Benefits of a low-sugar diet

From tempting sweetness to white poison? Is sugar really unhealthy, or is it completely harmless for our bodies even in moderation? With this article, I want to draw your attention to a more conscious approach to sugar and provide you with all the useful facts about it.

Why sugar can be harmful

Sugar, in the form of blood sugar, is a component of our bodies. Sugar also exists in natural foods, such as fruits, vegetables, or grains. These forms of sugar generally pose no problem.

However, when it comes to the sugar provided by the food industry, such as household sugar and glucose syrup, you should have an overview of quantities and types to avoid endangering your health. Blood sugar fluctuations can be easily managed by the body, but only if they occur within normal limits. A high intake of industrial sugar, however, leads to blood sugar fluctuations that strain the body. It damages teeth, promotes vital nutrient deficiencies, causes blood sugar fluctuations, fosters chronic inflammatory processes, disrupts gut flora, and promotes cancer development.

The Glycemic Index (GI)

How quickly and how high blood sugar levels rise after consuming a food is measured using a specific parameter: the glycemic index. The higher the glycemic index, the worse and unhealthier carbohydrates are.

Pure glucose has the highest GI of 100. White bread, for example, ranges from 70 to 85, and cola is at 70. Whole grain products have a GI of 40, while legumes and most fruits and vegetables are even lower.

Since a low GI causes blood sugar levels to rise slowly, foods made from whole grains, legumes, and fruits and vegetables hardly strain the body. Generally, a food with a GI above 50 is considered worse than those below 50.

This shows that the consumption of sugar and carbohydrates has a very different effect on blood sugar levels. Furthermore, the sugar from healthy foods causes only minor blood sugar fluctuations and thus serves for energy production without harming health.

With natural sugar in fruits or grains, you also absorb accompanying substances like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Isolated and refined forms of sugar, however, consist solely of sugar without these accompanying substances. These have a negative impact on metabolism.

What constitutes healthy sugar?

Healthy sugar can only refer to sugar found in natural foods, such as fruits, grains, nuts, legumes, and vegetables. However, forms of sugar that you consume in industrially processed and isolated form are at best less harmful, but truly healthy none of these sugars are – with a few exceptions.

Health problems and risks

For thousands of years, humans did not eat refined flour or any form of isolated sugar. These are changes that our bodies can hardly cope with, manifesting in various health problems beyond tooth decay.

In addition to the aforementioned damage that our body can experience, partly due to the increased intake of isolated sugar, nutrient deficiency is at the forefront. If we were to eat the sugar beet whole, for example, we would also consume fiber, vitamins, and minerals in addition to carbohydrates. Nature has combined everything in fruits that serves a balanced nutrient supply.

Household sugar & co. unfortunately no longer contain any nutrients. Since neither vitamins, minerals, nor fiber arrive with the sugar, the body has to draw the accompanying substances required for sugar processing from its own reserves. In particular, vitamin B1 and calcium are said to be consumed more when sugar intake is high.

People who eat many foods with isolated carbohydrates are inevitably affected by a vitamin and mineral deficiency at some point. And here we can lump sugar, white flour, and white rice together. All of them have lost almost their entire nutrient diversity due to the intensive processing.

Consequences of a persistent nutrient deficiency include infectious diseases, tooth decay, osteoporosis, hyperactivity, lack of drive, or premature aging.

Tips for switching to a low-sugar diet:

• Avoid sugary drinks – instead, drink Kombucha and high-quality water.
• Start the day with a sugar-free breakfast.
• Eat plenty of fresh, raw food, rich in bitter substances.
• Wild herbs counteract nutrient deficiencies.
• Prefer valuable carbohydrate-rich foods such as sprouts, nuts, or sweet potatoes.
• Eat as few processed foods as possible.
• Read ingredient lists of foods and identify hidden sugars.
• Use alternative sweeteners.
• Get into the habit of thorough chewing.

Labeling of sugar

Reading ingredient lists when shopping can sometimes be tricky – sugar hides behind many names, especially behind all kinds of sugar syrup. Syrup is cheap, sweetens even more intensely due to its usually higher fructose content, and has now crept into almost all convenience foods.

Sugar can bear the following names:

Attention!

When reviewing ingredient lists, it's easy to misjudge the sugar content and the sweeteners used.

• Sugar hides behind names that don't directly suggest sugar, such as dextrose or isoglucose.
• Multiple listings of sweetening ingredients cause them to move to the end of the ingredient list, but in total, they result in enormous amounts of sugar.
• Products labeled "unsweetened," such as rice milk, still contain 7.2 g of sugar per 100 ml.
• Products like pizza, vegetarian spreads, and many others contain various sugar additives.

Healthy sugar alternatives

Agave syrup

Agave syrup is extracted from the sap of agave plants. After extraction, it is filtered, heated, thickened, and then contains 76 percent sugar. It is slightly thinner than honey and consists mainly of fructose and glucose, with the fructose content significantly dominating at an average ratio of 7:3. Thus, agave syrup has the lowest glycemic index of 15 among all sweeteners and is therefore metabolized almost independently of insulin.

