Most of us have a sweet tooth. We all love to enjoy a piece of cake, brownie sundae, chocolate bar...cupcake.... but these things are all jam packed full of SUGAR!!! Why don't we like sugar? Well, our taste buds love it, but the rest of our body could probably do pretty well without it!
Sugar is everywhere and in everything. We love it and can't seem to get enough of it! But why should we avoid it anyways? I mean, something that taste that good can't be bad, right? Wrong! Sugar has negative effects in our bodies, and when we consume too much of it, sugar can lead to some pretty serious problems!
Brain- Sugar can actually rewire the pathways in your brain. This can lead to many things, including depression. A diet full of sugary and processed foods can increase the risk of depression by 58%!!! So even though sugar makes you feel good at first, it doesn't last long!
Heart- Sugar causes inflammation in your body. It inflames the linings of the arteries to the heart. This can lead to stroke, heart attack or other complications! Stay away from sugar and keep your heart healthy!
Skin- We all want nice, younger looking skin, right? Stay away from sugar and you are one step closer to better skin. When sugar enters your body, proteins incorporate it as part of their structure, causing aging and wrinkles, often prematurely.
Kidneys- Kidneys are a filtration system. Sugar overloads the kidneys and damage the filtration system, causing your kidneys to fail. Diabetes is just one of the causes of kidney failure. Lowering the amount of sugar in your diet will insure that your kidneys stay healthy and working smoothly!
Joints- As I said, sugar causes inflammation. This can effect various parts of the body, including your joints. High-sugar diets pump inflammatory cytokines into the bloodstream, which can cause many joint issues, including arthritis! Staying away from sugar will keep your nimble and active!
Sugar Free Cashew Lime Bars
So these are just a few of the negative ways that sugar effects our bodies. As you can hopefully see, our bodies are much healthier when we limit our intake of sugar. But how do we do this if we still want to eat sweet foods? Using sugar substitutes is a great way to eat sweets and still stay away from sugar!
Maple Syrup is one of my favorite sugar substitutes. It can be used in in almost anything that calls for sugar, the recipe will just need to be adjusted to accommodate more liquid. I use maple syrup in my granolas, cookies and cakes, in sauces and even salad dressings!
Honey can be used almost interchangeably with maple syrup. It is slightly thicker and has a very distinct flavor that lends itself well to somethings and not so well in other things. I suggest using it for baking, sauces, or salad dressing.
Stevia can be pretty processed in some forms, but in its natural form, stevia can be used to sweeten almost anything! It is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so it is used in a much smaller amount! I suggest using it in baking, cooking, sauces, salad dressings and as sweeteners in warm drinks like tea, coffee and cocoa!
Fruit Purees can also be used as a sweetener. The most common and easy to use ones are banana, apple sauce and date puree. These work best for baking, and the recipe will usually need to be adapted to make up for the extra moisture!
Coconut Sugar is a natural sugar from coconuts. It has a deep, rich flavor and can be used in place of sugar in just about anything! Use it 1:1 in place of sugar and you won't be able to tell a difference!
Sugar Free Chocolate Brownie Balls
So there are 5 easy to use substitutes for sugar! After some practice, you will become a pro at using other forms of sweeteners in your baking, cooking and eating! You'll find your favorites, what works for you and even what you don't like!
Using sugar substitutes helps you remove, or at least limit, sugar from your diet. This helps to keep your body looking and feeling great!
Sugar Free Peanut Butter Granola
I hope you find this post helpful! Knowing the 'Why' to something really motivates your to want to do it and the 'How' of something makes it easy! I know that I stay away from sugar a lot more when I remember what it does to my body!
Sugar Free Chocolate Mug Cake
Please share this post with your friends and family to help them know the whys and how's of removing sugar from our diets!
All of the pictures for sugar free foods that I used in this post come from recipes I have here on my blog! Make a few of them and see that sweets are still delicious, even without the sugar!
You can follow the blog via email, Google and social media to stay up to date on the posts and even get some extra content!
Instagram- That_Vegan_Runner
Twitter- SpinachisGood
Tumblr- justrunningforfood
Pinterest- SpinachisGood
I post every Friday! Check back every week for a new post!
Stay healthy, happy and laughing!
Hannah
No comments