We can say many things about sugar.
First, it tastes great. Second, it’s quite a confusing subject…
While we can agree that sugar isn’t exactly a health food, there’s a lot of misinformation about how it affects our diet and body functions.
You’ve probably heard about how we should be eating less sugar. Apparently, what experts mean is that we should be eating less added sugar. However, when it comes to food, our body can’t tell the difference between added sugar and naturally occurring sugar, because they have the same chemical composition!
By the way, did you know that lemons have more sugar than strawberries?
And that pure orange juice contains 12g of sugar per 100ml; while a can of Coke contains 8g of sugar per 100ml?
Then, you may think that if it’s brown, it’s better than white, right? Maybe when it comes to rice and bread, but not so much when it comes to sugar. Brown sugar is actually just refined white sugar with molasses added (which adds more minerals to each spoonful like calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium, but those amounts are so tiny they hardly justify the calories).
Shall I continue? According to brain scans, sugar is as addictive as cocaine.
Did you know that the only taste humans are born craving is sugar? (we born already addicted…). And it also causes wrinkles via glycation, which happens when excess blood sugar binds to collagen in the skin and makes it less elastic.
Ok then – shall you replace the sugar by no-calorie sweeteners?
Well, consumption of aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose are linked to weight gain, not weight loss, according to an analysis of 37 studies published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. In fact, they were tied to a higher risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart attacks, and stroke.
After all that, you may ask: shall you cut sugar out of your life completely? Different health organizations have different recommendations for the amount of sugar you should limit yourself per day.
But they all agree that there’s room for some sugar in your daily life…
In fact, Alberto Bustos recommends having some… in your studio… to mix with clay…
Oh, you didn’t know that? He does mix sugar and cookies to the clay… want to know the result? Join us in the workshop “Filaments and Textures”.
Suitable to diabetics…
Un abrazo! Paula
