It is common knowledge that sugar contains not only empty calories, but is also the cause for many of today’s health ailments such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Yet on the other hand, with the wide abundance of sweet, sinful goodies available during this Chinese New Year period, it may be hard to resist the temptation. But you can use some smart tactics, to try and reduce your sugar intake this festive season. Here are some tips.

1) Go For Sugar Substitutes

If you are cooking or baking treats for your guests, try to use sugar substitutes such as Stevia, rather than sugar. And if you are buying snacks, try and pick the low-sugar versions if these are available. 

However, do note that products using these sweeteners may contain little to no calories, so they will not help your body to get used to less sugar in your diet as you will still crave for the sweetness. These only help to reduce your total calorie intake and therefore, can aid with weight maintenance, preventing you and possibly your guests, too, from piling on too many kilos during the festive season.

That said, you need to understand that if you are really trying to cut down on sugar, then you need to gradually eliminate it from your diet as a whole, for example, instead of two tablespoons of sugar in your morning coffee, try to cut down to one tablespoon first, and then eventually, none. Also, try and go for dark chocolate instead of the milk chocolate variant, and your body will gradually get used to the lowered levels of sweetness.

2) Choose The Healthier Choice Symbol

Products that carry the Health Promotion Board Singapore’s Healthier Choice Symbol are generally lower in sugar, salt and fat as compared to other products that are in a similar category range. So try and look out for these products during this Chinese New Year season in order to cut down on your sugar intake.

3) Go For Healthier Drinks

Try to choose and consume drinks that have little or no sugar. For example, pick the Unsweetened Soya Bean Milk over the sweetened version. Your body will thank you for it.

And if you are the host, you should try and serve such drinks to your guests. More people than you know are health conscious and they may appreciate these lower sugar versions of popular drinks.

4) Eat Or Nibble Regularly

If you eat or nibble on a regular basis, you will feel less hungry and this will, in turn, lead to you being less likely to go overboard on sugary treats. So then, if you know that you are going to be busy with house visitations over the Chinese New Year period, try and arm yourself with healthy snacks such as nuts, to tide over those hunger pangs. This will also lead to you eating less sugar during the festive season because you won’t have the appetite to overeat on high sugar snacks, for example, that jar of pineapple tarts or that large piece of bakKwa.

Conclusion

Now that you know a few ways to cut down on sugar during the busy Chinese New Year period, good luck to your reduced sugar diet this Chinese New Year.