Every year, on the 7th of April, World Health Day takes place. The WHO raises awareness for certain health related problems. Last year, food safety was the main theme and today they raise awareness for the illness diabetes. That’s why, in this article today, I’m listing some facts about diabetes and of course about sugar, since those two are inextricably connected.
First, some facts about diabetes. Diabetes is an illness which strikes 1 out of 16 Dutch people. There are two different types of diabetes, namely, type 1 and type 2. In both cases, the body doesn’t create enough insulin. With type 1 diabetes your body even breaks down the insulin by accident. 9 out of 10 people have this type 2 diabetes and 1 out of 10 people get hit by type 1 diabetes. With type 1 you need to insert insulin multiple times a day and in some cases, you have to wear a pump which manages the insulin level.
In 2014, the WHO lowered the recommended amount of sugar intake per person drastically. Before, a woman who needs 2000 calories a day could consume 50 grams of sugar, but that’s been lowered to 25 grams a day (approx. 5,5 sugar cubes). In addition to that, fresh fruit doesn’t count in this recommendation. Fruit does contain a lot of sugars but those aren’t bad by definition. But do mind your intake of fruit juices, because they add a lot of sugar to it. Okay, to give you an idea what is 25 grams of sugar:
1 can of coke: 35 grams of sugar, there you go.
Glass of orange juice: 20 grams of sugar, didn’t see that one coming.
Bag of paprika chips (200 g): 5 grams of sugar, however, it contains thousands of carbs and fats. Light chips usually have more added sugars. This is tricky because chips aren’t sweet but still they have a lot of added sugars.
Bottle of Fristi: 28 grams of sugar, keep going, parents.
Slice of bread: 1,45 grams of sugar, whohoo!
Danio light quark strawberry: 16 grams of sugar, and you were thinking you were doing good.
Glass of Rivella: 2,5 grams of sugar (move over, coke)
*Note: I’m talking about the pure amount of sugar, so the ‘sugars’ category on the labels. Carbohydrates are sugars, but not all carbohydrates are counted in this advice (eg. Bread and potatoes). In case you want to eat less carbs, then forget all products which are listed above, welcome to my life. Vague shit, but okay.
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Okay, I won’t try to make you eat fewer carbs, but too much is never a good thing and taking less pure sugars is really doable. Some awareness can be enough to change your lifestyle without leaving out the social stuff. It can also be about the small things, such as realizing you don’t need that one can of coke and drink water instead (or Rivella, I’m recruiting fans).
In case you want to pay attention to your sugar intake, this book from Anne Marie Reuzenaar can help you. It’s filled with a lot of information about (hidden) sugars and how they work in your body. besides that, there are a lot of recipes which you can use in case you’re done with sugar in your life. In case you do want to reduce all carbs in your life, especially potatoes, this article of mine can probably help you.
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Good luck!
Via www.culinice.com, written by me