The Not so Sweet Truth About Sugar

In our fight to live healthier lives, fat may not be the only challenge. Recent research is uncovering the dangers of sugar, deeming it worse than saturated fat in respect to heart health.

“Excess sugar raises triglycerides, which triggers inflammation and contributes towards obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome,” says Sherry Torkos, pharmacist and author of The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. As a result, Health Canada is considering making nutrition labels clearer when it comes to sugar content and government agencies are beginning to consider requiring warnings on ads promoting sugary soft drinks.

Since we all have a sweet tooth, cutting sugar even in the interest of health can be challenging. To help decrease your sugar consumption without compromising taste, Sherry shares some of her favourite tips:

• Spice up your condiments: While we all love dressing up our food with condiments, we should consider how much extra sugar it’s adding to our meals. For example, just one tablespoon of ketchup has four grams of sugar. That’s equal to eating a cookie. Instead, opt for hot sauce, which can add some excitement to your meal without adding extra sugar or calories.

• Rethink your drink: You may think you’re doing yourself a favour by having a diet pop, but that beverage contains artificial sweeteners in lieu of sugar that can be just as harmful. Instead, have a Nestlé Pure Life Sparkling Natural Spring Water with natural citrus essence. It has the same satisfying flavour with zero calories and zero sugar.

• Use natural sweeteners: Refined sugars can lead to potential health challenges such as tooth decay, obesity and heart disease. Instead of adding it directly to your coffee or tea, try honey (which provides various nutrients and enzymes), stevia (which promotes healthy blood sugar levels) and agave (diabetic friendly with its low glycemic index) as a sweetener instead of sugar in coffee/tea. All contain naturally sweet flavours that contain antioxidants.

www.newscanada.com