After our little FDJ LDN hiatus, whilst Leigh had a tres bon time in Paris, eating and drinking with wild abandon, we thought it would be the perfect antidote to over-indulgence to share with you our latest post all about that sassy siren, Sugar. In the latest in our blog series (catch up on all the other New Year, Fresh Start! posts here), with the help of Ricola’s Sugar Swap initiative, we share with you the importance of swapping out the white stuff to become the best, healthiest v.2016 you YOU can be!

As has been the message throughout this series, little changes in your day to day beauty, fashion and lifestyle routines can reap huge rewards. So in light of lots of recent research in the area of sugar, one of the biggest small changes you can make is to your consumption of sugary treats. The impact of sugar on your health is HUGE! Obesity, heart disease, diabetes – all of these can be on the cards if your diet is high in sugars! So what can we do day to day to address the issue?

One little life hack is to track your intake is by downloading the new Change4Life new ‘Sugar Smart’ app.  This awesome app allows you to scan a product’s bar code to reveal how much sugar is in your everyday food and drink, which is uber handy and quick. We for one get beyond confused working out how many teaspoons of sugar is in something – so this is a huge timesaver, as well as a potential lifesaver! Especially as latest government advice recommends that adults should consume no more than 30g of sugar (around 7 tsps) per day, which is the equivalent of less than a single can of Coca-Cola!

There are many little ways to cut down, or out, the white stuff. Try using Stevia-based sweetener in your coffee, lemon juice instead of honey in your green tea or cinnamon to top your porridge as ways of adding the sweetness without any of the badness. Little changes like this reset your tastebuds so that you can actually start to taste the natural sugars in your food. We’ve been cutting back since the beginning of the year and it’s so eye-opening how much sweetness you can actually cut back on by being conscious of your choices, even in the smallest ways. Plus the impact on our waistlines has been shocking without even REALLY trying!

Hidden sugars are everywhere though and they are even hiding in your handbag treats. A packet of mints can potentially contain around about 95% of your daily sugar intake, so reviewing what’s inside your Topshop Tote is definitely a good idea! Enter Ricola and their Sugar Swap challenge. They found that only 35% of adults in the UK are careful about their sugar intake, that means there are a lot of people out there completely oblivious to how much is TOO much! 32% of the UK’s grown-ups would like to cut down on their sugar intake with a healthy 15% of those surveyed saying they always opt for sugar free options when choosing confectionery. However 11% thought that there were not enough sugar free sweet products available. But fear not, Ricola have got your back fillies in the tastiest of ways!

Ricola have taken their traditional Swiss herbal sweest, which are made with Peppermint, Elderflower, Sage, Marshmallow, Yarrow, Mallow and Plaintain, and sweetened them with that plant-based wonder, Stevia. Therefore creating a “sweet” that has all the taste, but zero the sugars! Hurrah! Available in 7 delightfully, delectable flavours – Original, Fresh Mountain Mint, Scrumptious OrangeMint, Luxurious Liquorice, and our two personal favourites, Refreshing LemonMint and Delicious Elderflower, you know when you grab a packet of these, there’s no hidden nasties. Just yummy tastes with 0% sugar!

In fact, so keen are Ricola to share the love that kicking off in Manchester on 28th January, they have launched a series of Sugar Swap events. If you hand in your sugary snack or treat, Ricola will give you one of their fab sugar-free options! Fabulous! These events are meant to educate as well as inspire. As Andy Richman, Ricola’s Sales & Marketing Manager for Northern Europe comments: “We’re very keen to drum home the message that adults do not need added sugar in their diets. Just by swapping high sugar content snacks to healthier options, you can make a huge difference to your overall health’.

Be sure to keep an eye out for an event happening near you soon! And be extra sure to start keeping an eye on your consumption of the sweet stuff. Your body will thank you, trust us. Got any fab sugar saving tips? We’d love to hear them in the comments below, as sharing is caring!

Until next time fillies,

Nicky and Leigh at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ x

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