Talk to Canderel about eating less sugar and you could win a £300 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We've been asked by Canderel to find out about Mumsnetters' experiences and opinions on reducing sugar intake.

Canderel say "At Canderel, We’re all about sugar alternatives that still let you indulge yourself. With the average UK person consuming more than their recommended sugar allowance (10% of their daily calorie intake per day)*, we’d like to know how we can help your family manage your sugar intake. Be SweetSmart, swap to Canderel"

Below are a few points to get you started, but feel free to add any other comments you have:

1. Have you been thinking about giving up or eating less sugar?
2. If yes, why? Do you have any tips/tricks you have for helping to beat sugar cravings?

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Please note, Canderel may use your anonymous comments on social media, so please only comment if you're happy with this.

Thanks & good luck,
MNHQ

PS - Our standard terms & conditions apply.

• Source

I gave up chocolate 6 weeks ago to cut my sugar intake and it's really helped. I now have some days where I don't consume any sweet stuff. The more sweet stuff you have (including artificial sweeteners) the more you want.

I don't use sweeteners as I think they'll just set me off craving sugar. People rave about stevia being all natural but I don't see it as any different to other artificial sweeteners. It makes me cross how many things contain added sugar. Ketchup is ridiculously sweet. Heinz used to do a reduced sugar and salt version which was good but then they replaced the sugar with stevia - yucky taste.

Vanilla is good for adding natural sweetness to cream or quark without sugar or sweeteners needed

I've recently dug out the cookbooks and started making all our meals from scratch as it's so surprising how much sugar is added to processed foods!

Yes, I'm trying to , again, reduce my sugar intake. I need to lose weight, for my own self image, but also because of high risk of diabetes from family history/tendency for it. I try to cut the processed sugar out, so not eating sweets / chocolate mainly, as well as cakes / biscuits etc. my diet generally isn't too bad, lots of fruit (which is why I say I try to cut processed but not all sugars as losing fruit would cut a lot of my diet out!) and veg and not much pre made / processed food. Once I do actually manage to kick the sugar for a period of time, it becomes easier, but my downfall is feeling tired and out of energy (happens a lot as I have ME) and then I instantly reach for the sugary things toget an instant (but short lived and ultimately damaging!) boost to keep going, instead of listening to my body and stopping. So really need o go cold turkey and not give in to the cravings as after a couple weeks sugar free then it becomes much easier!
I use xylitol as a replacement as find other sweeteners taste awful, but try to use it as little as possible or leads me back into wanting more sugar again. Gave in to the cravings tonight and had big sugar binge so try all over again tomorrow

I find herb teas that have liquorice in them a good replacement when feeling the new for something sweet

1. Yes!
2. I know that too much sugar isn't good for me, and I'm keen to reduce mine and my family's intake. I halve whatever sugar quantities are suggested in recipes and it does not have a negative impact on how things turn out. I experiment a lot with different recipes and also use vegetables in cakes to substitute the suggested fat used as well.

Yes I started cutting down actively a couple of years ago and about a year ago made changes to the dc diets.
No biscuits except for one small one in a lunchbox every so often. Sugary cereal at the weekend only. Sweetie day on Friday. None in between. Sugar free drinks as I decided my fear of aspartame was unfounded but only one flavoured drink and then water.

1. Have you been thinking about giving up or eating less sugar?

Yes - I have stopped having sugar in hot drinks and generally cut back on biscuits, cakes, etc

1. If yes, why? Do you have any tips/tricks you have for helping to beat sugar cravings?

I drink a lot of coffee and have gone from having 2 teaspoons, to one, to half, to none over several months, which is better for my teeth and my waistline. I just cut it out gradually, once you give your taste-buds time to adjust it tastes loads better without, I used to drink tea and coffee with sugar and now find it undrinkable if someone gives me a sugared cup by accident. I wouldn't ever use a sweetener as a replacement, as I think changing your tastes is more important. I find a lot of bought fruit pies and things taste awful, once you've adjusted to how a home-made, low-sugar fruit pie tastes.

