How to reduce added sugars in your diet

To reduce the added sugars in your diet, try these tips:

• Drink water, other calorie-free drinks or low-fat milk instead of sugary sodas or sports drinks. That goes for coffee drinks, too.
• When you drink fruit juice, make sure it's 100% fruit juice — not juice drinks that have added sugars. Better yet, eat the fruit rather than drink the juice to get the fiber as well.
• Choose breakfast cereals with less sugar. Skip sugary and frosted cereals.
• Opt for reduced-sugar varieties of syrups, jams, jellies and preserves.
• Choose fresh fruit for dessert instead of cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream and other sweets.
• Buy canned fruit packed in water or juice, not syrup. If you do purchase fruit packed in syrup, drain and rinse it with water to remove excess syrup.
• Choose nutrient-rich snacks such as vegetables, fruits, low-fat cheese, whole-grain crackers and low-fat, low-calorie yogurt instead of candy, pastries and cookies.