Break the Office Sugar Habit

When it comes to sweets in the office, odds are a birthday, celebration, or the vending machine can provide a sugar fix at any given time.

In moderation, sugar can be a pleasurable part of a healthy diet.

But the key is moderation. Do you know if your employees are exercising good judgment when it comes to consuming too much sugar at work?

You may not have noticed it, but sugar consumption in the U.S. has steadily increased, along with the rates of obesity in all age groups.

In fact, Americans eat an average of 300-400 calories of sugar a day.

It’s no surprise that most heavily sweetened foods are also high in calories. And eating lots of sweets squeezes out nutrient-rich foods from our diets.

The National Academies’ Institute of Medicine recently suggested that people limit sugar intake to 25% of calories. Other scientists say that figure needs to be much lower around 10% to 12%.

This can be a challenge, especially in the workplace where a majority of vending favorites are packed with sugar, and many employees rely on a sweet “pick me up” which can lead to crashing later.

Help your employees curb their sugary habits with the following tips:

• Eat smaller or fewer portions. Try one cookie instead of two, and less sugar in your coffee.
• Choose packaged foods and beverages without added sugar.
• Cut sugar in recipes by a third or more.
• Keep sugar-laden foods out of reach, or just don’t purchase them all together.
• Be patient. Sugar cravings often subside within 15 minutes.
• Buy fruit with a natural sweetness that can satisfy and fill you up.
• Reach for fresh vegetables such as carrots and bell peppers, which are higher on the sweetness scale.