A spoonful of sugar

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about food intolerance, sugar consumption and society’s inability to curb the obesity epidemic. Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at a range of food intolerances and will try to guide you through the vast amount of information (and mis-information) out there. A number of social commentators and ‘experts’ have thrown their hat into the sugar-free ring, with Mia Freedman (of mamamia.com.au) recently slamming the sugar-free movement, and others calling for sugar to be regulated in the same way as alcohol. A recent segment on Channel 7’s Sunday Night program once again sparked healthy debate on the sweet stuff.

Those who advocate a sugar free diet, including Melbourne based David Gillespie, whose book ‘Sweet Poison’ has become the bible for many sugar-free supporters, see the benefits of eliminating fructose from their diets. Shedding kilos, experiencing increased levels of energy and healthier looking skin just some of the benefits of adopting this approach. Dr Adam Fraser’s book Sugar Daddy blends years of research and clinical practice into simple advice and practical steps to help you take action against sugar.

Media personality Sarah Wilson, whose e-book ‘I Quit Sugar’ (available here) has gained an almost cult following as it guides readers through a gentle 8 week experiment in ridding fructose from your life.

Sarah’s distilled the facts into a very digestible argument ...

* In caveman days sugar – or fructose – was so rare that when we DID stumble on it, we were designed to binge on it AND store it instantly as fat. Our biology hasn’t changed in the 10,000 years since the agricultural revolution, nor since the 1800s when sugar was introduced. We’re still designed to binge on it and store it as fat.

* Fructose is the only food molecule that we a) don’t have a corresponding enzyme in our brain that says “we’ve had enough” and b) that goes straight to the liver as fat.

* Yep, sure sugar is natural. Fruit is natural. But so is arsenic and petroleum.

* Our grandparents didn’t eat four pieces of fruit a day. Plus the fruit back then didn’t contain as much sugar. Fruit day has been “bred” to be sweeter.

* A glass of Coke and a glass of apple juice – the same amount of sugar is in each…about 10-12 teaspoons.

(courtesy of sarahwilson.com.au)

And while everyone has their own opinion on whether there’s anything wrong with eating a couple of pieces of fruit a day or the occasional piece of chocolate, there is no doubt that this issue is dividing even the ‘experts’.

Whatever side of this argument you are on, and frankly, I can’t think of anything worse than a world without sugar, there’s little arguing that as a population, our waistlines are expanding and the next generation is likely to have life expectancies shorter than our own. Perhaps it is time to go back to basics and eat a little more like our grandparents did.

So, if you’re interested in finding out more about the dangers of sugar, I highly recommend Sarah’s e-book for a really simple approach, or for a more scientific approach, try David's. Plus, there are a growing number of specialty stores and food blogs to help you remove sugar and still enjoy the odd sweet treat. Some of the best include;

Free
Sugar free zone
econest.blogspot.com.au
Clemmy’s sugar free initiative

So tell us, is there one food that you simply couldn’t live without?

2012 is the National Year of Reading, which got us thinking about all things reading.

There’s a lot to be said for reading. In this time of fast paced living and our constant connectivity to the world at large, reading gives us a chance to escape our everyday lives. It allows us to explore the far reaches of our world that we may never see in reality. Walk through the doors of your local bookshop (the few that still exist) and enter a new world. The smell of the new books, the knowledge sitting in between the covers just waiting to be discovered. So many books, so little time.

This love for me, began as a child. While other saved for bikes and toys, I hid my pocket money away to buy C.S.Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. That, along with the Enid Blyton Far Away Tree series cemented my love of words - a love that continues today.

Of course the angst of teenage life shifted my attention to other worlds, and Sci-Fi fantasy books replaced those of childhood whimsy. Authors like Raymond E Feist, David Eddings and Kathryn Starbuck challenged my perception of reality and took me far from the everyday drama of teenage life.`

I shared my 20s with Knootz, Grisham and Archer and my 30s losing myself in chick-lit and discovering the joy of Harry Potter. Now, it’s all about classics, with my eyes firmly fixed on Catch 22, The Catcher in the Rye,Tim Winton’s timeless classic CloudStreet. Not to mention The Lord of the Rings (which I still haven’t read believe it or not).

So here (in no particular order) are my top ten books;

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
Magician, Raymond E. Feist
Dune, Frank Herbert
Perfume, Patrick Suskind
Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
The Turn of the Screw, Henry James

Tell us your favourite book and we will post it on our FB page.

So this weekend, set aside a couple of hours, turn off the phone (yes, all of them) and lose yourself in your favourite book.

Need some books? Buy online at the following retailers ...

amazon.com

booktopia.com.au

dymocks.com.au

marymartin.com.au

angusrobertson.com.au

imprints.com.au


2012 is the National Year of Reading, a project bringing together government, public libraries, community groups, media and commercial partners, and readers young and old to promote literacy and reading in Australia.

For more information, or to get involved visit Love to Read.