Session 4

 

Refined sugars:  Empty calories/ no nutritional value —same amount of calories as in healthier foods

                             Found mostly in processed foods, soft drinks

                         Health problems associated with refined sugar:

                         Candida, cancer, diabetes, hypoglycemia, obesity, poor immune system function, mood

                         and energy swings, tooth decay, PMS, poor cognitive functioning.

Artificial Sweeteners:

                          Loaded with harmful chemicals linked with many diseases...highly addictive

Best Chemical Free Refined Sugar Alternatives:

 

Maple Syrup (high in Manganese & Zinc)    1 tbsp = 52. cal=  12.5g sugar

Honey                                                         1 tbsp =60cal=16g sugar

Agave Nectar                                              1 tbsp = 60 cal = 16g sugar

Stevia Extract powder or liquid                  1 tsp = 300 times sweeter than sugar= 0 cal= 0 sugar

 

Formula to calculate the number of tsp of sugar in a container

1. Look at the serving size on the nutrition label

2. Look at the Size of the container

3. Look at amount of sugar listed on the nutrition label

4. Container size divided by the serving size = factor to use in next step

5. Factor x amount of sugar listed on nutrition label = total grams in the container

6. Take the total grams and divide by 4 to give you the number of teaspoons of sugar in the container

 

Example: 591 ml bottle of Coke

 

1. Serving size is 250ml

2. Container size is 591ml

3. Sugar content on nutrition label is 30g

4. 591ml divided by 250ml serving size = 2.36 factor

5. 2.36 x 30g sugar = 70g sugar in the bottle ( most people drink the whole bottle)

6. 70g divided by 4 = 17.5 teaspoons of refined sugar in the whole bottle

 

You can bake with Stevia and the other options we mentioned above. There are some new cook books out to assist with baking options. A few recommendations are:

Sugar –Free Cooking with Stevia by James and Tanya Kirkland

Stevia Sweet Recipes by Jeffrey Goettemoeller
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THE CANADIAN YOGA INSTITUTE

Nutrition Lessons

& Recipes Winter 2007