I Quit Sugar for Life Read Free Page A

As a general rule, I simply try to keep my sugar intake as low as possible. If pressed for a limit? I work to what many argue is the amount we ate
back when our metabolisms were forming 10,000 years ago, derived from a few pieces of fruit and starches. It’s an imprecise but useful target:
    5–9 TEASPOONS OF ADDED SUGAR A DAY IS MY RECOMMENDED LIMIT.
    How do we keep to this limit?
    As part of IQS, we avoid foods that contain sugar.
    Which sugars?
    Any comprised of fructose:
    ▶ table sugar (sucrose) 50% fructose
    ▶ high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) 55% fructose
    ▶ agave 70–90% fructose (I know, I know, the health food shops love this stuff, but it’s a marketing con that’s convinced
     everyone it’s healthy and low-GI)
    ▶ honey 40% fructose
    ▶ maple syrup 35% fructose
    ▶ coconut and palm sugars 35–45% fructose.
    We substitute with safe sweeteners.
    The recipes in this book use the only two sweeteners my research has found to be safe and that are also easy to cook with:
    STEVIA, which contains stevioside (300 times sweeter than sugar) and rebaudioside (450 times sweeter than sugar). It’s a natural alternative, derived
from the leaf of the stevia plant, and contains no fructose.
    RICE MALT SYRUP (sometimes called rice syrup or brown rice syrup, particularly in the US), a natural sweetener that is made from fermented cooked rice and is a
blend of complex carbohydrates, maltose and glucose. It’s a relatively slow-releasing sweetener so it doesn’t dump on the liver as much as pure glucose does. Make sure the ingredients
list only rice (and water). Some versions add extra (fructose-containing) sugars.
    OTHER SWEETENERS THAT ARE OK TO USE IN MODERATION are xylitol (a sugar alcohol that can be digested by our bodies) and dextrose (100% glucose).
    I don’t personally use pure glucose in my recipes, instead opting for the rice malt syrup which is a slower (and gentler) release. I find recipes that call for
glucose/dextrose use a lot of it (cups instead of tablespoons!) – be careful of this.
    THE REST: DON’T TOUCH. Most have been shown to be either carcinogenic or entirely indigestible, thus causing myriad health issues (um, ever noticed how
‘sugar-free’ gum can make you loose-bowelled and gassy?!). Many of the fake sugars available are banned in parts of Europe, deemed unsafe. Nuff said.

BEWARE
    EVEN NON-FRUCTOSE SUGARS, SUCH AS GLUCOSE, ARE NOT GOOD TO EAT IN LARGE QUANTITIES AND WILL CAUSE INSULIN WOBBLINESS TOO, ALBEIT IN A FAR MORE MANAGEABLE WAY.
WHAT’S MORE, STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON HAVE FOUND THAT CONSUMING
ANY
KIND OF SWEETENER – EVEN THE ‘FAKE’ ONES THAT DON’T CONTAIN ANY KIND OF
SUGAR – CAN CAUSE A BLOOD SUGAR SPIKE AND CONTINUE A SUGAR ADDICTION. JUST THE SWEET TASTE CAN TRIGGER INSULIN AND METABOLIC RESPONSES.
    WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH LOW-GI?
    We hear a lot about low-GI foods. It’s a ranking of carbohydrates that determines the extent to which blood sugar levels are raised after eating those foods. A
     ‘low-GI’ reading (readings under 55) is meant to be a good thing.
    But want to know one of the ‘best’ ways a manufacturer can reduce their product’s GI?
Add fructose.
    Fructose is one of the lowest GI substances around. Which is why Nutella has a lower GI than a carrot.
    True story. For this reason I, and many health advisors, including Australia’s NHMRC as of 2013, give little credence to low-GI as a nutritional guide.
    LET’S TRY THIS

MINIMISE ALL SWEETNESS
    Granted, I like to play with fructose-free desserts and treats. However, going sugar-free for life means you’ll need to:
    EAT ‘SWEET’ TREATS AS TREATS ONLY. Even when a recipe contains a safe sweetener, it should be eaten with care. Not without other nutrients and
     fibre, not in large quantities and preferably not every day, unless they’re sweetened with coconut oil, flesh, cream or milk only.
    SLASH YOUR SWEETENER. I tend to use a very small amount of stevia or rice malt syrup