Chapter 9

Indulging in Sweets

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Avoiding refined sugars and artificial sweeteners

check Identifying the sweets and treats that are okay in moderation

Sweetened coffee and tea, sweet rolls, pastries, ice cream — many people just can’t get enough. In fact, most Americans consume more than 150 pounds of sugar each year! When changing to a diet designed to lower inflammation, however, sweet can be a four-letter word.

Refined sugars and foods with high sugar levels suppress your immune system and raise insulin levels, opening the door for inflammation (see Chapter 2). When blood sugar rises too rapidly, biochemical changes in the body’s cells start taking place, leading to inflammation-related problems such as diabetes and heart disease, among others.

That’s not to say no sweets are allowed ever again, but it’s a good idea to keep processed sweets at a minimum and to replace refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, and artificial sweeteners with the natural sweeteners your body can process without leading to inflammation. In this chapter, we discuss types of sweeteners and suggest ways to satisfy your sweet tooth safely.

Connecting Sugars and Sweeteners to Inflammation

Virtually all foods made from refined sugars and artificial sweeteners — and even some natural sweeteners — have a hand in causing inflammation. The following sections cover several categories of sweeteners and their inflammatory effects.

Artificial sweeteners

Artificial, or synthetic, sweeteners are the ultimate bad guys, and for many people suffering chronic inflammation, a zero-tolerance rule is in effect here. Many artificial sweeteners, including sucralose (Splenda), are processed with solvents.

People initially saw artificial sweeteners as healthy sugar substitutes and believed these sweeteners aided in weight loss. But like alcohol, artificial sweeteners are processed through the liver — and this processing creates a level of toxicity that causes the brain to fail to recognize when the body is full. That can lead to weight gain and insulin resistance, the increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.

When you eat something sweet, your brain gets the signal that the body is getting calories and sends a signal that the hunger is satisfied, even before the food is digested and the body knows how many calories were consumed. But when you use calorie-free artificial sweeteners, the brain can no longer use sweetness as a reliable sign of how many calories you’re taking in. The brain stops sending signals of fullness, then, and you’re likely to eat more.

Some of the inflammatory risks associates with some artificial sweeteners include the following:

  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Neurological effects/disorders
  • Obesity

Artificial sweeteners are used in most things listed as “diet” or “sugar free,” with diet soda being a top culprit.

Tip The best thing to do for optimum anti-inflammatory effect is to completely avoid artificial sweeteners; to satisfy a craving for something sweet, go after some fruit or a small bite of natural cocoa.

Refined sugars

Refined sugars, such as white table sugar, have been stripped down to their basic components.

The body quickly breaks refined sugar (sucrose) into the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Glucose enters the bloodstream, and cells can take in that glucose and use it for energy. Extra glucose is converted to glycogen and stored in the body. But when you consume too much sugar, your body has a hard time processing it all.

Because refined sugars turn to glucose quickly in your body — in other words, they’re high on the glycemic index (see Appendix A) — they increase your risk of insulin resistance and, in turn, diabetes. Such foods create a spike in blood sugar that signals the pancreas to respond by sending out insulin in order to pull the glucose out of the blood and into the cells. The more sugary substances you eat, the harder you force your pancreas to work. You can develop diabetes as the extra sugar wears out your insulin response.

High blood sugar can also cause issues in the skin, joints, arteries, lungs, and heart. Furthermore, processing the excess sugar requires energy, and that use of energy can weaken your immune system and cause irritability and fatigue.

Table sugar isn’t the only culprit. When you eat refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and white pasta, the body breaks them into sugars and processes them the same way they process table sugar.

Technical stuff High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a refined sugar that’s chemically about the same thing as table sugar (sucrose) — both are about half fructose and half glucose. Some metabolic studies show that the body breaks down and uses HFCS and sucrose the same way. However, studies have also shown a link between the introduction of HFCS in the 1980s and the spike in the obesity rate in the United States. The issue may be volume — HFCS shows up everywhere.

Natural sweeteners

If you need something sweet, natural sweeteners are the best choice. A sweetener is natural if it comes from nature and is minimally processed or is processed without using solvents (unrefined). Natural sources tend to be easier for the body to process, lowering the risk of inflammation. They don’t create a toxic reaction in the body, and most are lower on the glycemic index. You can use natural sweeteners in moderation without an appreciable risk to your health.

Here are some natural sweeteners to consider:

  • Stevia: A product of the stevia plant, this sweetener helps treat diabetes, dermatitis, digestive problems, and hypertension. It’s about 150 times sweeter than refined sugar, so you use a much smaller amount.
  • Honey: Honey is rich in antioxidants and is helpful in promoting digestion, aiding with insomnia, and protecting your body against many illnesses.
  • Agave nectar: Extracted from the agave plant, agave nectar is usually turned into syrup. Agave can help strengthen the immune system and fight off inflammations. Make sure you choose agave nectar that is minimally processed or raw.
  • Pure maple syrup: Maple syrup helps prevent heart disease, boosts the immune system, and fights off certain cancers. You can use maple syrup as a sugar substitute in baking as well as a topping for ice cream, toast, and, of course, pancakes.
  • Monk fruit extract: Monk fruit extract comes from the monk fruit, a small, bulbous fruit found in Southeast Asia. The natural sugars in monk fruit are sweetened by antioxidants called mogrosides, believed to help prevent damage to your DNA. It’s often used as a sweetener or flavor enhancer in beverages.
  • Brown rice syrup: Brown rice syrup has a low glycemic value, which means it doesn’t provide for a spike in blood sugar. It’s a good source of magnesium and helps in relieving fatigue and relaxing your muscles. It’s also a good source of potassium (which is good for maintaining blood pressure), iron, manganese, and B vitamins.

