So, you’ve injured yourself and you’re doing all the right things…you’re going to A Body In Motion Rehabilitation for physiotherapy, you’re staying diligent with your home exercise program and you’re trying to sleep well to help your body heal. Sounds like you are doing great! Have you thought about the fuel you are putting into your body while you’re healing? What you feed your body plays an important role in how quickly you will recover.
One of the hot topics in the nutrition world today is sugar! Apparently, we are all getting too much of the sweet stuff and that can cause inflammation which makes it harder for your body to recover from sickness and injury.
One of the best ways to reduce refined sugar but still have great tasting food is by replacing refined white and brown sugar with fruit. Although fruit also has sugar, it contains valuable fiber, nutrients and water which means your body takes longer to break it down. Refined sugars are metabolized very quickly leading to spikes in blood sugar, changes to hormones and those awful cravings!
If you are looking to reduce your intake of refined sugars here are some great fruit substitutes that will benefit your diet by adding fiber and nutrients and help to keep your body healthy.
Bananas are a great substitute for sugar in cakes, breads and muffins. 1 cup of mashed banana is equal to 1 cup of sugar.
Unsweetened Applesauce provides your body with vitamins and fibre and is easy to use in all your favourite baking. You can use a 1:1 ration with applesauce and sugar. It’s also a great substitute for oil in muffins if you’re monitoring your fat intake.
Dates and figs provide great nutrition and are easy to use as a sugar substitute. It’s best to soak dates or figs in warm water for 2 hours and then blend them into a puree before adding them to your recipes in place of sugar. You can use 2/3 cup of your puree for every cup of sugar.
Whether you’re working hard to recover from an injury or you’re just wanting to make healthier food choices, try substituting these fruits for the sugar in your recipes. You’ll feel great and your body will be healthier for it!