Booth - Sensationally Sugar Free: Delicious sugar-free recipes for healthier eating every day

Contents Howtousethisebook Selectoneofthechaptersfromtheandyouwillbe takentoalistofalltherecipescoveredinthatchapter. Alternatively,jumptothetobrowserecipesbyingredient. Lookoutforlinkedtext(whichisunderlinedand/orinadifferentcolour) throughouttheebookthatyoucanselecttohelpyounavigatebetween relatedrecipes. Introduction Youmaywonderwhyabookofnoaddedsugarrecipesisfullofsweet foods.Obviously,thewaytoavoidmostsugarissimplynevertoeat anythingsweet.However,eatingissomuchmorethanmererefuelling. Itisboundupwithsocialconvention,ouremotionsandthehabitswe havedevelopedovertime. Ilovesweetthings.Whetheritsalittlesomethingtofinishoffameal,a mid-morningsnackorafull-onoverblowndessertforspecial occasions,IfeellifewouldbeincrediblydiminishedifIcouldeatonly savouryfoodsfortherestofit.ButIalsoknowthattoomuchsweet foodisbadformyhealthdentalandotherwise.Unlessweare clawingourwayacrossAntarcticainablizzard,ourdailynutritional needsforsugararesmall.

Thekeyisbalance:somesweetness,butnottoomuch;agood varietyoffoods;plentyoffibre;lotsofvitamins;smallportions.Weall knowit,butitsofteneasiersaidthandone. ItisinthisspiritthatIhavedevelopedthisbook.Whateveryour reasonsforwantingtocutbackonsugar,thiscollectionofrecipescan help.Theycombinethenaturalsweetnessoffruitsandvegetableswith wholegrains,nutsandseedstoofferhealthieralternativestomanyof ourfavouritesugarydishesandtreats. Someofthecakes,icecreamsanddessertsmaybelesssweet thanthoseyouvegrownusedtobecauseithasbecomethenormfor foodstocontainhighlevelsofsugar.ButIbelievethatifyouwantto moveawayfromarelianceonsugar,animportantstepistobecome accustomedtothingsbeingalittlelesssweet.Youllfindthatquite quicklyyouwontnoticeadifferenceandmayevenexperiencea heightenedsenseoftaste. Youllsoonseehoweasyandrewardingitistogosugarfreeno junk,justasweeterwaytolive. TheRoleofSugarintheDiet WHATISSUGAR? Tablesugar,granulatedsugar,demerarasugar,muscovadosugar, castersugarthesefamiliarformsofsugarareallasubstanceknown scientificallyassucrose.Sucroseisextractedfromthejuiceofsugar caneorsugarbeetandthenprocessedandpurified.Thedegreeof refiningaffectsthecolourandsizeofthecrystals,buttheyarebasically allthesameproduct.Molassesandblacktreacleareby-productsof sugarprocessingthatstillcontainahighlevelofsucrose.Allsugars havefourcaloriespergram. Sugarisanaturallyderivedproducttheproblemwithitisthatany vitamins,mineralsorfibrethatwerepresentintheoriginalplanthave beenremoved.Thisiswhyitisthoughtofasemptycaloriesitoffers usenergy,butnothingelsethatthebodycanuse.Thismaybeuseful occasionally,butmostofthetimeitsjustnotnecessary,andcaneven beharmful.

Chemicallyspeaking,sugarisawordusedtodescribeagroupof relatedmolecules.Theyaremadeupofcarbon,hydrogenandoxygen atoms,whichiswhytheyarealsopartofalargergroupcalled carbohydrates.Sucroseisinfactmadeupoftwosimplersugars fructoseandglucosejoinedtogether,abitlikewhenyoulinktwo paperclips.Combinationsofglucoseorfructosemoleculescreatemany commoncarbohydrates,includingfructo-oligosaccharides,maltose, maltodextrin,starchandcellulose(fibre). Glucose(alsoknownasdextrose) Glucoseisfoundinavarietyoffoods:aswellasfruit,italsooccursin lowlevelsingrains,beansandvegetables.Itisalsoaddedtofood;its amajorcomponentofglucosesyrup. Ourcellsrelyonglucosetoworkitsliterallythefuelweneedto survive.Oneofthemaingoalsofourdigestivesystemistoensure glucosegetsintoourbloodinordertobecarriedaroundthebodyto thecells. Ideally,ourbodieswouldlikeasteadytrickleofglucoseratherthan amassivedoseallatonce.Theextenttowhichfoodsraisethelevelof glucoseinourbloodstreamaftereatinggivesustheGlycaemicIndex rating,morecommonlyknownasGI.Pureglucoseisrated100,with otherfoodsrankedindescendingorder.Unlesswehavebeen exercisingstrenuously,itsbesttooptforfoodswithGIratingsof65 andbelow,orcombineahigh-GIfood(suchaswhitebreadwithaGIof 70)withfoodsthateitherdontcontainsugarsorverylowamounts(for example,foodsthatarentcarbohydrates,likeeggs,meat,green vegetables,cheeseorcream). Toomuchglucosecancause. Fructose(alsoknownaslaevulose) Fructoseissometimescalledfruitsugarbecauseitisfoundinnearly allfruits.Ittastesmuchsweeterthansucrose.Aftereating,its transportedtotheliver,wheremuchofitisconvertedtoglucose.This meansthatitsGIratingislowbecausetheprocessisfairlyslow.

