ABC News September 22, 2017

'Healthy Living for Summer': Alternatives to processed sugar

WATCH: Learn to cook healthier with sugar alternatives

Avoiding refined sugar may be a challenge for most Americans, but Byron Paidoussi and Whitney Cole, the owners of Fitness and Fuel LA, regularly look for alternatives. In the tenth and final episode of ABC News' "Healthy Living for Summer" series, we asked them for some tips.

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Galia Sotomayor/ABC News
Fitness experts Whitney Cole and Byron Paidoussi talk alternatives to sugar.

"We try to avoid processed sugar as much as we can," said Paidoussi.

The couple has experimented with creating different recipes that exclude sugar. In the video above, they make spicy chocolate pumpkin squares with stevia, a sugar substitute, and dates.

"[It's] a really yummy thing we can have around the house, and it's a lot less sugary, a lot less impact on our blood sugar going up and down," Cole said.

Below is a list of advice Cole and Paidoussi gave ABC News.

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Spicy chocolate pumpkin squares.

Quick tips

  • Look at the ingredients to see how many grams of sugar the item contains
  • Check if sugar alternatives come in pure forms, which the couple recommends
  • You can use natural items like dates as alternatives to refined sugar
  • Experiment and get creative with recipes, such as the pumpkin squares pictured above

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    Galia Sotomayor/ABC News
    Fitness experts Whitney Cole and Byron Paidoussi talk alternatives to sugar.

    Watch ABC News discuss refined sugar alternatives in the video above.

    This is the final episode for the summer series.