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sugar? how much is too much?


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Any half-decent health food shop will stock roobisch.

 

What the heck is agave? Is it sweet like sugar.

 

Do you put soy milk in your tea/coffee? I do.

 

 

This link provides some good information on agave nectar:

 

http://www.madhavahoney.com/agave.htm

 

Aside from Rooibos, there is another botanically related naturally caffeine-free full bodied tea grown in the same region of South Africa, which also has been lauded for its vitamin/mineral content and anti-oxidant properties. It's called Honeybush tea.

 

By now, there are so many 100% natural and highly nutritive vegan sugar alternatives, it's getting hard to keep up:

 

Agave nectar (derived from the Agave plant, a succulent)

Xylitol (derived from birch, lettuce, strawberries and other plants)

Erythritol (derived from melons, mushrooms, corn, etc.)

Stevia (extract from a Paraguayan shrub plant [s. rebaudiana])

Mamordica grosvenori (fructooliogosaccharides from an Asian citrus)

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[Aside from Rooibos, there is another botanically related naturally caffeine-free full bodied tea grown in the same region of South Africa, which also has been lauded for its vitamin/mineral content and anti-oxidant properties. It's called Honeybush tea.

 

I thought that "African Honeybush" tea and "Rooibos" were the same? At least that's how it's advertised on some tea packages.

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I thought that "African Honeybush" tea and "Rooibos" were the same? At least that's how it's advertised on some tea packages.

 

Kathryn,

 

Some tea products use a blend of the two teas, but they are very definitely different plant species (but not too dissimilar in taste). This link provides some good information about these teas (actually tisanes) from a nutraceutical standpoint:

 

http://www.herbafrica.com/benefits.html

 

The first two entries in the list are for Honeybush and Rooibos.

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I'm enjoying a cup of Rooibos at this moment, with a bit of Stevia.

 

Forgot to mention that both of these teas blend extraordinarily well with clarified fruit juices and concentrated flavorings (vanilla, orange oil, almond extract, etc.) Tastes as good cold as it does hot.

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I found this on PETA:

"

Are animal ingredients included in white sugar?

 

 

Bone char, which is used to process sugar, is made from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India, and Pakistan. The bones are sold to traders in Scotland, Egypt, and Brazil who then sell them back to the U.S. sugar industry. The European Union and the USDA heavily regulate the use of bone char. Only countries that are deemed BSE-free can sell the bones of their cattle for this process. Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely used by the sugar industry as a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color. Other types of filters involve granular carbon or an ion-exchange system rather than bone char.

 

Bone char is also used in other types of sugar. Brown sugar is created by adding molasses to refined sugar, so companies that use bone char in the production of their regular sugar also use it in the production of their brown sugar. Confectioner’s sugar—refined sugar mixed with cornstarch—made by these companies also involves the use of bone char. Fructose may, but does not typically, involve a bone-char filter. Supermarket brands of sugar (e.g., Giant, Townhouse, etc.) obtain their sugar from several different refineries, making it impossible to know whether it has been filtered with bone char.

 

If you want to avoid all refined sugars, we recommend alternatives such as Sucanat and turbinado sugar, which are not filtered with bone char. Additionally, beet sugar—

 

—though normally refined—never involves the use of bone char and Edward & Sons Trading Company has developed a vegan confectioner’s sugar which should be available in health food stores soon.

 

It would be virtually impossible for PETA to maintain information on the refining process used for the sugar in every product. We encourage you to contact companies directly to ask about the source of their sugar.

 

The following companies do not use bone-char filters.

 

Monitor Sugar

2600 S. Euclid Ave.

Bay City, MI 48706

Tel.: 517-686-0161

Fax: 517-686-2959

Web: www.monitorsugar.com

 

Florida Crystals Corporation

P.O. Box 471

West Palm Beach, FL 33480

Tel.: 877-835-2828

Fax: 516-366-5200

Web: www.floridacrystals.com

 

Western Sugar

Western Sugar is a subsidiary of Tate & Lyle (formerly Domino sugar) which does use bone-char filters. However, Western Sugar makes only beet sugar, which does not use bone-char filters.

 

7555 E. Hampton Ave., Ste. 600

Denver, CO 80210

Tel.: 303-830-3939

Fax: 303-830-3941

Web: www.westernsugar.com

 

The following companies do use bone-char filters. Contact them and encourage them to adopt the use of humane alternatives to bone-char filters.

 

C&H Sugar Company

2300 Contra Costa Blvd., Ste. 600

Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Tel.: 925-688-1731

Fax: 925-822-1061

E-Mail: [email protected]

Web: www.chsugar.com

 

Savannah Foods

P.O. Box 335

Savannah, GA 31402

Tel.: 912-234-1261

 

Tate & Lyle North American Sugars Inc. (formerly Domino Sugar)

1100 Key Hwy. W.

Baltimore, MD 21230

Tel.: 1-800-638-1590

Fax: 410-783-8640

 

Imperial Sugar

P.O. Box 9

Sugarland, TX 77487

Tel.: 1-800-727-8427

Web: www.imperialsugar.com

 

Refined Sugars Inc.

