The decision to embark on my Reduce Added Sugar Challenge was inspired by a number of synchronistic events. During a recent visit, a friend shared that she had lost weight by cutting sugar from her diet. Additionally, I had been researching solutions for eliminating belly fat. In much of the information I found, strength training and reducing added sugar came up repeatedly. Finally, I had participated in an online class based on a book entitled *Eat to Beat Disease taught by the author William Li, MD. Throughout the 4 week class, I began considering a variety of ways to improve my daily diet. I decided that reducing added sugar to 28 grams a day was a great (and educational) first step.

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Why Reduce Versus Eliminate Added Sugars?

I’ve chosen to reduce added sugars instead of eliminating them for a few reasons:

1.) It feels doable and less overwhelming
2.) I can reduce added sugars for a longer period of time
3.) Knowing my love of specific foods, it is much more realistic

Earlier I mentioned that it was also educational. As a point of reference, one teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar. I was doing pretty well with staying at or below the 28 grams, until I was faced with packaged foods. In this case it was a small piece of Trader Joe’s carrot cake. I was stunned to read the nutrition info on the label and discover that this little square piece of carrot cake contained 27 grams of added sugar! That was truly educational. In the end, I elected to save the cake for a different day.

Added Versus Natural Sugar

I want to emphasize that my daily limit is specific to the added sugar in the foods and beverages I consume. Fruits, vegetables, etc. with natural sugar are not counted towards my 28 grams daily limit. Some people disagree with this approach and point out that these are still sugars. Yep they are – and they are filled with antioxidants, fiber, and other nutrients. In his post, How Worried Should We Be About Sugar? Dr. Li states the following:

If we look at the science, sugar and carbohydrates from natural sources like fruits, vegetables and whole grains are consistently associated with positive health outcomes, and should not be avoided out of fear over too much sugar, or carbohydrate, in the diet. They are also key components of a healthy and balanced diet.

William W. Li, MD

Getting Creative!

Because I don’t count the natural sugars in fruit, I have been a bit creative lately. For example, recently I went to dinner with a friend. I had already decided in advance that I would enjoy wine with dinner and get back on track the next day. We decided on a white wine that was semi-sweet (Gewurztraminer). I thought the choice of wine wouldn’t matter. Actually it did. I later learned that if I had chosen a dry white wine, there would have been only 2 grams of added sugar per serving. The following weekend I bought a bottle of chardonnay, and I used a wide mouth mason jar for my creative experiment. I used frozen and fresh fruit to naturally sweeten my wine! I call the recipe Drunken Fruit Wine, and I am very thrilled with the outcome.

Saying No to Artificial Sweeteners!

I have never been a fan of artificial sweeteners. In fact, I always felt that I would rather have less of the real thing. Good thing! In his book, *Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reflected on how it was previously assumed that artificial sweeteners did not affect us. As he shares here, that assumption was proven to be false:

But in 2014 a landmark paper which has since been widely referenced, was published in Nature proving that artificial sweeteners affect gut bacteria (microbiome) in ways that lead to metabolic dysfunction, such as insulin resistance and diabetes, contributing to the same overweight and obesity epidemic for which they were marketed to provide a solution. These are the same conditions, as you know now, that increase risk for brain decline and serious dysfunction. Try to avoid these sugar substitutes.

Sanjay Gupta, MD

NOTE: I’ll be writing more about Dr. Gupta’s book in a future post. 🙂

Challenge Observations – So Far

After successfully limiting my added sugar for a few days, I noticed something interesting. I exceeded my 28 grams by quite a bit one day, and that night that my sleep was impacted. I woke up at 2:00 AM and had trouble getting back to sleep. This is something I previously noticed if I had wine late at night. In this instance, there had been no wine/alcohol. I had just gone overboard with my added sugar.

How Long is the Challenge?

As you can see, I have not specified a certain number of days for this challenge. That is intentional. Each day – indeed each meal or snack – is another opportunity for me to make a better choice. My goal is for this to become a lifestyle change. Indeed my post on the Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate factored into this challenge as well. Eating dark chocolate with a higher percentage of cacao, allows me to continue to enjoy chocolate and still limit my added daily sugar intake.

So that’s it. I officially started this challenge on 9/8/2021. On days when I exceed my limit, I don’t beat myself up. I begin again the next day. With awareness and commitment, I will have more days when I am successful. Care to join me?