Yes I've been thinking a lot about cutting back on obvious sugar to begin with, such as biscuits/cakes etc.

My most practical tip is just don't buy it when you go food shopping. If you don't have it in, you can't eat it! If you do pick something up, make it for just that evening. That will also help curb the sugar binging .

I find it quite difficult to reduce my sugar intake tbh - basically because it just seems to be in everything. My biggest weakness is bread, but oddly I've modified my buying habits over the last few years as some brands are just too sweet nowadays. It's the hidden sugar that is the problem.

I never add sugar to anything (with the only exception being a home made sweet sticky rib rub which is majority dark brown soft sugar!) - never take it in tea/coffee and a bag of sugar has quite literally lasted us for years (the only people who use it are visitors).

If I need sugar in cooking then typically I'll use a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. i can't bake occasionally I'll use icing sugar over a shop bought cake just to make it look like I've made an effort

Although I do make the effort to buy sugar free as much as possible I think that the majority of sugar free products currently available are those that we would traditionally associate with being "naughty" - for example, carbonated drinks. It would be helpful if this was expanded to include products that are not traditionally seen as being "as bad" - bread, baked beans and suchlike.

I definitely feel better in myself and sleep better when I really reduce my sugar intake.
For me personally, I have to make sure that I don't buy any sugar-heavy products as I know that once they are in my house I will HAVE to eat them all.......resistance is futile.

1. Yes
2. My sugar cravings have increased considerably since becoming pregnant a second time, and then bf and dealing with the lack of sleep that comes with a newborn. I search out sweet treats mid morning, and after lunch and dinner every day. I also have multiple coffees per day and I like my coffee sweet. I know I need to cutback as I want to lose weight, and know too much sugar isn't healthy in general.

So far I'm substituting coffee for tea as much as possible (I don't have sweet tea), I use mashed bananas to sweeten porridge for myself and the DCs, and have cut down on the chocolate/biscuits etc in the house. I have also substituted the baking of cakes with DS1 with making savoury foods such as veggie sausage rolls, cheese muffins, etc.

Oh yes, I think about sugar. I find it severely addictive and there is no half-way 'moderate' point for me. The only way to control my intake is to give it up completely. And that includes substitutes.

Mind you, I won't eat substitutes anyway. IMO they taste foul and they aren't real food, so I won't eat them myself and won't feed then to my family.

As for looking after my family, I cook a lot from scratch. That's the only way to do it, as virtually all processed foods are top-heavy in sugar or salt or fat or additives, or a combination.

But the occasional treat or lapse is perfectly acceptable, not a big deal to be made a fuss of.

I also make sure my dc understand why we eat the way we do.

1. I cut down on sugar a few years ago by just buying and eating fewer sugar rich food stuffs. I've kept it going.

1. I think the less processed sugar you eat, you less you crave.

Also, I listen to my body - there are times when I feel I need an extra 'sugar' boost, but most of the time it doesn't.

1. Have you been thinking about giving up or eating less sugar?

Yes although rarely add sugar to food and given up baking as trying to lose weight

1. If yes, why? Do you have any tips/tricks you have for helping to beat sugar cravings?

Best way to deal with cravings I've found is buy a bar of high % dark chocolate and allow myself one square a day.

I try not to eat too many sugary things and am quite careful. If I do sweeten things (e.g. porridge) I try to use honey or maple syrup. Luckily I can't stand sugar in tea and coffee! I have a 10 year old who typically loves sweet things. As long as she's eating her main dishes and lots of fruit and veg I allow her sugary things occasionally. We make sure that she has plain breakfast cereal as well as some of the more sweet varieties and alternate. We have had to compromise on this. There would be an outrage if I banned all the sugary cereals from our house!

