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Is There Such a Thing as a Healthy Fudge?

1/20/2015

There is now. But why is that important?

Because traditional fudge and chocolate fudge are some of the highest calorie, sugar, and fat laden sweets known to man. With obesity and diabetes on a constant rise, it is imperative to find healthy alternatives that give you the same taste and richness.

That's what our ChocoFudge chocolates are about. And more. Much more.

Let's talk about traditional chocolate fudge.

Which is, essentially, a melted glob of chocolate, sugar, butter, and cream. It is to food what heroin is to Tylenol. (Okay, that's a bit strong of an analogy, but you get the idea.) One can only ingest, at most, a two-cubic-inch chunk of fudge before slipping into a diabetic coma. At $17 per pound, it seems to defy common sense that even a popular town's supply of tourists could buy the stuff at a clip that would support erecting an entire store dedicated to making and selling it. Yet, there is at least one, if not more stores in every picturesque town we'd go out of our way to find.

Despite the simplicity of its ingredients, fudge made with sugar is quite difficult to produce. The reason is that its creamy texture depends on the degree of crystallization sugar undergoes in the production process. If it is too much, or the crystals are too large, fudge will have a gritty texture and become too hard. Not enough crystallization and it won’t be fudge, but rather a thick, syrupy goo.

Thanks to SUGARLESSe™, it is very easy for us to produce both a healthy and true to goodness fudge that goes into all of our chocolates.

Why love our SUGARLESSe™ Chocolate Fudge?

Because it turns a dessert of your childhood memories, that your parents and grandparents indulged (bribed?) you with, into a healthy treat that you can actually enjoy guilt-free.

So, if you love fudge, but don’t want all the added sugar (except the sweetness, of course), these healthy, sugar-free creations are the way to go. Our chocolatiers spent more time than I'm prepared to admit to bring them into existence. The rascals!

Never mind. Thanks to their dedication and skills, now you can choose from 4 flavors:

Find your favorite - order the Variety 8-Pack with 2 squares of each flavor.

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Artificial Sweeteners Do Induce Glucose Intolerance, Resulting in Obesity and Diabetes

1/16/2015

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Saccharine, Aspartame, and sucralose

I came across two articles recently from the same authors in different scientific journals about how the consumption of the three most commonly used non-caloric artificial sweeteners — saccharin, sucralose and aspartame (Sweet-n-Low, Equal & Splenda)— directly induces a propensity for obesity and glucose intolerance in mice AND people, by changing the gut microbiome in a way that leads to absorption of more calories.

This is the abstract of the article from the Nature magazine (online edition):

"Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are among the most widely used food additives worldwide, regularly consumed by lean and obese individuals alike. NAS consumption is considered safe and beneficial owing to their low caloric content, yet supporting scientific data remain sparse and controversial.

Here we demonstrate that consumption of commonly used NAS formulations drives the development of glucose intolerance through induction of compositional and functional alterations to the intestinal microbiota.

We identify NAS-altered microbial metabolic pathways that are linked to host susceptibility to metabolic disease, and demonstrate similar NAS-induced dysbiosis and glucose intolerance in healthy human subjects.

Collectively, our results link NAS consumption, dysbiosis and metabolic abnormalities, thereby calling for a reassessment of massive NAS usage."

And this is Seth Bilazarian, MD's insight:

"We have been using non-caloric artificial sweeteners for more than a century. Today the food industry is using them in ever-greater quantities in 'diet' foodstuffs and they are recommended for weight loss and for individuals with glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This report shows that the three most commonly used non-caloric artificial sweeteners: saccharin, sucralose and aspartame change the gut microbiome in a way that leads to absorption of more calories and that compromises glucose tolerance."

Isn't it high time to develop new nutritional strategies tailored to the maintenance of healthy gut microbiota? Just like what SUGARLESSe™ offers?

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar is Definitely Making Us Fat

1/8/2015

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I figured I'd leave the most obvious fact for last - that too many calories from any sugar and carbohydrate source get converted into stored fat if not burned. There are long biochemical, health, and human performance explanations for that. Here is the short version:

Your body stores fat when your insulin/blood sugar levels are elevated.
Eating sugar, of any kind, rapidly raises your insulin/blood sugar levels.
Therefore, your body will store fat it converts from the sugar you eat.

Sugar does give you the calories, but not the feeling that you've had enough. That's why you can have an entire king-size bag of licorice (with its sky high glycemic index) at the movies and come out afterwards ready to go for dinner. So it’s hard to make the connection that the lack of other nutrients in most high-sugar foods actually contributes to eating gobs of them with no physical effects to warn us of the lurking dangers.

So, what’s the solution?

Avoid sugar in all forms.
Look at the nutrition labels. Don’t buy if sugar is listed.
Minimize or eliminate all other carbohydrates too. The body turns them into sugars.

Carbohydrates are often thought of as “essential” macro-nutrients. Essential means - you need them to live. This is simply not true.

If you don’t eat carbohydrates, guess what happens? Do you die? No.

You burn fat.
There’s a lot of biochemistry involved, but it’s basically that simple:

If you don’t eat carbohydrates you are forced to burn body fat for energy. You could burn fat the ENTIRE DAY by just avoiding sugar and other carbohydrates.

