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Whatever your reasons to reduce sugar, it can be a real trial to lessen its impact in your meals and snacks. Just imagine if you had to empty your cupboards and never buy chocolates. Sounds impossible? Well, it is possible. But even if you love sweets, there are ways to reduce your daily intake.

As you know, sugar and fat are against you when it comes to staying trim. Debate still rages over whether sugar causes behavioral changes in children. Generations have been warned that sugar in the mouth causes dental decay.

So how do you cut back on sugar intake without causing a full-blown rebellion? The trick is - It has to be done gradually.

• Forget fizzy drinks like coke, sprite and lemonade. Mix half juice, half soda water for a substitute treat.
• Avoid bakery and store-bought cookies. Bake your own at home. Even using the full amount of sugar called for in the recipe, will still create a less sweet home backed cookie.
• You could also cut sweet cravings by offering sweet vegetables at meals. Slow cooking root vegetables (like carrots, parsnips, onions) results in a sweeter side dish. Add cream and your favourite fresh herbs for a lively and satisfying appetizer.
• Baked apples and pears with butter and cinnamon or nutmeg are wonderful desserts with a natural sweetness.
• Of course, you can always shop for sugar-free products in the supermarket - there is so much choice in yogurts and desserts with sweeteners. You won't notice any difference in taste.
• Instead of displaying that cookie jar with sweet treats, put a nice basket on your dining table and fill it with fruit for easy snacking. Who can resist peaches, plums, grapes, bananas, oranges and apples?

Do you get worried that you'll have to starve yourself before you can enjoy that special Holiday Time meal? Starving is never a good way to cut calories. But you can take some steps to make it a little less heavy.

You can start an exercise programme. The best activity for calorie burning is aerobic activity, such as, walking, biking, running, inline skating, and stair climbing. If you are not into that, then simply hover your house, or do your shopping. You will be amazed how many calories you can burn doing that.

If this isn't your cup of tea, then do some walks 10-15 minutes, slowly increasing the time every day. But just remember that whatever activity you choose, you'll burn those calories instead of storing them.

(Based on Net resources)

Published on 12^th May 2002