Ourancestorswouldprobablyneverhaveconsumedmorefructose inadaythanthatwhichwasinthefruit/honeytheyate,butthesedays itspossibletoconsumeconsiderablymore.Thishasbeenlinkedtoa varietyofhealthproblemssee. Problemscausedbysugar Whenglucoseisproducedduringdigestion,itentersthebloodstream andahormonecalledinsulinisreleased.Insulinhelpscertaincells storesomeoftheglucoseinadifferentform,calledglycogen.The resultisthatthebloodglucoselevelsfalltonormal.Ifthelevelsdrop belownormal,glycogenisturnedbackintoglucose.Whenthebrain detectshigherglucoselevels,itstopshungersignals,whichiswhya steadyintakeofglucose(suchasthatcreatedwhencomplex carbohydratesaredigested)helpstokeepyoufeelingfullforlonger. Onaday-to-daylevel,eatingtoomuchsugaryfoodinonegowill resultinasuddenlargeincreaseinbloodglucoselevels,onlyforthem todropveryquickly.Thiscouldcontributetomoodswingsand tiredness,andcanalsomakeyoufeelveryhungryagainrelatively quickly,whichcouldleadtoexcesscalorieconsumption. Excessiveglucose Asdescribedin,insulinisusedtocontrol thelevelsofglucoseintheblood,withtheexcessbeingstoredas glycogen.However,thebodycanonlystoreacertainamountof glucoseinthisway,andanybeyondthatlimitisconvertedtofat.A largeexcesscanthereforeleadtoobesity. Diabetesisthenamegiventoadiseasewhereinsuliniseithernot producedatall,notproducedinhighenoughconcentrationsorisfaulty. Excessivefructose Fructose,asmentionedbefore,isconvertedintoglucoseintheliver. Excessivefructose Fructose,asmentionedbefore,isconvertedintoglucoseintheliver.

However,thebodyisnotabletoabsorblargeamounts,sosomeofitis leftovertobedevouredbyourgutbacteriainstead.Thebacteria releasegas,whichcanleadtobloatinganddiarrhoea.Somepeople havedifficultyabsorbingevensmallamountsoffructose,acondition knownasfructosemalabsorption. Processinghighlevelsoffructosealsoproducesuricacid,which canresultingout,andhasbeenlinkedtoahigherriskofobesityand highbloodpressure. Sugarandteeth Insideourmouthslivesacolonyofbacteria.Thesebacterialike stickingthemselvestoourteethusingasortofstarchyglue,whichis alsotheirfoodwecallthisplaque.Thebacteriamakethisglueby digestingcarbohydratesfoundinourmouths,especiallysugarslike glucose,fructose,sucroseandmaltose.Astheydigestthesugar,an acidisproduced.Itisthisacidthatdamagesourtoothenameland leadstodecay. Thesebacteriahavealwayslivedwithus,butexaminationofthe skullsofourancestorsfromathousandorsoyearsagooftenshows littletoothdecaydespitethelackoftoothbrushes,toothpasteetc.It seemsthatacombinationoftough,fibrousbreads,vegetablesand meat(lotsofchewing)andlimitedsweetfoodshelpedtokeepthe levelsofplaqueincheck.IntheUK,thewidespreadincreaseintooth decaydatesonlyfromabout1600onwardsthetimewhenlarge amountsofrefinedsugarbecamefreelyavailable. Moderndentaladvicesuggestsbrushingbeforebreakfast,eating sweetfoodsonlyaspartofameal,avoidinggrazingonsweet/starchy foods,drinkingplentyofwater(whichrinsesawaysugarsandacids) andbrushingagainbeforebed.Eatinghardcheeseorpeanutsaftera mealwillhelptomakethemouthlessacidicaswell.