check the ingredients on bottled or canned drinks. For example, Snapple® Apple lists high fructose corn syrup as the third ingredient on their nutritional label. Use pure apple juice instead.

• Use less sugar at home. Sprinkle less into coffee or tea, on cereals, and on cut fruit. Enhance sweetness with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger.

• Experiment with artificial sweeteners or substitutes. Try cutting the amount of sugar used in baked goods by one-third to one-half and you may not even notice the difference. Try replacing sugar in recipes with applesauce or with an artificial sweetener developed specially for baking. Try using Whey Low Sugar in your cooking because it was developed by and for diabetics.