Sugar now has a bad reputation, as does fat. Both have been linked to a lot of degenerative diseases and unwanted health issues. So how do you make holiday cookies, cakes and pies without the traditional white sugar and solid white oil? You use good sugars and good oil.
Not all sugars are the same. There are natural sugars and man-made sugars. Man-made sugar from corn used to be known as high fructose corn syrup. It has been renamed as fructose. Fructose was considered fruit sugar, but now it is a highly processed GMO corn sugar.
Fructose as a refined sugar spikes blood sugar rapidly, compared to natural sugars that are metabolized slowly as food. Another man-made sugar that has seen a name change contains aspartame. This artificial sweetener is now amino-sweet, with the same toxic chemical compounds.
Good fat in the form of oil is needed in all baked goods. The best fats and oils to use occur naturally as foods. Man-made oils are made by adding hydrogen gas to create a solid mass at room temperature. The process is called hydrogenation, and it produces a fat known as a trans fat or hydrogenated fat.
Trans fats are flat molecules, like a pad of paper. Good natural fat is like many crumpled-up papers. Natural fats are easily used as building blocks by the body for the brain, nervous system and all cell membranes due to their shape. Only 18 days are needed for the body to use a good fat, while it takes 51 days to break down a trans fat.
This holiday season can be a time of great joy, and sharing many festive foods with family and friends. Join the growing movement of healthier food choices in preparing holiday sweets. Here is a simple guideline of what sugars and fats to avoid and what to use instead. Enjoy the sweetness of the holiday season!
Avoid These Foods | Replace With These Foods
White Sugar (made from GMO corn), – Stevia, Organic 100% Cane Sugar, Organic Honey,
Fructose AKA High Fructose Corn Syrup – Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Raw Sugar or Organic Maple Syrup
Commercially Prepared Oils, – Organic Coconut Oil
Shortening, Margarine (Usually rancid synthetic oils – Organic Cold-Pressed Food Oils (best in dark bottles)
with added chemicals and food colors) Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Canola Oil /Cottonseed Oil (from GMO seeds)
Written by Dr. Carol Ann Fischer, D.C. with Dr. Sherry Yale, D.C. who now owns TLC Holistic Wellness in Livonia. She has provided holistic and nutritional recommendations using diet and whole food supplements for 26 years as a practicing chiropractor, holistic-wellness consultant. Visit www.TLCHolisticWellness.com for more information and to learn about our FREE dietary analysis, or call 734- 664-0339.