I went cold turkey from sugar for a 2 weeks whilst kicking my 2 litre a day coca cola habit and switched to coffee with no sugar but with full fat milk which I finds adds a sweetness compared to skimmed/semi skimmed. the first 9 days were hell but I felt much better afterwards and do not crave sweet things in the way I used to.

If I suffer an energy crash now I reach for a handful of dried fruit and nuts. I suspect that this is still sugar as sucrose and fructose but the body treats it differently and the sugar high/low is nowhere near as severe. If I am feeling particularly virtuous I'll just have raw almonds.

1. Have you been thinking about giving up or eating less sugar?

Yes

1. If yes, why? Do you have any tips/tricks you have for helping to beat sugar cravings?

I'm trying to eat healthier snacks ignores chocolate muffin on desk during the day. Getting up from my desk and going for a quick walk outside gives me an alternative energy boost and sometimes helps me avoid our amazing canteen's treats.

I would like to eat less sugar, but I'm not willing to stop having sugar in my tea or coffee or the situations where I personally add a spoon of sugar. The way I prefer to do it is notice how many products have sugar added and avoid those- e.g. bread with sugar in it, I try to eat toast or muesli not breakfast cereal, only moderately drink fruit juice, don't drink soft drink at home at all, buy plain yoghurt and add my own flavour / fruit/ honey and make sure I buy products like fruit juice, peanut butter etc that don't have any added sugar. I don't however like the idea of artificial sweeteners and avoid products with artificial sweeteners or that are 'low fat'.

I also like the idea of having a 'sugar free' day a week, although in my case I would allow myself a spoon in my tea and coffee, but have everything else sugar free, to make sure my family and I know and enjoy what food tastes like without any sugar at all!

Thinking about giving up as much sugar as possible is always on my mind. I am always dieting. The thing is, it is put in a lot of things that are sold as fat free to increase the flavour. Sweetness is addictive. I'd like to be able to cut sugar and sweetners out of my sons diet altogether.

I do use a sweetner on my porridge but I hope to swap this for fruit and yogurt when the weather gets warmer.

1. Yes, been trying very hard to recently.

1. Why? Because I felt I was addicted/eating too much of it, I want to lose weight, and in more paranoid moments getting worried about diabetes.

To cut down on sugar I started eating filling meals in the evening so I was less tempted to snack on chocolate. I have used sweetener in coffee for ever, and don't miss sugar there now. Otherwise I try and limit sugar consumption to when it is naturally present, so it's fine in fruit and meals, but I don't add extra. I avoid low fat foods as these often have higher sugar levels, instead I have a smaller amount of the "normal" version. I have stopped baking as much . Tend to make fruitier puddings (crumble, apple cake) for weekends and eat smaller portion, or make something more spectacular for a special occasion so there's just less of that tempting sugary loveliness to pig out on. And when I do eat them now, I enjoy it more as it really is a treat. The less sugar I eat, the less I crave it. I think this is partly due to habit, and partly due to the physical effect it has. So I know I can get into a virtuous cycle rather than a vicious cycle of eating more and more sugar.

1. Yes I have been thinking about it, but haven't started yet as sleep deprivation and breast feeding has made it hard.
2. I want to because of the long term effects to my health. Also because I'm addicted to it I think which isn't good at all. I don't really have any tips as I haven't achieved it yet!

I have been thinking about it but have not done anything actively about it. I agree with those who say that the more you eat, the more you crave. I am not keen on aspartame as an alternative.

I generally try and eat less sugar. Because it's fattening and I don't want to put on weight.
Tips. unfortunately, less wine seems to be effective.
Buying biscuits and puddings that the dc like but aren't very tempting to me e.g cheap white chocolate, rather than the sort of chocolate I'd go for.
Having healthy food available for snack urges. e.g. tempting fruit and veg (ideally).

I've definitely tried not to give the DCs sugar where they don't need it. I've never added it on cornflakes or porridge but then whenever we go to the grandparents they offer it and it feels like all my work is undone!