Weight Loss And Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Ditch Refined Sugar; Says Luke Coutinho

Many people all across the world have a sweet tooth. People tend to grab a candy; chocolate, ice-cream, desert or any other sweets soon after they have eaten a meal or when they are hungry. Sugar can be like a sweet poison. The more you consume, your body will need all the more to feel satisfied and curb your cravings. Sugar cravings can be difficult to resist. Moreover, consuming sugar in excess quantities can lead to several health problems like obesity, heart diseases, high blood sugar levels, inactivity, weak immunity, tooth decay, ageing, gum diseases and many other. Also, too much of refined sugar can take place of other essential nutrients. Therefore, it is very important that you restrict the consumption of sugar in your diet. When we say sugar we are talking about refined sugar here. This means you need to be careful about what goes into your diet. Refined sugar is found in bakery products, packed foods, canned juices and artificial sweeteners in foods.

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Health expert Luke Coutinho in his recent Instagram post said you must ditch refined sugar for a week which means no packaged foods, processed breads, no refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. When we say eliminate sugar from your diet, it does not mean restricting all your favourite foods. Foods which contain hidden sugar in so many packaged and processed food items should be restricted. These foods include flavoured oat meals, salad dressings, junk food, sauces, nut butters, protein powders, flavored yoghurts, sweets, candies, ice-creams, puddings and other baked goods.

Some healthy alternatives suggested by Luke Coutinho are pure chemical free jaggery, dates, fruits, dry fruits in order to satisfy a sweet craving. Eliminating refined sugar from your diet can help you manage your weight, boost immunity, lower your blood sugar levels, make you more active and give you a younger good looking skin.

Also read: Want To Lose Weight Quickly ? Include These 25 Fiber-Rich Foods In Your Diet For A Healthy Weight Loss

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Luke Coutinho (@luke_coutinho) on Mar 17, 2019 at 6:09am PDT

These simple ways can help slash sugar from your diet:

1. Drink more of water as it has high satiety levels. You can also add mint leaves or lemon slices to it in order to enhance the flavour of water. You can also choose some other healthy drinks like coconut water or fresh fruit juice

2. Instead of refined sugar, you can have natural sugar which is found in fruits. The next time you crave for something sweet, you ca make a fruit platter for yourself which includes a variety of fruits. For instance, papaya, melon, berries, apples and grapes

3. Eating more of fiber and proteins will also help you slash sugar from your diet. This is because these two nutrients will help promote fullness and in turn you will not crave for junk or fatty foods

4. You should always look for healthy snacks like nuts and seeds, homemade protein bars and shakes, fresh fruit and vegetable salads

5. Some healthy alternatives of refines sugar could be dried fruits, dates, coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup and jaggery. But even these should be used in limited quantities

Also read: Include This Inexpensive Drink In Your Diet For A Quick Weight Loss

(Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach - Integrative Medicine)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.