4 tips to curb your sugar intake this Christmas

It’s natural to crave foods with sugar – it’s one of our survival mechanisms. But it’s not 'natural' to be exposed to highly-processed high-sugar foods 24/7. Unfortunately, the food industry has hijacked our habits and health by exploiting this natural craving. And with a constant barrage of festive chocolates, baked treats and sweets, our sugar intake can go through the roof at Christmas time.

While I’m the first to admit that life would be dull without any sweetness, I am also on a mission to teach people that we can still enjoy the pleasure of natural sweetness in our foods without sacrificing our health. 

Below are five top ways I like to manage my sugar consumption that you may find helpful. 

1. Learn how to read labels

Unless you have unlimited time, energy, and budget, my guess is that you rely on some packaged food like the rest of us. Unfortunately, all packaged food has a risk of being high in sugar, even things we don’t think of as ‘sweet’ (baked beans and salad dressings are some examples). Learning to read labels is essential so you’re not tricked into consuming more sugar than you realise. 

A good way to assess safe sugar levels is to read the nutrition label. Anything with 5g or less of total sugars per 100g is generally safe to eat without spiking blood sugar. 

Another simple way to calculate the impact on blood sugar is to look at the ratio of carbohydrates to protein. Refined carbohydrates are quickly processed into glucose, so even some foods without ‘added sugars’ can spike our blood sugar. When carbs, protein, fat and fibre are consumed simultaneously, it takes our body longer to break down everything, including the carbohydrates. Research has shown that eating a carb-to-protein ratio of 4:1 will help keep your blood sugar from spiking too quickly. So, if the package lists 40g of carbohydrates and 10g of protein, you can assume it won’t spike your blood sugar too quickly.  

Reading labels will make you realise quickly how many “healthy” foods are actually high in sugar. For instance, a well-known brand of organic fruit yoghurt for kids has 9.7g of sugar per 100g. So one tiny pot of yoghurt contains almost half of the recommended amount of sugar per day! This is mainly because the fruit in the yoghurt has been highly processed, ‘freeing’ the sugar in the fruit. It would be healthier (and cheaper) to buy a pot of organic full-fat yoghurt and top it with a few berries and a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup. 

A word of warning! Beware of ‘low sugar’ or ‘no added sugar’ claims. These food products often have artificial sweeteners, which are known to influence our health and blood sugar levels negatively. 

2. Retrain your sweet tooth

I can’t drive this point home enough: the food industry has taken advantage of our biological programming to prefer sweet foods. They know how addictive sugar can be and use this to sell more products.

It took me a while to adjust my own sweet tooth and habit of constantly ‘treating' myself, but it’s been worth it. Please be gentle with yourself and implement any dietary changes in a way that works for you. Some slowly wean themselves off as quitting sugar ‘cold turkey’ can cause unpleasant ‘withdrawal’ symptoms. For others, a quick and thorough change in habits is the only way to do it.

Be warned – cutting out the sweet stuff will be hard if you’re used to foods with added sugar! There are no studies to prove how long it takes to ‘retrain’ our taste buds to detect the natural sweetness in foods or to get over sugar dependence. However, most people report an improvement in as little as 3 or 4 weeks. 

So keep the faith, and soon you’ll wonder why you used to like your usual ‘treats’ as they will taste sickly sweet once you’ve retrained your taste buds. 

3. Exercise

Your blood sugar levels will decrease as you exercise because your body uses glucose to provide the energy your muscle cells need to move. The blood sugar balancing effect can last up to 72 hours after exercising, showing how effective a bit of movement can be in keeping us healthy. 

You're lucky if you love exercising, but I know this is not always the case for some. A recent study showed that a short, 10-minute walk after eating could lower blood sugar by 22%! So, if you don’t like to exercise, I hope this simple fact will inspire you to do a bit more as even a tiny bit can have a significant effect. 

The best exercise

The absolute best exercise you can do to keep blood sugar low and your moods high is the one you love to do the most. Find which activity fills you with joy, and you’re more likely to do it. Find a walking buddy and go for a ‘walk and talk’ a few times a week. Stick on some Christmas tunes and dance around while you make dinner (the only side effect may be severe cringing if you have teenagers in the house!). Join a group exercise class or find a dog to walk. The most significant benefits come from doing at least 30 minutes of exercise weekly. Note that the 30-minute goal does not have to be all in one chunk. A 20-minute walk plus 10 minutes dancing around the kitchen would count!

4. Manage Stress

We've all heard that managing stress is essential for many aspects of health, and blood sugar is no exception. Just as low blood sugar can cause a release of your stress hormones, chronic stress can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels. 

I knew a client who wore a continuous glucose monitor to measure how her blood sugar levels responded to certain foods. She saw how eating high-sugar fruit, e.g. grapes, spiked her blood sugar a bit, which she expected. Surprisingly, her blood sugar went very high while she was on the phone with her bank during a very stressful financial matter. She could feel her stress levels rise, but she had no idea the glucose was also rising to give her the energy she needed for her ‘flight or fight’ response. 

How you manage stress is up to you. Some may use knitting, and others may use kickboxing to help increase joy and lower stress. Just like exercise, finding the one that resonates with you the most is the one that will help. My biggest tip is that no matter what, always being kind to yourself (even when you feel like you're failing!) will help keep extra stress at bay. We can't control what happens to us in life, but we can control how we respond and treat ourselves. I know that Christmas can often be a stressful time of year for many, so try to find a way to manage your stress levels.

Takeaways

I could write much more about blood sugar, but I like to keep things simple, accessible and actionable. Try the tips above and keep track of how you feel. Hopefully, you’ll start to feel an improvement in your overall energy and health once your blood sugar is balanced. 

If you have any underlying health conditions, please talk to your doctor or health professional before changing your diet or exercise.

Please get in touch if you’re still finding it hard to tame your sweet tooth, manage your stress, or balance your blood sugar. Everyone is different, and I can help pinpoint the areas that will most likely benefit you with a personalised consultation.