The Problems with White Refined Sugar

I’ve read many articles that said how white sugar causes all kinds of problems, ranging from weight, diabetes, fast aging and many more. No doubt we have somewhat of an idea that sugar isn’t that good. But then, what about fruits? Aren’t they also packed with sugar?

This is my say in how I feel about white sugar and sugar from fruits

I ate a bag of candy and my teeth became sensitive, and dried fruits did the same. However, eating a bowl of fresh fruits each day has never caused any problem. So, my bottom line is: It’s about the amount of sugar we have. I bet if I ate nothing but fruits all day, every meal, I’d probably have troubles too. Natural fruits have less sugar, and that’s what we should aim. Also, fruits contain sugar, but also other nutrients, which I find more useful than just adding plain sugar that’s stripped of all its vitamins and minerals. It’s kind of like, “what’s the point of just eating that?”

The problem I have with White Sugar

If you look at my recipes, I never use white sugar. I will use dried or fresh fruits, or any natural sweet food to sweeten my foods. That’s because I just don’t see a point in using white sugar when I could use something with more nutrients, that taste just as good. Believe me, adding fresh grapes to make a cookie does not taste any different to adding regular sugar, so why not eat the healthier alternative?

It’s about the Amount of Sugar we Eat

I feel that most dessert is just too sweet. It’s like, we don’t get satisfied unless it’s completely 100% sweet. What about just 65% sweet? I find that is just as enjoyable. It even gives you the chance to enjoy the other tastes. For example, I love making brownies with nuts, cocoa powder and dried fruits. I don’t add too much, and I find that the chocolate is particularly rich in taste.

Why hasn’t fruits caused trouble for me? I believe it’s because it’s filled with a lot of things like fibre, water and such, that it’s hard for us to overdose. Whereas candy and dried fruits have less of that, and we’d naturally want more. Ever notice that we can easily eat 5 dried bananas but if we were to eat 5 fresh bananas, we’d probably be too full after 3?

So how much is too much? I think our bodies were designed to be able to process a little of everything, and unfortunately, it’s so easy for us to go over these days with eating. Because we love the taste of sweetness too much, we sometimes forget that we’re overeating it. I think one bowl of fruits, added with one sweet snack in a day is fine, but if you go over, your teeth may even be happy to tell you all about it!

Similar with the rule that we should eat until we’re 80% full, I believe we should have all our desserts at 65% sweetness. Have it so we can enjoy the sweet taste, but not let it overpower everything (chocolate mud cakes are a good example). If you don’t like it in the beginning, chances are you are just not used to it yet.