Here is the third part of an interesting article I found in The Sunday Times
Beware of the hidden sugar
The nutritionist and naturopath Rhian Stephenson tells her clients to check all labels of canned vegetables, breads, sauces, prepared foods and so-called “health” foods carefully. “if sugar, or a sugar pseudo, is one of the first three ingredients, steer clear.” Even though it is a long list, it ios important that you acquaint yourself with the vocabulary, much of which is made to sound healthy, organic and pure. The most common terms are: barley malt syrup, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, rice syrup, cane crystal, coconut sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, crystalline fructose, dextrin, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, fruit purée, fruit pulp, agave, molasses, organic evaporated cane juice, palm sugar, raw sugar, saccharose, sorghum, treacle, turbinado sugar and xylose.
Sugar is often present in foods you don’t even associate with sweetness: pasta sauces, canned salmon, breaded fish fingers, porridge, fruit yogurt and bouillon cubes. I could scarcely find a breakfast cereal, a deli meat or an Asian cooking sauce that wasn’t loaded with added sugar. And that’s before I got to the plethora of “healthy”, “organic” and “light” products that are boosted with sugar to compensate for the lack of fat. The American dietician Susan Burke-March warns: “just because a food is labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘fat-free’ does not make it calorie-free; manufactured add sugar to increase the texture and bulk lost by removing fat.”
Jenna Zoe, author of Super Healthy Snacks and Treats, says: “craving sugary foods doesn’t make you a weak human being. We are programmes to opt for the sweet foods because, in nature, sweetness is a sign that the foods are safe to eat; it meant that early man chose juicy fruit over poisonous plants that are bitter in taste. The problem arises with processed foods, because sweeteners are used in conjunction with junky fats or hydrogenated oils. This is where the addictiveness is created. In nature, sugars and fats are not often found in the same foods.”
Sugar is often present in foods you don’t even associate with sweetness: pasta sauces, canned salmon, breaded fish fingers, porridge, fruit yogurt and bouillon cubes. I could scarcely find a breakfast cereal, a deli meat or an Asian cooking sauce that wasn’t loaded with added sugar. And that’s before I got to the plethora of “healthy”, “organic” and “light” products that are boosted with sugar to compensate for the lack of fat. The American dietician Susan Burke-March warns: “just because a food is labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘fat-free’ does not make it calorie-free; manufactured add sugar to increase the texture and bulk lost by removing fat.”
Jenna Zoe, author of Super Healthy Snacks and Treats, says: “craving sugary foods doesn’t make you a weak human being. We are programmes to opt for the sweet foods because, in nature, sweetness is a sign that the foods are safe to eat; it meant that early man chose juicy fruit over poisonous plants that are bitter in taste. The problem arises with processed foods, because sweeteners are used in conjunction with junky fats or hydrogenated oils. This is where the addictiveness is created. In nature, sugars and fats are not often found in the same foods.”
Keep an eye out for the next part of this fantastic article
Richard Taylor Personal Training Club
www.richardtaylorpt.co.uk
"Changing your lifestyle to incorporate exercise and proper nutrition is not easy. But it is defiantly a journey with endless rewards that are well worth achieving!
