have your cake YOU CAN
AND EAT IT!
By Sarah Peeling and Rachael Hallewell of Apeeling Cakes
of Buzz Performance
Everyone loves cake. Whether it’s with your morning coffee, your afternoon tea, or as fuel for your exercise, we should all be able to include cake and sweet treats as part of a balanced diet, without feeling guilty.
The history of cake dates back to ancient times when it was similar to bread, with added fruit and nuts and eaten with honey. According to food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first civilisation to show advanced baking skills. The modern version of cakes with icing are believed to have been baked in Europe in the 17th century. In the past, ingredients were expensive so it was seen as an honour to be offered a cake. Today, cake is often consumed in a celebratory and social environment, when we share a slice with friends and family. It enhances our mood, makes us feel happy and boosts our spirits, bringing a community together. Over the centuries, the message of cake has remained the same: it says to someone that they are important, it represents love and companionship. But there’s another reason to eat cake - it makes the perfect fuel for exercise and planning a cake and coffee stop into a bike ride is often the most important part of the outing. Of course, everything in moderation. If we practise 92
have your cake and eat it
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sports, we can consume cake to our advantage, absorbing different nutrients at specific times to help us perform at our best. Inside a standard cake you’ll usually find… Flour - a starchy carbohydrate, Sugar - normally glucose, also a carbohydrate, Eggs - protein and healthy fats, Butter/Oil - fat, saturated and unsaturated. These are the Macronutrients, but they also offer plenty of Micronutrients that are also essential for the body. For example, butter contains fatsoluble vitamin A (we actually need fat to be able to absorb it); it is a form of retinoid, good for our skin, but also for our immune health and vision. Depending on the oil we use, it provides the body
with the essential Omega 3 (our body does not create it), helping to keep our brains healthy. Cake is primarily made up of carbohydrates, or ‘carbs’. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of fuel. Carbohydrates are absorbed and stored by the body in the form of glycogen. Our brain cannot function and our body will not perform to its best without carbohydrates. We need carbohydrates! The types of carbohydrates we consume are absorbed at different rates. For example, when we are out cycling, we need quick releasing carbohydrates such as sugars (glucose, fructose) or more refined carbohydrates like white flour.
