The secret to enjoying cake and dessert without worrying about sugar!
So how do we reconcile our love for cake and dessert with the health problems sugar can cause? One inescapable truth is that consuming too much sugar is bad for us. The evidence is overwhelming that excessive sugar consumption causes huge health problems in our society (e.g. chronic heart disease, diabetes, obesity and more). Our approach is based on this:
Make your own cakes and desserts: The significant issue with modern diet is hidden sugar – food you don’t expect to contain sugar but does, or food that contains significantly more sugar than you would think. One can check the ingredients list but food producers have learnt many weird and wonderful ways to describe sugar in alternative ways or use sugar substitutes that are equally as bad (a whole other topic in itself). So, make your own cakes and desserts and you then know exactly how much sugar goes into them.
Reduce sugar quantities: Try to use recipes that use less sugar. Generally, cakes and desserts tend to be too sweet; you need some sugar (for structure, moisture content and flavour) but not in the quantities often used. Cakes and desserts should taste of their substantial component ingredients, not be overwhelmed with sweetness.
Healthy diet: Enjoy cakes and desserts as part of a healthy diet. Do not eat processed foods. Eat a diet based on whole foods so you know exactly what you are eating, and you are not eating sugar unless you chose to. This way, having the odd dessert or piece of cake during the week is pretty inconsequential.
Quality not quantity: Do we need added sugar that is not naturally found in our diet? No. Do we like to have a sweet treat? Yes. It’s a pleasure. We do not advocate eating cake and dessert every day. Have them less often and when you do, make sure it is something of quality that gives you real enjoyment.