GOOD
Food
Indulge the Smart Way BY LAURA SPENCER
The holidays are here, bringing with them the joy of sharing, gathering, and of course eating. The anticipation of tables bursting with delicious, decadent, and jolly food is palpable, but before you dig deep into the celebration, as you should, here are a few tips on how to do this in a smart way.
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ugar consumption is bound to increase during the festivities; there are simply too many sweet culinary traditions to keep alive— think gingerbread, sugar, and shortbread cookies, fruit bread and Christmas pudding, plus the many other family favourites of the season. Celebrating this special time of year shouldn’t come with a high sugar tab, nor is there room for guilt about what you eat, either. So how to go about it? As we prepare to spend more time in the kitchen and stock up our fridges and pantries to meet the demanding holidays menu, we ought to pay attention to the type and amount of sugars present in packed and processed foods we consume, as this is where things can get tricky. Did you know that added sugar in our food is now considered the number one source of sugar in our diet? A 2019 study by Statistics Canada revealed that the total sugar consumption from beverages has decreased—hooray! But the total sugar intake from food has increased—boohoo! The sneaky sugars in processed foods, plus the overall use of sugar by home cooks, are still a primary factor in the steady rise of sugar consumption among all age groups.
But surely a little bit of sugar can’t be that bad? Our body can handle a small amount of added sugar, however over-consumption has been linked to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, dental cavities, non-alcoholic liver disorder, behavioural disorders, and it is also considered a risk factor for obesity. How much added sugar should be consumed, you might ask? Well, generally speaking, as all individuals’ lifestyles and compositions differ, the maximum intake of added sugar for kids aged 0 to 2 years is 0. For toddlers aged 2 to 5 years, the recommendations are between 3½ and 4 teaspoons; children aged 6 to 12 years should have between 4 to 5 teaspoons, and teenagers and adults should be consuming about 7½ teaspoons of added sugar daily. As a reference, an apple juice box has 18 to 23 g of added sugar. But surely, there’s a mistake here, as apples are a fruit. However, apple juice is the sugar that has been extracted from whole fruit, which on its own is perfectly healthy. This brings us to the different types of sugar. Sugar belongs to the carbohydrate family. There are three types of carbohydrates: sugars, starches, and fibre. Sugars, or simple carbohydrates, include the sugars
LAURA SPENCER is one of Nature’s Fare Markets’ vitamin specialists and a passionate foodie. She believes we can be as happy, healthier, and fulfilled as we allow ourselves to be. As a certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant, she works with people to help them achieve a healthy lifestyle by focusing on modifying behaviours and eating habits that are not working. 19 | November/December 2021
naturally occurring in fruit, vegetables, and milk, but also the type added to food. There are three types of sugars worth mentioning, as understanding what they are and how they affect our bodies can be helpful for choosing healthier options. Sucrose is perhaps the most well-known sugar, as table or white sugar. But “healthy” sugars such as turbinado, muscovado, natural brown sugar, and molasses all have the same chemical composition as white sugar (molasses being perhaps the exception as it also has magnesium, iron, and manganese). But once in the body, all these sugars are broken down in the same manner. Glucose is the main type of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream, readily accessible for the body’s energy requirements. Once the body has filled its energy demands, glucose gets stored in the liver or muscles. A sudden or rapid spike in glucose affects your blood glucose levels, which can be problematic both in the short and long term. Some forms of glucose-based sugar are dextrin, maltodextrin, brown rice syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, and maltose. Fructose, with nearly the same chemical make-up as glucose, cannot be utilized as a direct source of energy. This type of sugar
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