Let's talk a bit about sugar [OLD]

 

SugaryDrinks

We all know what sugar is, and that it's bad for us. UK government is even considering a "sugar tax" due to the constantly increasing obesity, especially among children. It's also damaging our teeth, while excess fructose causing harm to our liver. It may be causing addiction and might even act as a neurotoxin for our brain. But oh my, it makes things taste so good, and these days it's added to all sorts of foods (for that reason, of course).

We are encouraged to consume less than 5% of our calories from sugar. But not all sugars are the same. Sugar, or glucose, is vital for our brain function and to maintain energy levels, that's the reason we crave it so much. Every single cell in our body needs sugar. But, you guessed it right, not the white powder!

I was actually shocked to see a traffic light system on a bag of chestnuts, showing that sugars in them are quite high (yellow). It's a chestnut, for goodness sake! No one opened it and added a teaspoon of white powder in there. For example, one banana has around 16 grams of sugar which is 3-4 teaspoons. Looks scary? But again it's not the bad kind of sugar!

If it is a whole food, please don't let the sugar word confuse you. Actually, anything we eat - even if it's only fat or protein - is turned into sugar anyway, that's how much our bodies need it.

We should only limit added sugars and processed foods, and not natural sugars occurring in fruit and other foodstuff. For example, fruit supplies those vital sugars in a perfect package – filled with water, fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. And fruit is not going to make you fat or unhealthy, quite the opposite! It can actually reduce your chance of developing diabetes and heart disease. (Remember, since we were children we have been told to "eat your fruits and veggies"! And it doesn't mean just broccoli. Although broccoli is pretty good).

So next time you crave something sweet, feel free to have a piece of fruit! Even if you're still worried about the total amount of your consumed sugar or glycemic index, it's a hundred times better than cake or sweets.

P.S. I like this video from Dr Greger about fruit, check it out here or copy and paste it http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-fruit-is-too-much

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everything red

If you have a choice, it’s best to choose colour . I mean, have red cabbage over regular white. Red onion over white.  Red/black grapes. Purple sweet potato (and potato!). Deep red beetroot. Purple carrots. Red apples. Red or yellow pepper (a disclaimer: I actively dislike green pepper as it’s simply an unripe pepper). Red or black beans. Red/black rice. Dark and deep red berries. As well as many other colourful foods!  Colour = phytochemicals that are beneficial to our health.  Does it mean regular carrots or sweet potatoes are less healthy? Far from it; in fact, they have lovely colours of their own. And even the “pale” versions of these foods have lots to offer, only with the additional colour we get that little bit more. Hence why I say, if you have a choice!
Read more

Low in iron? See what you can do [OLD]

In nutritional therapy we try to improve client's symptoms but more importantly, we want to figure out why they are there. If you have low iron levels in body, you should consider possible reasons. Do you eat lots of processed foods and dairy? Fast and junk foods are low in nutrients such as iron while dairy (as well as high calcium) can interfere with iron absorption. Do you drink tea and coffee with meals? Both of them can significantly reduce iron absorption. Not enough greens, beans, nuts and seeds and other iron sources? If you're on a veggie diet, is it well planned? Could it be absorption issues (so many possible gastrointestinal conditions)? Especially suspect it if you're not vegetarian/vegan, as heme iron in animal foods is generally absorbed easily. If you're a man with low iron, investigate it, as iron is usually well recycled in the body and you don't have monthly losses. Could you have internal bleeding that depletes your stores (e.g. long term aspirin...
Read more

Let's talk chocolate cake! [OLD]

Image
If you're looking for an easy, tasty and healthy chocolate-banana treat, look no further! This brownie-style cake/dessert is sweet, rich, creamy and chocolatey, and it's unbelievably easy to make. It also happens to be: Gluten free, Vegan, Grain free, Paleo, Baking powder free, Yeast free, added sugar free, oil free... And it counts towards your 5 (or 10) a day! All you need is three ingredients, a blender and a baking dish. As long as you don't make it too thick, you can vary the quantities quite liberally, it's a very forgiving dessert. So, for this recipe you will need: 5-7 ripe bananas (depending on the size, I used 6) 2-3 heaped tablespoons nut butter (I used almond but have previously tried peanut and it worked great) 2 heaped tablespoons (or to your taste) cacao powder (I had also used carob powder and it worked well too) Optional: fresh/frozen berries or nuts/seeds to top (this time I used a few frozen cherries and some blueberries). Instructions: Blend everythi...
Read more