Forget diet and nutrition supplements. A few minor changes of what and how much you eat will reduce weight over time.
Sugar and salt make food taste good. But how to loose weight? You don’t necessarily have to forgo your sweet treats, convenience snacks and fast food snacks. Just eat less of them and add delicious whole grains that fill you up until the next meal. Here are some suggestions:
Mindfully choose each meal based on salt and sugar content and combination. It is unrealistic to completely cut out pizza, French fries, chips and crackers, sweets and cereals from our diet. So, start reducing consumption of these items, just a little less each week for the next 52 weeks. And watch the combination of high salt/sugar meals: eat the burger without fries or fries without burger. Try this healthy German Meatball Sandwich.
Drink sparkling mineral water, skip the soda. Sparkling mineral water is better for your health and does not add sugar to your fast food meal. It’s also better than bottled water without nutrients. The bubbles and minerals are good for your digestive system and replace essential minerals you loose during work outs. Make this Rosehip Cooler (use sparkling water instead of alcohol!)
Eat with your nose. Your tongue only differentiates between five different sensations (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, umami). Your nose will do the real work to determine thousands of taste sensations. A researcher from the University of Dresden recently found that you can actually reduce salt and sugar from food without making it taste bland. He imparted the food or packaging with strong aroma, such as fruity strawberry in low sugar food or concentrated onion in salty food and the test subjects reported the same taste sensations as if the food contained high sugar or salt. Add as many spices herbs, fruits and natural aromas to your reduced salt and sugar foods – you’ll enjoy them even better. Berlin-Meets-Beijing Salmon & Stir-Fry is a wonderful recipes full of interesting flavors.
Add more whole grain, nuts, raw fruits and vegetables and yogurt 
to your diet. You knew that this was coming. But indeed, the Harvard study claims that continually higher consumption of these items will decrease your weight over time. And you can add whole fat milk: it will add flavor and will not make you gain weight (no more than skim milk, anyway). We, of course, recommend whole grain breads (Mestemacher), whole grain muesli (Seitenbacher) or fruity jams (Maintal). You can also make delicious and healthy Chocolate Oat Muesli Bagels at home.
Tell us what you think or do about reducing sugar and salt from your diet. Post comments on our Facebook page, Twitter or write an email to info@germanfoods.org