Some of you may be aware that I had a severe intestinal infection last autumn and I still have some lingering food intolerances. One of the things that makes me double over in pain is cane sugar. That's tough for someone with a life-long sweet tooth like myself, but I have learned to pay close attention to food labels.
I am currently in the US on an extended road trip with family - hurrah! Within an hour of landing we were at the grocery store looking to stock up on some basics to take us through breakfast the next day.
Just try to buy food in the US without sugar, though! You all know that normally I cook most of my food at home from scratch using clean, often organic ingredients. I use maple syrup, dates or coconut sugar as my sweeteners of choice (at least I get some nutrients with my sugar!). But on this holiday I thought I would have a break from cooking and I was looking for some short cuts. I wanted some "healthy" granola. We were in a big grocery store, fairly typical of middle America, and there was not a single box of cereal on the entire cereal aisle that was free from cane sugar. I wanted some gluten-free bread, but there was none without cane sugar. Mayonnaise? Cane sugar. Salsa? Cane sugar. Chick pea salad? Cane sugar. Everything everywhere - cane sugar.
We have all read the reports about the detrimental effects of sugar on our health and that we are all eating too much of it. It is one of the top causes of inflammation (along with refined carbs), as well as diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease, increased bad cholesterol, tooth decay, etc. The World Health Organisation recommends that adults have no more than seven teaspoons a day (that's 28 grams). How do you think you're doing?
I was lucky enough to find a Whole Foods the next day where I could buy several things free from cane sugar. When I think about the reality of the American population and the food choices the majority of people have it breaks my heart. No wonder so many people in the USA are overweight and sick! And the UK is following right along the same path. There is just no getting away from sugar unless you make every single thing from scratch and the truth is most people simply don't have that kind of time. The food industry does not have our best interests at heart. How do we convince them to reduce / eliminate sugar in everything they make?
Last year when we were on our summer holiday we met a woman who had previously worked at a big sugar producer in the US. She looked us directly in the eyes and said, "Never, ever, eat that stuff. Do you hear me? Never eat that stuff." And then she proceeded to tell us the chemicals used to produce white table sugar. Not a pretty picture.
I invite you to have a look at the ingredients list for a "healthy" granola bar (below) made with oats and honey. Sugar, sugar, honey, brown sugar syrup, and high fructose corn syrup, Don't even get me started on high fructose corn syrup! That's a blog post for another day.
What will it take? I'm going to start writing letters / emails. And offering more cooking lessons. Doing more talks. Trying to make a difference in my own small way. I hope you will join me.
