So now, when I need a sweet, I use natural sugars: maple syrup and honey. I try not to use any sugar at all, but what I do use is as close to natural as I can get.

I am going to research the ‘lakanto’ to see if it might be something I can use, but mostly, I just avoid sweeteners and eat more fruit when I have a craving for something sweet!

Raine Saunders

Michelle @ Find Your Balance

Berni

I myself am a diabetic (a result of celiac disease, not over-consumption of sugar!), AND I am a recovered diabetic – that is, I’ve been able to manage my diet and weight so well that I no longer need to take medication to control my blood sugar.

We really don’t eat a lot of sugar at my house! I just don’t even buy anything that has a lot of refined sugar in it. If you remove the temptation it’s much easier to resist. But I do allow myself a lot of fruit, juices, and natural sweeteners. The key is A) don’t eat this stuff a lot. Sweets are treats, not staples. And B) eat sugar with fat. The fat helps stabilize your blood sugar so that you blood sugar rises more slowly, and stays more stable. So if you want a sweet cup of coffee, make sure to use 1/2 and 1/2 or get your latte with whole milk. If you want some toast, make sure it has butter on it (especially if you want honey or jam!). Regular full fat icecream is better than “lite” icecream. C) Eat sugar that comes with fiber! I think it’s silly when people go on such gung-ho low-sugar diets that they even cut out raw fruit. You would have to eat like, 25 apples to equal the sugar in a snickers bar, and if you did eat 25 apples, lets just say you have gotten your daily dose of vitamins, and you are going to have some awesome bowel movements.

The upside of eating sugar with fat is that it is MUCH more satisfying. A very little bit goes a looooong way. Also, if you save sugar for the end of the meal, it will have a MUCH smaller effect on your blood sugar.

I totally agree with chris too – blood sugar is highest in the morning (for poorly understood reasons), and when you eat something sugary for breakfast it will actually elevate your blood sugar all day! It’s much better to eat protein in the morning!

Delish

Selah — In my experience, eating sweets in combination with fats does tend to lower the insulin response — meaning that you’re far less likely to experience the “high” and the “crash” of an abnormally high, spiked insulin response.

Heather — You’re welcome!

Bryan — Yes, I’ve been reading that about fructose, too. I don’t think fructose itself is all that bad, particularly when it’s a naturally occurring part of a whole food (like a fruit). But it’s when it’s concentrated in unnatural amounts (as in HFCS or Agave Nectar) that it turns into a bad boy.

Shannon — Excellent point about candida.

Chris — Great point about not starting your day off with sweets! So very true. And I’m also a fan of Pollan’s idea that junk food is okay so long as you make it yourself. That way it takes on it’s truly special role — that of a rare treat. PLUS, you’ll probably make it so much more healthily than what you could otherwise get (like your chocolate chip cookies!).

I like Pollan’s prescription (which isn’t original to him), to eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you make it yourself. My chocolate chip cookies are amazing (I replace half the butter with coconut oil, use Rapadura, and chop high-quality chocolate by hand instead of using chips) and once I eat one…well… I rely on hand-chopped chocolate in part because I make them less often by making it less convenient for myself. I suppose that’s one of my tricks for reducing sugar consumption–make it less convenient.

It does seem that combining carbs of any kind with fats and/or lacto-fermented foods would help the body better assimilate nutrients and reduce the digestive burden. Traditionally, we’ve combined butter with bread, cream with sweets, etc., and I know I feel better if I eat carbs with fats–less jittery, more satisfied.

Chris