Remember All the advantages of natural sweeteners don’t erase the fact that you may experience some problems associated with natural sugars. Though not nearly as bad as artificial sweeteners, natural sugars still cause your blood sugar to rise. When your natural blood sugar rises too quickly or by too much, it can lead to inflammation by increasing your risk of insulin resistance and diabetes.

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can be just as much a problem as high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) because too-low blood sugar throws off the insulin levels, which can lead to diabetes. Therefore, the best way to consume natural sweeteners is in moderation; also choose foods on the low glycemic index and glycemic load to minimize the inflammation caused by insulin resistance and diabetes.

Tip Balance your sweets with protein to help minimize the effect of sweet foods on your blood sugar. For example, spread some almond butter on apple slices.

Eating Less Sugar

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but most Americans don’t stop at just that one spoonful. In fact, Americans, on average, consume 22 spoonfuls of sugar each day. Putting that number in perspective, that’s about 88 grams of sugar, or the amount of sugar in four candy bars, consumed every day.

Remember Nutritional guidelines for people not suffering from inflammatory diseases call for women to have no more than about 20 grams of sugar a day and for men to limit themselves to about 30 grams. People with inflammatory diseases should limit intake to natural sweeteners just once a day. If you notice a flare-up, cut out natural sweeteners completely for at least two weeks, and then bring them in again in moderation if you can’t go completely without sweets.

Pinning the sugar blame on obvious culprits — candy, cookies, doughnuts, pie, soda — is easy, but sugar has a tendency to show up even where you don’t suspect it. A small container of fruit-blended yogurt, for example, has about 4 spoonfuls of sugar, almost a third of the daily allowance for a woman with no dangers of inflammation.

Tip The key to keeping sugar (and artificial sweetener) intake down is to pay attention to both nutrition labels and ingredient lists. Here are some other tips for cutting down on sugar:

  • Control portion sizes. Sometimes a bite or two of something sweet is all you need to feel satisfied.
  • Reduce your added sugar. Putting sugar in your coffee or tea? Gradually taper the amount you use, or try stevia in its place. When cooking, experiment with adding less sugar than the recipe calls for — you may not miss it.
  • Don’t rely on food for entertainment. When you’re bored and need something to do, don’t reach for the cookie jar or the candy dish. Pick up a book or call some friends or go for a walk. Celebrate achievements or special occasions with activities rather than sweets.

Giving In to Your Sweet Tooth

Sometimes you just have to say yes to something sweet, and that’s perfectly fine as long as you do so in moderation and keep health in mind. Indulging in that little piece of dark chocolate (which is rich in antioxidants) or a small dish of fat-free yogurt topped with fresh berries feels like a better choice if you know what you’re eating. In this section, we discuss both naturally sweet fruits and not-quite-so-natural baked goods.

Getting natural sugars from fruit

The best kinds of sweets are the natural ones — those that look virtually the same as they did in nature. Obviously, fruits top the list, and the fresher, the better. Fruit’s sweetness comes from its own natural sugar, called fructose.

Fruit is a healthy choice, but some fruits have higher amounts of sugar than others and may still pose a risk to you when you’re living with inflammation. Here are some fruits with the lowest amounts of sugar:

  • Blackberries
  • Cranberries
  • Pears
  • Raspberries
  • Rhubarb

Here are some fruits with a moderate amount of sugar:

  • Apples
  • Cantaloupe and honeydew melons
  • Grapefruit
  • Papaya
  • Peaches and nectarines
  • Strawberries
  • Watermelon

And you can find higher levels of sugar in these fruits:

  • Kiwi
  • Oranges
  • Pineapple
  • Plums

Warning People suffering with chronic inflammation should try to limit their consumption of the following fruits, which have high levels of natural sugars:

  • Bananas
  • Cherries
  • Dried fruit
  • Grapes
  • Tangerines

Finding ways to enjoy processed sweets

Ever have one of those days when a nice, gooey brownie sounds like the only thing that will make you feel better? Or when you want to skip the oatmeal and have a muffin for breakfast instead? You don’t have to say no all the time, especially if you keep portions reasonable.

When buying sweets, try to find a bakery that uses natural or organic ingredients. If you’re making the treats at home, you can use pure maple syrup or honey in place of refined white sugar — or you can experiment with adding less sugar in the first place. We discuss adjusting recipes in Chapter 17. You can also find recipes for parfaits, frozen yogurt, cookies, and even rice pudding in Chapter 16.