Sugar: what you really need to know.
Recently I was a stall-holder at the 2018 Women’s Expo in Hurlstone Park with my colleague and friend Susanne Zapatero. We wanted to talk with people about their health. Specifically, I was keen to better understand what people in my local community knew about sugar and discuss how it impacts our physical and psychological well-being.
At our stall, I put out a few common food and drink items. In front of them I laid out plastic teaspoons, one for each teaspoon of sugar contained in a serving size of that product, as per the product’s label (pictured below).
Some passers-by were a bit shocked! A few couldn’t believe that some of the products they or their kids ate for breakfast every morning had so much sugar.
And of course, there was some discussion — was sugar really that bad?
Your body actually doesn’t need any sugar to function. The World Health Organisation has issued a new guideline strongly recommending that we reduce our ‘free sugar’ intake to be no more than 10% of our total kilojoule intake. WHO suggests a further reduction of the intake of free sugars to below 5% of total energy intake.
But that’s not all. Sugars can be hidden in everything from cereals, to milks, snacks, sauces, alcohol, soups, stocks and more, and under a multitude of different names—dextrose, glucose syrup, agave, rice malt syrup, saccharin. And they’re just some of the more familiar ones.
Over the years, sugar has been increasingly added to foods like these as a flavour enhancer. And the amount has steadily increased as our tastebuds have adapted to the rising sweetness. Furthermore, easily digestible carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, pasta, bread, and potatoes are broken down easily in the gut to release sugar into your system.
Last year, I wanted to work with friends and family to challenge what we all knew about sugars. I ran a successful sugar-free challenge, during which participants learnt how to recognise different sugars, how to avoid them, how sugar affects our hunger and taste buds, and so much more.
During and after the challenge people told me they felt more energised, felt more motivated to exercise, ate less, and made better food choices. Two people have since lost over 20kgs by following a better diet and exercise program and not eating sugar.
We’re doing another challenge this July!
Please email me to sign up and join our free challenge—you’ll get tips and information straight to your inbox, your questions answered, and support. And you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn.
Start date: 1 July 2018
Register by: 30 June 2018
Register by email: anousheh@goodhealthclinic.com.au OR susannezapatero62@gmail.com
