Changing your health for the better #5: Give up sugar

Researchers who have been monitoring nutritional intake for over 30 years have noticed something: as we've come to consume more added sugars as part of our food, our body weights have gone up. Even worse, studies suggest that added sugars amount to as much as 25% of the caloric intake of children and teenagers.

Obviously, we are probably not going to completely eliminate all sugars from our diets. However, it is important that we monitor our sugar intake and try to reduce it through small changes in our daily lives. For a well-rounded diet, aim for no more than 100 calories (about 25 grams) from added sugars each day. Here are some easy ways to stay below that target.

1. Make easy, gradual changes: Forget going cold turkey - therein lies failure. Instead, if you normally have 2 candy bars a day, cut it down to one. Then , one every other day. The following week, one every 3 days, until you're down to just one per week. If you normally take 2 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee, use the same routine, cutting down to 1 1/2 teaspoons for a week, then 1, than 1/2. Eventually, get to the point where you're using artificial sweetener or no sugar at all. The more sugar you eat, the more you'll crave. So cutting down slowly is the best way to tame a sweet tooth gone wild.

2. Find Hidden Sugars: If you find the ingredients sucrose, glucose, molasses, honey, high-fructose corn syrup or other sugar aliases on a label, that means the product has added sugar (and if it's near the top of the list, the food likely has a lot of it).

Try the following: Foods that have a "no sugar added" label, including:

• Canned or frozen fruit
• Breads
• Salad Dressings
• Sauces and condiments
• Beans
• Tomato Products

3. Indulge in Nutritious Nibbles: Savor the taste of naturally sweet foods like fruits, some vegetables and honey.

Try the following: Plain yogurt, which has less added sugar than the sweetened kind. Then add fresh fruit for flavor.