Caution: A high fructose content can also have negative effects. Fructose travels directly to the liver via the blood and, if abundant, is converted into fat there.

Maple syrup

Maple syrup is the boiled-down sap of the Canadian maple tree. Approximately one liter of syrup is produced from about 40 liters of sap. It has a slightly caramel taste and contains around 67 percent sugar, 1:1 glucose and fructose, as well as small amounts of minerals such as potassium, iron, and magnesium. Maple syrup has a glycemic index of 55 to 65 and a slightly lower sweetness than household sugar.

Apple treacle

Apple treacle is also known as apple sweetness. In its production, apples are pressed into juice and then evaporated. Apple treacle is a regional sweetener, tastes slightly tart, and a little bit like apples. Depending on the manufacturing process and temperature, minerals and secondary plant compounds are retained. It should be noted that treacles have a fructose content of approximately 60%.

Date syrup

Date syrup is made from dried dates. Dates contain slightly more glucose than fructose. In addition, date syrup contains the minerals magnesium, potassium, iron, folic acid, zinc, and calcium, as well as vitamin A.

Date paste can be easily made in raw food quality. It is metabolized as alkaline and is therefore more valuable than store-bought date syrup, which suffers nutrient losses due to heating.

Recipe:

Soak 200 g of dates in water for at least 2 hours. Then blend and season with cinnamon, vanilla, or cardamom as desired. The amount of water determines how thick the paste will be. Stored in a sealed jar, it will keep well in the refrigerator for about a week.

Honey

Like sugar, honey consists of glucose and fructose, but it also contains minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and additional enzymes. It is recommended to buy cold-extracted honey from a local beekeeper. Honey is said to have anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties.

Coconut blossom sugar

This is the thickened, crystallized flower sap of coconut palms. Like regular sugar, it is sucrose, composed of one part glucose and one part fructose. It has a low glycemic index of 35 and causes blood sugar levels to rise only slightly. In addition to minerals like iron, magnesium, zinc, and potassium, it also contains the dietary fiber inulin. It tastes slightly caramel-like and is not quite as sweet as household sugar.

Rice syrup

Rice syrup is extracted from whole rice grains or rice flour and contains no fructose. Instead, it contains a special form of glucose that must first be converted by the body, thus causing blood sugar levels to rise more slowly than "normal" glucose. Rice syrup still contains some minerals such as potassium, iron, and magnesium and has a slightly malty-nutty taste. Its sweetness is only half that of household sugar.

Stevia

Stevia, also known as sweet herb, is a plant with intense sweetness and a licorice-like taste. About 20% of the green leaves consist of the sweetening substances stevioside and rebaudioside A, which are 300 to 400 times sweeter than sugar. However, intensive processing is required to extract these sweetening substances. Stevia drops, tablets, or tabs contain no calories and are metabolized without insulin, but they are not health-promoting.

Yacon syrup

Yacon syrup has a caramel-like sweetness, similar to maple syrup. It is made from the tuber of the yacon plant, which is related to Jerusalem artichoke. Like Jerusalem artichoke tubers, yacon tubers are rich in water-soluble dietary fiber. In addition to inulin, yacon tubers also contain fructooligosaccharides (FOS). FOS have a prebiotic effect, as they serve as food for good gut bacteria and strengthen the gut environment.

Currently, yacon syrup is offered as the perfect sugar alternative. Not without reason: it is considered a highlight for digestion and is metabolized almost insulin-independently with a glycemic index of 1. It should be noted that the consumption of yacon syrup can lead to digestive problems in sensitive people in the form of diarrhea or bloating.

Erythritol

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol consisting of four carbon atoms with 70 percent the sweetness of sugar, but without an alcoholic effect. The substance occurs naturally in pears and grapes, among other things. Industrially, it is extracted from corn, produced using yeasts, and even seems to have some antioxidant properties.*

Erythritol does not affect insulin levels, meaning its glycemic index is zero.

Sounds very appealing. Erythritol sweetens mildly and neutrally, is said to have no laxative effect compared to xylitol, yet it is not a natural sweetener.

*from "How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Greger

Conclusion

All the presented sweeteners are valuable alternatives to refined household sugar and are therefore definitely healthier. However, this statement should not tempt us to eat too much of them. Although they contain health-promoting ingredients in small amounts, they are all concentrated carbohydrates.

Used sparingly, we can, however, sweeten our dishes with a clear conscience.

Kombucha needs carbohydrates for fermentation/metabolism. Our organic Kombucha is fermented to contain as little sugar as possible (up to 50% less than comparable products and up to 80% less than common sodas) and is also raw/unpasteurized. This means it contains many nutrients for you, such as vitamins, healthy yeasts, and microorganisms, and is even metabolized in an alkaline way.

Furthermore, I recommend you to explore new taste experiences with fresh fruits and vegetables, combined with plenty of leafy greens and wild herbs, to initiate a gentle change in taste.

Much success and good health!