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Too Sweet

Because my mom had diabetes I gave up sugar some years ago; I also avoid eating foods with added sugar by checking product labels. Virtually all breakfast cereals, commercially-made baked goods, ice cream, soft drinks and yogurt have a lot of added sugar, but so does barbecue sauce, ketchup and salad dressing. It can't be avoided entirely -- even canned vegetables have some sugar added -- but I make sure I consume less than 10 grams of added sugar per day.

There are more sugar-free options available at the market now, but they can be expensive. For example, sugarfree chocolate syrup (which I add to the oat milk I drink) is quite pricey, and contains aspartame (which I don't use, either) so I looked up a recipe online with stevia and started making my own.

It's difficult to give up sugar, but once you do you become aware of how much the average person eats without realizing it. One study I saw claimed that Americans eat on average 3 lbs. of sugar per week. If that's true, that's too much.

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