Most of us are eating more sugar than we ought to. It is crucial for us all to reduce the foods we eat which contain added sugar like biscuits, cakes and sweets, as well decrease the number of sugary fizzy and soft drinks.
A lot of high sugar drinks and foods lead to tooth decay; particularly should they be consumed in between meals. Lots of high sugar foods also contain a lot of calories hence by cutting down you can ensure weight control.
How Do You Tell Should a Food Be High in Added Sugar?
Read the label. Don’t expect it to say sugar. Other words are often used for added sugars, like glucose, sucrose, maltose, fructose, invert sugar, hydrolysed sugar, honey or corn syrup.
An additional way to work out how much sugar a food contains is to scan for the 'Carbohydrates (of which sugars)' figure on the label. However, this figure is not able to inform you as to how many carbohydrates are due to added sugars, which is what we need to reduce our intake of.
High Sugar Content is greater than 15g sugars per 100g
Low Sugar Content is 5g sugars or less per 100g
Should the amount of sugars per 100g be between the above figures, then that is a medium level of sugar.
Of note is of course the fact that the amount you eat of a certain food affects the amount of sugar you will obtain from it.
Risks of High Sugar Intake
Studies have linked a high sugar intake with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature aging.
Sugar and simple refined carbohydrates are harmful to health and unfavourable to anyone interested in anti-aging. An aggressive reduction in sugar intake is advisable if your family has a history of diabetes or cancer, or if you want to lead an anti-aging Mediterranean lifestyle. If you have to eat dessert, consume it during the day and not just before bedtime. Sugar, taken before bedtime, also reduces growth hormone release and increases cortisol, the "bad" hormone. Trying to restrict the intake of foods such as sugar in coffee and bread is a good first step. After your body has been detoxified by restricted sugar intake, you will feel lighter, more energetic, and better. Treat sugar as a drug - stay as far away as possible.
A decreased sugar and refined carbohydrate intake should be part of an overall anti-aging Greek Mediterranean diet that focuses on three main pillars: a reduction of calories as necessary, an increase in green leafy vegetables and a reduction of sugar intake.