1 Federal St.

Yonkers, NY 10702

Tel.: 914-963-2400

Fax: 914-963-1030"

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Let me state why sugar, whether semi-refined, free of bone char filtration, combined with molasses, etc. etc is still SUGAR and therefore non-nutritive and detrimental to human health:

 

1. Sugar promotes the growth of a deleterious yeast in the human body known as Candida Albicans. The organism's waste products are toxic to the body. That is a known fact.

 

2. Sugar is cariogenic and promotes oral acidity, leading to greater levels of dental cavities and halotosis.

 

3. Sugar is addictive and associated with foods of minimal nutritional value so it does nothing to help steer children away from poor food choices. Obesity is epidemic in this country and sugar is a major contributer.

 

4. Sugar raises insulin levels and is a major contributer to the rampant levels of Type II diabetes witnessed in western societies.

 

5. Sugar inhibits the release of growth hormones which in turn depresses the immune system.

 

6. Sugar has been widely acknowledged for its propensity to elevate triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels.

 

7. Sugar causes bloodstream free radical formation, kidney damage, increases systolic blood pressure levels, promotes copper and chromium deficiency...I could go on and on.

 

There are at least five vegan natural sugar alternatives that I listed earlier in this thread that are health promoting and COMPLETELY obviate the need for any table sugar (and artificial sweeteners for that matter) in the diet whatsoever:

 

1. Agave Nectar

2. Stevia

3. Erythritol

4. Fructo-oligosaccharides

5. Xylitol

 

Please, let's not even try to pretend that if we just use vegan derived sugar, everything will be alright.

 

Sucrose, honey, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucanat, turbinado sugar, splenda, maltodextrin, dried cane crystals, acefulsame-K etc.--it's all anathema to promoting sound health for mind and body.

 

Michael

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I agree with michael! Any sugar is too much!

 

For me, only stevia is acceptable as a sweetener; all other sweet flavor comes from fresh fruit

If I do prepare a dish for family or friends, I use raw agave nectar or raw yacon syrup.

 

Feels so good to get off sugar.

I remember being addicted to coffee -- well, I thought I was. I was actually addicted to the sugar! The coffee I could take or leave, it was the sugar that I wanted.

 

By the way, another vote for honeybush tisan! Bushmen's Brew, Honeybush teasan" by Numi is my favorite; it really has hints of honey flavor (no real honey, of course). I love rooibos too and I also mix the two. My favorite brand is Numi; the best I've tasted.

If you guys love these tisans, then try the new GREEN ROOIBOS! It's even more nutritious than the others.

I also love yerba mate

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If you guys love these tisans, then try the new GREEN ROOIBOS! It's even more nutritious than the others.

 

Raven,

 

Congrats on making a clean break from sugar, life is so much better without it. I still ingest small incidental amounts here and there through salad dressings and the like, but I'm working on that now too. To me it's nearly inconceivable that the national average intake of sugar is a cup or more a day.

 

I completely forgot about the unfermented green rooibos! It does indeed have considerably higher levels of anti-oxidants versus the normal red. Green red tea--talk about confusing the issue!

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michael, it's 1 cup?!! Wow. That is insane. But, you know, it makes sense when you see how people are so tired all the time. And all those colas. I think that's where a lot of it comes from. People don't think of it as drinking a 1/4 C of sugar.

 

I hear you, lelle! They like to use all types of names too, to disguise it. From what I know, the worst is corn syrup.

 

Only thing I'd like to do is eliminate salt; or at least get to almost none. I've actually cut down a LOT. I get natural sodium from my green smoothies, whic is probably enough; but I do have added sodium once a day

Much less than I used to, though ; I add it when I make my salad dressings.

 

How are you all doing with added salt?

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I've stopped using any types of sugar as a sweetener a long time ago. I think any drink taste better without sugar, as it's meant to be. I don't even use sugar when drinking a strong espresso, i think it tastes much better without.

 

It's difficult to avoid sugar in fizzy drinks or in some fruit juices. I've also heard that aspartame, which replaces sugar, used in diet sodas is a dangerous chemical. Anyone knows more?

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michael, it's 1 cup?!! Wow. That is insane. But, you know, it makes sense when you see how people are so tired all the time. And all those colas. I think that's where a lot of it comes from. People don't think of it as drinking a 1/4 C of sugar.

 

I hear you, lelle! They like to use all types of names too, to disguise it. From what I know, the worst is corn syrup.

 

You can see how the majority of people can easily consume a cup of sugar or more just from sodas alone. It's not uncommon for some to consume 64 oz. of soda daily. And I think you're right, high fructose corn syrup is the most insidious form of sugar there is.

 

I've also heard that aspartame, which replaces sugar, used in diet sodas is a dangerous chemical. Anyone knows more?

 

Do a google search some time, Christian and you'll see a number of links that are very unkind to aspartame. The most ironic thing about this artificial sweetener that is in all kinds of "diet foods" is that studies have revealed that aspartame is actually appetite promoting--talk about counter-productive...!

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