SUGAR BEAT
A food and diet book that doles out sound, science-based advice with a healthy dollop of wit is always welcome. How to Eat’s lively Q&A format also sifts out the kernels of truth and common sense from the dizzying amount of information in today’s food-media landscape. Mark Bittman (above left), award-winning New York Times columnist and respected food writer, teams up with Dr David L. Katz (above right), founding director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Centre for this robustly researched, yet approachable book, which tackles all the big – and some quirky – questions about food and nutrition in our modern world. Their advice is sane, simple and non-preachy. As Bittman says in the book’s conclusion: “What’s important is choosing real over fake and making sure plants are dominant in your diet.” And taking the wider, planet-friendly view: “A food system driven by common good would respect the Earth itself, us people, and our fellow living creatures.” Ain’t that the truth! The following extract covers questions about sugar and sugar substitutes.
Answering the Questions
NUTRITION 101: SUGAR
Should I worry about the high sugar content of fruit?
No. Although we understand why you’re asking that, since there’ve been two major fads that renounced fruit in recent years. The first was the glycaemic index; the second, fear-mongering about fructose.
What’s the glycaemic index?
The glycaemic index is a measure of how much a fixed amount of sugar in various foods raises our blood sugar.
