If you didn’t detox sugar during last month’s Guided Journal (Food Month), here it is again…because it’s THAT important.
I believe our entire country is overdue for a sugar detox. Our sugar consumption is out of control. It’s presented to us at literally every turn. It’s so prevalent that you have to TRY REALLY HARD to avoid it in foods. I have to read a dozen labels (on items like spaghetti sauce and jarred salsa) before I can find one that doesn’t contain sugar.
Give sugar your attention today. How much are you consuming? How much are your kids consuming? Do you feel like you “need” sugar or a sweet treat every day? Do your kids ask for sugar more than any other food? How comfortable are you with your answers? Write about your observations and your reaction to them.
Take a look at the list below and choose one or two ideas to help you and your kids begin to kick the sugar habit:
- Talk openly with your kids about sugar. Let them know what the foods they are eating do for their bodies, especially sugar heavy items. It can help them logically understand why it is we need to say no to most requests for sugar
- Make your own homemade sugarless versions of foods that typically contain sugar
- Read more labels. Make a conscious effort to choose products that do not contain even small amounts of sugar. (Those small amounts add up and change our family’s palate)
- Brainstorm: Look at your own habits—do you have a sugar habit? Do you consume it regularly? Has it worked its way into your daily routine? Spend some time looking at ways sugar has snuck into your life and stayed, then brainstorm how to reduce your intake
- Brainstorm: Same with your kids. Do they have a sugar habit? Has it snuck in and stayed? How can you shift this for your children?
- Avoid sugar substitutes (including foods that claim to be “diet” foods)
- Get better/more sleep. We often reach for sugar as a boost when we are feeling low energy. Getting more rest can help us avoid the need to reach for a quick fix
- Ditch sugary drinks. Just don’t buy them. Don’t keep them in the house. Don’t order them when out. Go so far as to make it a family rule: “Our family doesn’t drink soda”
- Or come up with your own! Find what works for you and start chipping away at the sugar mountain that has crept into our daily diet