My morning routine includes my favorite oatmeal, strawberries & cream– Yikes!!! It has 11g sugar added per pouch! Guess I need to make the change to the plain, especially since I always add my own berries! A teaspoon of honey is just as satisfying and healthier in benefits! I also drink green tea everyday, which is documented to regulate blood sugar levels- a definite must for diabetics!  Eat well– Be well!

Check out this AARP article to learn ways to reduce your sugar intake:

How to Halve Your Sugar — and Eat It Too!

If you keep just one New Year’s resolution related to getting healthier, consider being smarter about sugar. Assuming you’re like most Americans, you’re eating — or drinking — 20 teaspoons of sugar a day. That’s more than three times what the American Heart Association (AHA) says is good for you. For an eye-popping visual — and motivation to cut back — try spooning that much sugar into a bowl. Yikes.

How much sugar is OK? The AHA recommends that women limit added sugars to six teaspoons a day, men to no more than nine teaspoons. While that might sound draconian, you’d be surprised by how satisfying many sweet substitutes can be. And don’t worry — we’re not suggesting you avoid doughnuts, cookies and ice cream altogether. In fact, becoming more conscious about your sugar intake will make those splurges all the sweeter.

One big benefit of a low-sugar diet: It will reduce your chances of developing diabetes, a chronic disease linked to the nation’s growing obesity epidemic that now affects over 29 million Americans. More than one in four people over 65 have diabetes. A recent study from the University of California at San Francisco found that for every additional 150 calories of sugar you take in a day, your risk for Type 2 diabetes (the type linked to obesity) rises by 1 percent. That’s the amount of sugar in a can of sweetened soda — which, by the way, contains about eight teaspoons of sugar. Left untreated, diabetes can be dangerous, carrying with it a greater chance of high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, heart disease, fatty liver disease, cancer and dementia, writes renowned sugar expert Dr. Robert Lustig in his book Sugar Has 56 Names. Additional advantages of a lower-sugar diet: You’ll probably find that your jeans fit better, and you won’t experience those sudden roller coaster mood swings.

Although people sometimes experience cravings and erratic emotions when they first cut back on their sugar intake, within about 10 days most people find that their energy increases, their anxiety goes away, and they feel much happier, says Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, director of the Practitioners Alliance Network and author of From Fatigued to Fantastic! and The Complete Guide to Beating Sugar Addiction. Pleasure is good, Teitelbaum notes, and sweet foods can be extremely pleasurable. The trick lies in finding a balance between enjoying short-term gratification while also improving your odds of long-term longevity. Here are 10 easy ways to reduce your sweets but keep your treats…

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2Cups Green Tea Hawaii products contain up to 2g added sugar: approx. 1g organic cane syrup and 50mg stevia.