Sugared Up

I’ve never really followed the savoury food or sweet food rule, where you swear allegiance to favour one over the other. I favour both equally well, thank you very much, and am all for the cheese board and the tiramisu.

I get the fervour that accompanies something like Paleo because I get that when something works for you, you want to shout it from the rooftops. Hello yoga! I get the philosophical movement behind veganism and the science in eating raw. I mostly respect eating whole foods for your own wellbeing and that is what I aspire to do.

Although, I should mention that in discovering chocolate pretzels I found my food nirvana – a perfect combination of sweet and salty. It’s a story of mass consumption. And not pretty.

But something I do feel strongly about and actively have to work really hard at keeping under control is my sugar intake. Because the difference in me when I’m ‘on’ sugar and when I’m not is monumental. I’d read Sarah Wilson’s eBook a few years back and felt motivated enough to try my version of quitting sugar (I kept the fruit, albeit on a lower scale than what I would normally eat) and received immediate results. As in clearer skin, less crazy when three pm hits and, apparently, a little calmer.

I try to keep my sugar intake low and processed sugar to nil. But nil is, sigh, such an all or nothing kind of word, isn’t it. I’m thinking super-super-low-except-for-the-occasional-blow-out is more appropriate. Whispers, chocolate pretzels.

Even fitness and nutrition specialist Lee-Ann Wann feels the tug of the sugar strings saying, “Sweet treats aren’t the problem. Life is for living and enjoying. We can enjoy sugar and sweetened things but it’s understanding the hidden sugars.”

Lee-Ann was a guest speaker at a recent ecostore #OnlyGoodStuff event and made several points relating to health issues associated with excess refined sugar intake:

• Sugar consumption has been linked to hypertension and increased risk of death through heart disease
• High sugar sports drinks and foods are not optimal foods for performance and recovery being highly sugared and processed
• In January this year a team of scientists from the University of California in San Francisco (UCSH) went through more than 8,000 scientific papers on how sugar affects the body, coming to the conclusion that it not only makes people fat it makes them sick and finding links between eating added sugar and diseases like type two diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. (More research was recommended to make the links conclusive.)
• Links to immune system suppression, mineral deficiency, impaired DNA structure, hormonal imbalance, asthma, tooth decay, high blood sugar and obesity
• The World Health Organisation recommends sugars make up less than 10% of our total energy intake per day. A new draft guideline is proposing a reduction to below five% (equivalent to around 25 grams or six teaspoons of sugar per day for an adult of normal body mass index) would have additional benefits. Yet The New Zealand Nutritional Taskforce recommends New Zealand adults consume no more than 15%.

In her third season as the nutritionist for the Vodafone Warriors Lee-Anne says that reducing their sugar intake is the single most effective thing she does for their health. “They eat natural foods from a source they’re meant to be consumed from.”

She says that even getting the players to make slight changes by eating less processed food than they normally would makes them feel better.

Lee-Anne offered her top five tips for keeping sugar levels down:

1. Know your labels. Read the top three ingredients on food labels and know the different types of sugars that may be listed, such as – barley malt extract, glucose, sucrose, invert sugar, dextrose and glucose solids. Some marketers and manufacturers may break ingredients down into different types of sugar so they don’t feature near the top of the list
2. Look at the total number of sugars listed on the label and divide the number of grams by 4.2 – that’s the number of teaspoons of sugar you are ingesting (less is more!)
3. Learn ‘healthy sugar’ disguises. There are over 61 names for sugar, including what is mentioned above and ones that are often confused as better choices such as brown sugar, raw sugar and agave nectar. Your body processes it all as… sugar.
4. Avoid giving sugary food as rewards for children. Or adults! (I’m always open to a massage, flowers and a meal out.)
5. Watch out for fat-free foods. Fat-free doesn’t mean sugar-free and, in fact, is usually loaded with extra sugar for taste.

Before this sends you into the depths of despair remember what an abundance of beautiful, delicious, healthy foods we have access to in this country. As with any choices we make for our health and the wellbeing of those we love and care for, it’s about being wise to what is in our best interest. We should demand true transparency from our food providers and take responsibility for our own purchasing decisions. We need to know what we are eating and drinking.

How I feel on the mat every morning is often reflective of what I ate the night before in terms of how my body responds to asanas, and I know that the ingredients list for those chocolate pretzels is not going to keep me in glowing good health if I was to indulge on a daily. For me, yoga helps keep me on a more aware and thoughtful path of wellbeing.

I’m not ever going to ban chocolate pretzels (or whatever else eventually replaces them) but I am more particular about what my regular sweet treats are. I mean I practically have a halo.

–  Jane

Did you know ecostore use sugar for good? They are the first manufacturer in New Zealand to convert their bottles to renewable, recyclable, sugarcane plastic! Essentially, they are pretty awesome. Thanks for making #OnlyGoodStuff ecostore!

© The Yoga Connection 2015