Fed Up
Last week I watched the documentary ‘Fed Up’ and I was really shocked. I am shocked at how much politics, influenced by the food industry, determines what we eat and especially how much sugar we take in. The documentary was mainly focused on the US, but it is no different here. The Dutch ‘Suikerunie’ has a significant influence when it comes to what information is shared and what quantities of sugar are prescribed as daily required amount. Their website also shows sugar as a 100% natural and healthy product.
100% natuurproduct
Suiker is een natuurproduct. Dat weten de meeste mensen niet, zo blijkt uit consumentenonderzoek, in opdracht van Suiker Unie. Vele consumenten beseffen niet dat suiker van het land komt, van de suikerbiet.
De suikerbiet bestaat ruwweg voor 80% procent uit water en voor 20% uit suiker. De suikerbiet is eigenlijk dé suikerfabriek. De combinatie van zon, licht en vocht laat de suikercellen in de suikerbiet groeien. Na een groeiperiode van 6 tot 8 maanden is het tijd om de suiker uit de biet te winnen. Uiteindelijk blijft 100% natuurlijke suiker over.
Genieten
Genieten van suiker kan op elk moment van de dag. Denk maar aan suiker in een lekker bakje koffie of kopje thee, in de yoghurt of zelfgebakken cake. De smaakvolste producten worden gemaakt met suiker. En wat is er leuker en heerlijker dan je eigen taart of jam te maken?
English:
100% natural product
Sugar is a natural product. Most people do not know that, according to consumer research, commissioned by Suiker Unie. Many consumers do not realize that sugar comes from the country, from the sugar beet.
The sugar beet consists roughly of 80% of water and 20% of sugar. The sugar beet is actually the sugar factory. The combination of sun, light and moisture allows the sugar cells to grow in the sugar beet. After a growth period of 6 to 8 months, it is time to extract the sugar from the beet. Ultimately 100% natural sugar remains.
To enjoy
You can enjoy sugar at any time of the day. Just think of sugar in a nice cup of coffee or tea, in the yoghurt or homemade cake. The tastiest products are made with sugar. And what is more fun and delicious than making your own cake or jam?
(source: http://www.suikerunie.nl/De-wereld-van-suiker/Genieten.aspx)
Just to clarify, sugar is a 100% refined product.
You have control
If you want to have control over the amounts of sugar you and your children consume per day, cooking fresh and pure is the only solution. I myself no longer use refined sugars for my cooking. I use other sweeteners such as Agave-, Date- or Rice syrup, but kept to a minimum. Agave is also a refined product and therefore not too healthy.
There are countless replacements for sugar on the market, such as Palm sugar, Rice syrup, Maple syrup, Stevia, Honey, Corn syrup, etc. All these substances are a form of sugar. These substances, or any sweetener, tell the liver that a quantity of sugar is coming in and that insulin needs to be made. The amount of insulin (which provides fat storage) depends on the glycemic index (GI). If it is high (> 70), the substance causes a high peak in the blood sugar level and the sugar is stored as fat. The lower the GI, the ‘healthier’ sweetener.
Addiction
Sugar has an addictive effect. We generally prefer a sweet taste. This habit has grown in the last 5 decades and has resulted in the drastic consequences of a large amount of obese people (and especially children). Wherever we look, sweets are available and so sugar is almost inseparable from our diet.
We will have to make an effort here. The best way is not to seek replacement for sugar, but to decline the desire for the sweet taste. Declining sugar is the best solution for sugar replacement.
What is your opinion about this?
