As a child, I used to like eating sugar lumps; letting the lump melt in my mouth. Fortunately my mum was strict about how much we were allowed to have! Image from Pixabay.
Continuing the theme of sugar, a recent New Yorker article discussed the current state of research in letting us have our cake and eating it too. In the Race to Redesign Sugar, Nicola Twilley, discusses the research into manipulating sugar so we can eat less of it, while still getting the same sweetness effect or replacing it with non calorific sugars and other sweeteners. A comprehensive look at the current state of sugar and sweetness research. This is the kind of food science that I used to love. However, given trans fats and the knowledge we now have about fructose, I am nervous about replacing anything in our food.
I found this fascinating:
“Until the late eighteenth century, when sugar production started to become mechanized, most people consumed very little of what nutritionists call “free” or “added” sugars—sweeteners other than, say, the lactose naturally present in milk and the fructose naturally present in fruit. In 1800, an average American would have lived and died never having encountered a single manufactured candy, let alone the array of sugar-sweetened yogurts, snacks, sauces, dressings, cereals, and drinks that now line supermarket shelves.”
How can we get back to a diet that has less sugar in it? I would love to hear ideas!