The sweet paradox

Arab countries currently hold some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the World. In a region where displaying some overweight is often seen as a sign of wealth and where the world “sweet” also means “beautiful”, people tend to have an ambivalent relationship to sugar.

Sugar – especially refined white sugar – is probably the biggest enemy of a healthy diet. But talking about the ill deeds of sugar hasn’t really helped anyone. So, let’s focus on being constructive here and looking at how to advantageously replace it for health and taste purposes. 

First let’s consider this – sources of added sugar are split the following way: processed foods (50%), soda (40%) and dessert (10%). Therefore, if you eat unprocessed foods and cut down on soda, having dessert won’t do you much harm. And while it’s good to cut down on sugar, there’s no need to diabolize it. Naturally occurring sugars - in fruits for instance - can be beneficial if consumed responsibly.

To bring your sugar cravings down, you can eat a variety of fruits, sweet vegetables such as sweet potatoes, corn or squash, or dark chocolate. It’s better to avoid using artificial sweeteners. You should instead go for raw honey, pure maple syrup, date paste, coconut sugar, rapadura or whole leaf stevia.

Bottom line: next time you want to treat yourself or someone you love, think twice before rushing to the box of sweets!

If you enjoyed reading this article, please share it with your friends and networks using the little icons below.