The Snacking Sage

Sugar has become public enemy number one in recent years. It’s the cause of diabeties, obesity, and a whole slew of other diseases. And it’s true. White sugar, corn syrup, agave nectar, and even brown sugar are all extremely bad for your health!

So many people, myself included, started to completely eliminate sugar from our diets. What did we do instead? Load up on salt, of course. But not table salt. We found

out about healthier alternatives such as celtic or himalayan salt and went on eating salt as normal. But not with sugar. See, raw sugar isn’t actually raw. And brown sugar is just white sugar with some molasses mixed in. So yes! Brown isn’t better!

After learning about auyrvedic medicine, I realised that occasionally having sweet food is essencial to keep us in balance, along with aiding in digestion. Why do you think desert became a practice in the first place? It helps ‘seal the stomach’, as they put it in medieval times. A person becomes ‘bitter or salty’ when they are upset, and needs ‘sweetening up’.

These phrases are relics of the old medical system of biles and humors, where an excess of a certain bile was the cause of a disease. Say for example that cheese is heating and causes congestion, wheras honey is light, cooling, and sweet. Every object in the world has properties, even food. Sometimes we have to think beyond our modern way of looking at things.

Though to be honest I’m of the opinion that sugar belongs in things, Not extracted and turned into a powder.

Sweet potatoes are full of sugar, but it’s structured in a way that our bodies can handle. Excess simple sugars acidify the body and deplete mineral reserves, even with trace minerals. This is why milk can ‘leech’ calcium. The acidity is the cause.

Crystalised Sugarcane juice

It seems as if rock sugar is healthier than granulated sugar, if only slightly. I’ve tried unrefined cane sugar (panella/rapadura, succanat, musavado, jaggery, gur etc.) It actually has this wonderful caramelly flavor. Still, its best you eat sweet things, not sugar. Even licorice and cinnamon are sweet! after all, who can resist having a few freshly picked berries now and then?

Obviously we don’t want to overindulge, but isn’t that true of anything? When most things are consumed in their natural forms, they are okay in moderation.

Be well.