How to eat less sugar

The more processed, ready-to-eat food you buy, the more sugar you'll be consuming – which is entirely unnecessary. In most cases, your body has no need for the added sugar, which thus results in empty calories. In order to eat less sugar and make sure you won't always be hungry and tired because of your fluctuating blood sugar levels, all you need to do is pay a little attention.

First of all, it's good to know what to look for on food labels. Various syrups, caramel, molasses, glucose, fructose and corn-extracted sugar are all forms of sugar.
According to the latest recommendations of American public health bodies, an average woman should barely consume 45 grams of sugar a day.

How can you cut down on hidden sugar consumption? Here are some tried and tested tips.

• Get rid of syrups and soft drinks – don't forget you can only temporarily fool your body with calorie-free versions, since you will crave for more sweets later on.

• Choose foodstuffs which are unsweetened and contain no added sugar. They usually label this on the products.

• The way you eat fruit can be important as well: the sugar contained in fruit isn't unhealthy, but it's good to know that plant-based fibre inhibits the absorption of sugar, so it's worth paying attention to the natural sugar content of even freshly squeezed juices.

• Tinned or dried fruit are often made with a lot of added sugar and fruit juice in order to achieve a better taste, so choose fresh versions instead.

• Eat smaller portions if you do decide on eating something containing sugar.