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Tea drinkers will not miss sugar after quitting, research shows

DCUK NewsBot

DCUK NewsBot

Well-Known Member
Not only is it beneficial to quit adding sugar to your cup of tea, but a new study has found that tea drinkers were able to make the change and not miss sugar. Researchers from University College London and the University of Leeds say tea drinkers still enjoyed their brew without sugar after studying 64 men over one month who usually drank tea with sugar. The growing evidence base is showing how sugar is linked to health conditions including cancer and heart disease, and high sugar consumption is known to heighten the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Cutting down on sugar can be very beneficial, but the researchers behind this study were anticipating some reluctance from participants who had gotten into the habit of adding sugar to their cup of tea. The participants were split into three groups. One group quit adding sugar in their tea immediately, another gradually reduced it over four weeks, and a control group continued to drink tea with sugar in it. Both reduction strategies paid off. After the four-week period, 42% of those who steadily reduced their sugar said they no longer took sugar in their tea, while 36% of the group which stopped taking sugar in their tea instantly also gave it up. Only 6% of the participants in the control group stopped having sweetened tea. The researchers said a similar approach could be taken in getting people to cut back on sugar in drinks, including squash. They concluded: "Excess sugar intake is a public health problem and sugar in beverages contributes substantially to total intake. Reducing sugar intake from beverages may therefore help to reduce overall consumption." The results from the research were presented to delegates at the European Congress on Obesity, which is taking place in Glasgow. The researchers say a larger study is now needed to confirm the findings. To learn more about sugar, sweeteners and the sugar found in drinks, visit Diabetes Digital Media's award-winning Low Carb Program.

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I have not used sugar or artificial sweeteners in tea or coffee for best part of thirty years. It was about the same time as my GP told me I was borderline diabetic that I gave the two spoons full in them away.

You soon get used to the taste if your serious about giving it up.
 
I don't have sugar in my tea but if mine was made any differently I'd know and it would end up either getting remade or left to go cold. I'm taking this study with a fine pinch of salt - I know someone who has 6 spoonfuls in their cup and I imagine they would stop drinking it altogether if that was changed.
 
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Oh how I wish this were true for me. I’ve ditched the sugar and gone through virtually every single sweetener known to mankind trying to find one that doesn’t taste foul. At home I now use a tsp of xylitol for my one or two mugs a day which I savour. If I rarely have a cuppa out and about I do go cold turkey with nothing but I really don’t enjoy it and it’s just a liquid in social situations, often replaced by just water.
 
The best way is to ditch the sugar and not replace it with a sweetener. There's no point changing one harmful substance for another. It tastes disgusting for 2 weeks but after that you get used to it.
 
zand said:
The best way is to ditch the sugar and not replace it with a sweetener. There's no point changing one harmful substance for another. It tastes disgusting for 2 weeks but after that you get used to it.
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This is the way to go, just like giving up cigarettes and the nicotine addiction cold turkey with out using nico' patches etc.
 
zand said:
The best way is to ditch the sugar and not replace it with a sweetener. There's no point changing one harmful substance for another. It tastes disgusting for 2 weeks but after that you get used to it.
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Oh I agree, but I tried it for a month hating every cup along the way when first diagnosed Maybe I’m just stubborn but I’ve adapted to just about everything else but not my cuppa. My last stand. Perhaps it’s time to swap it out for herbal type teas again for a while and try to lose and forget the taste once and for all now I’m better adapted to low carb.
 
I've never really added sugar to tea, just plant based milk. and if it's coffee, sugar free syrup. Milk seems to have enough sweetness to it. :)
 
urbanracer said:
I'm down to 1 spoonful now but I'm definitely not enjoying it like I used to.
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I thought it was hard giving up my half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea. I've got my middle son down to one teaspoon from three but I don't think any amount of nagging will get him to take it without.
Good job we can still have tea though.
 
I tried giving up sugar in my tea and coffee many years ago when I needed to lose some weight, before I was ever diabetic Coffee was OK - I could happily drink it with milk and no sugar (or black with sugar), though I now usually add a tiny taste of erythritol or stevia to my creamy coffee. But not for me sugarless tea :yuck:, so I gave that up too and now have herbal teas instead.

Robbity
 
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