Food manufacturers are clever. They know health-conscious consumers read the product labels, and they know one of the first things we look for is sugar. Not finding any? Look again! Evaporated cane juice, turbinado, and Sucanat are all different terms used to disguise sugar.
What's the difference?
In some cases, the differences are razor-thin. Evaporated cane sugar is an especially trendy moniker right now: this specifically refers to sugar cane product that has been processed and dried, losing the cane plant's nutrients such as vitamin A in the process, but a small amount of molasses remains.
While white sugar has had every bit of molasses stripped from it, that tiny tinge of brown makes all the difference to the FDA. But the taste, caloric value, and lack of anything useful to the body are virtually identical.
Is it healthy, or just sounds healthy?
In other cases, the word sugar is dressed up to sound healthier: natural sugar and raw sugar are popular examples. Natural is suspect in the context of any food labeling: unlike organic, the word natural carries no guidelines for manufacturers; it's as empty as processed food snacks. Think about the dozens of carbonated drinks boasting of natural flavors.
The word raw is possibly even more misleading; according to the FDA, raw sugar denotes completely unprocessed cane crop, still containing bacteria, dirt, and insects, and is not yet fit for human consumption.
Do you act or react to your palette?
These trends make for trying times for those of us trying to eat healthier and lose weight because the taste of sweetness is hard-wired into our palettes. Manufacturers and retailers know that the more sweetness they can sneak into a product, the more likely we are to come back for more.
Historically, early humans were instinctively drawn to sweet foods, such as berries, that were high in nutrients and would give quick energy quickly. Today, we carry around that instinct, and it's triggered when our bodies realize they're lacking nutrients.
When we answer our bodies with processed snacks, we get the taste we're expecting but none of the nutrients. This triggers more cravings later on, and a cycle ensues. But there is hope: by introducing fresh fruits and vegetables in place of processed sweets, sugar cravings will diminish. Rather than fight your sweet tooth, try to satisfy it the way our ancestors did-with a piece of fruit. It's a great habit for weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight afterwards.
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