13 April 2007

Dear Readers,

This week I've been reading a new book called Sugar Shock! The title refers to what happens to the body when you eat sugar. But not just refined white sugar or corn syrup. The book asserts that ALL sugars and simple carbohydrates are TOXIC to the body--including most natural sweeteners.

The author lists forty-four symptoms she experienced as the result of eating sugar, which disappeared soon after she eliminated sweets and simple carbs from her diet. These symptoms included mood swings, temper tantrums, crying spells, drowsisness and overwhelming fatigue, insomnia and sleeping difficulties alternating with sleeping too much, difficulty concentrating, mental confusion, anxiety, depression, dizziness, lightheadedness, severe PMS, digestive problems, muscle and joint pains, cold hands and feet, nervousness, suicidal thoughts, antisocial behavior, and more. This led her to research how sugars and simple carbohydrates affect the body.

The book goes on to show the associations between sugar and simple carbohydrates and mind and emotions, memory, hypoglycemia, cancer, aging, heart disease, skin problems, diabetes, obesity, and even your love life.

The underlying mechanism behind all of these health problems is that sugars and simple carbs cause a sudden spike in blood sugar, triggering an insulin response from the panacreas to lower the blood sugar to normal levels. As we eat more and more sugars and simple carbohydrates, we continue to push blood sugar levels up and up and cause the release of more and more insulin.

The authors assert that it doesn't matter if the food is natural or refined, it all responds the same in the body.

There is a lot of great information in this book. I think it is an important book to read for anyone who has any kind of ongoing health problem--physical or mental.

But I'm not sure that I agree with everything it says.

My experience with the natural sweeteners I recommend is that they do NOT all affect my blood sugar in the same way. I take my blood sugar regularly and I can tell you that I can eat a teaspoon of evaporated cane juice every night and it affects my blood sugar not a bit. If I were to eat the same teaspoon of refined white sugar, my blood sugar would go up and up daily.

If you want to see how various foods and sweeteners affect your blood sugar (because it is different for everyone), you can purchase a pretty accurate blood sugar monitor at any Walgreen's drug store for about $15, plus about $25 for a package of test strips. It's their house brand, but a good one. It's more accurate than more expensive brands. I've checked it against laboratory blood work and it was right on.

The authors also seem to be looking at various sweeteners only through the lens of what harm can come to the body from eating them. They speak of honey, for example, as causing an even greater blood sugar rise than refined white sugar, but neglect to mention all the beneficial healing effects of raw honey. Likewise, they condemn chocolate without mentioning--as Dr. Mercola did this past week--that chocolate contains epicatechin, a substance so important to health that a professor at Harvard Medical School thinks it should be considered a vitamin.

I do agree that all caloric sweeteners should be enjoyed occasionally in moderation, and not as everyday fare. I've said this before and offer my recipes so that when you do want to eat sweets, you can have the option to at least use a sweetener that is more whole and natural. But please keep in mind that they can affect your body in negative ways when eaten to excess.

I've been wanting to make some changes in how I do Sweet Savvy for a while, and reading this book made me decide now is the time. Personally, as I've been off white sugar and creating these recipes with natural sweeteners, I've actually become less and less interested in eating dessert. I just make the recipes, taste them, and give them away.

I'm more interested now in how we can enjoy eating sweet foods, such as fruit, coconut, and the like and making them special, rather than eating chocolate chip cookies. I know that may sound amazing coming from someone who used to go out and eat five desserts with her best friend, but it's true.

So the upcoming recipes are now going to be based more on sweet foods and whole grains, and I'm going to be reviewing all the existing recipes and sweeteners to make this all simplier and healthier.

It's become clear to me that the healthiest thing is not simply to try to make traditional desserts with better ingredients, but to reconsider how we can enjoy the taste of sweet in a new way that is healthy.

I'm still going to leave all the old recipes on the website because I do think they are good for transition and occasional enjoyment in moderation. Just wanted to let you know of my new direction and that there will be some changes coming.

Again, I don't think it's necessary to eliminate sweets entirely. Eaten in moderation in the context of an otherwise healthy diet, they are fine. The problem is that many people eat sugars and simple carbs all day long at every meal of the day, and that IS a problem.

Take a look at Sugar Shock! so you can know how sweets and simple carbs can effect your health, and make your own choices accordingly.

Debra :-)

SWEET SAVVY ~ NATURAL SWEETENER RECIPES is a weekly sampling of scrumptious sweets from Debra Lynn Dadd.

All recipes are made only with natural sweeteners ~ no refined white sugar or artificial sweeteners. All ingredients mentioned can be purchased at natural food stores. more...

The intention of this newsletter is to introduce readers to natural sweeteners of all kinds. The only intent is to show how natural sweeteners can be used to make a variety of favorite sweets. If there are ingredients in these recipes you choose not to eat, please make the appropriate substitutions.

(c) copyright 2007 Debra Lynn Dadd. All Rights Reserved