Say good by to diabetes and obesity. Welcome to a new you.

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - An Overload of Sugar (Specifically in Beverages) Will Shorten Your Life

1/6/2015

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A 2013 study estimated that 180,000 deaths worldwide may be attributed to sweetened beverage consumption. The United States alone accounted for 25,000 deaths in 2010. The authors summarize that deaths occurred due to the association with sugar-sweetened beverages and chronic disease risk such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

This is what happens:

What does exactly sugar do once it enters your body? Sugar is a sticky substance and if it stays in the bloodstream, the particles will start to stick to the cells. The consequence: large amounts of sugar can lead to more wrinkles, a lack of mobility in the joints, dry brittle nails and hair not to mention other health problems.

Additionally, the rise in blood sugar can damage every cell in your body. When blood sugar levels rise too high, sugar can stick to the surface of cell membranes. Once stuck there, it can’t be removed. In a series of chemical reactions, glucose (the only sugar that circulates in your bloodstream) is converted to another sugar called fructose and eventually to a sugar alcohol, called sorbitol, that starts destroying cells to cause every know side effect of diabetes: blindness, deafness, heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage and so forth.

And an American Journal of Public Health study points out that sugar can also interfere with the functioning of a person’s genes, which can speed up the aging process.

Enough said? I Hope!

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar is Hidden in Many Everyday Foods We’d Not Suspect

1/4/2015

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While many of us strive to avoid the "normal" sugary culprits (candy, cookies, cake, etc.) these days, we often are duped when we discover that most of our favorite foods also contain lots of sugar, especially in the form of corn or high fructose corn syrups.

Examples include tomato sauce, fat free dressing, tonic water, marinates, crackers and even bread. Worse, we went to a sushi place in a nearby mall a while ago and found that even the ring of rice was sweetened! Subsequently, we started to check the ingredient list of sushi and other traditional Japanese foods, as well as kimchi (a traditional Korean condiment) at Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket in Edgewater, NJ. Guess what? Most had sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup listed.

So much about traditional, fresh, and fermented foods considered to be the pinnacle of healthy and wholesome fare - and never contained any sugar or other sweetener, much less corn and high fructose corn syrup before.

It’s truly “buyer beware” now - so be careful!

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar Implicated in Weakening Your Brain Power

1/3/2015

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Think back to your childhood — do you remember downing more sweets and sugar than you probably should have? I hope you enjoyed youth back then, because unfortunately, all this sugar may have accelerated the aging process.

A 2009 study, published on the PLOS open access website, found a positive relationship between glucose consumption and the aging of our cells. It can manifest itself and can be the cause of something as simple as wrinkles to something as dire as chronic disease.

But there is other alarming evidence that sugar may affect the aging of your brain as well. This study published 2012 in the Journal of Physiology described how excess sugar consumption was linked to deficiencies in memory and overall cognitive health. Another study from a Georgia State University team, conducted on rats (yes, yes… I know), showed similar findings.

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar and Alcohol Have Similar Toxic Liver Effects

1/2/2015

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A 2012 paper in the journal Nature suggested that warnings should be placed on sugar similar to warnings we see on alcohol. The authors showed evidence that fructose and glucose in excess can have a toxic effect on the liver as the metabolism of alcohol.

It turns out that ethanol (aka alcohol) in alcoholic beverages undergoes similar metabolism in your body as fructose does. Both increase the risk for several of the same chronic conditions i.e. hypertension, myocardial infraction, dyslipidaemia (lipogenesis), pancreatitis, hepatic dysfunction, obesity, and malnutrition.

Finally, if you think that your slim stature keeps you immune from fructose causing liver damage, think again. A 2013 study found that liver damage from sugar, especially fructose, could occur even without excess calories or weight gain.

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10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Your Sugar “Addiction" May or May Not Be Genetic

1/1/2015

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If you've ever said, "I'm completely addicted to sugar," you might actually be correct. A recent study of 579 individuals found that those who had genetic changes in a hormone called ghrelin consumed more sugar (and alcohol) than those who did not have this gene variation.

Ghrelin is a hormone that tells the brain you're hungry. Researchers think that the genetic components that effect your ghrelin release may have a lot to do with whether or not you seek to enhance your neurological reward system through your “sweet tooth.” Findings of this study were similar to a study conducted in 2012.

The question, though, is: How come sugar “addiction” only started to come to the fore since the 1970s? What’s the likelihood that up to 70% of the developed world’s population would become prone to acquiring this particular genetic impairment in less than two generations? Until someone actually calculates it, or proves it with “genome forensic,” we should be very skeptical about accepting the claim that the genome of most of us has been affected that way in such a short time. I know I am.

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Is There Such a Thing as a Healthy Fudge?

Artificial Sweeteners Do Induce Glucose Intolerance, Resulting in Obesity and Diabetes

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar is Definitely Making Us Fat

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - An Overload of Sugar (Specifically in Beverages) Will Shorten Your Life

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar is Hidden in Many Everyday Foods We’d Not Suspect

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar Implicated in Weakening Your Brain Power

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Sugar and Alcohol Have Similar Toxic Liver Effects

10 Ways Sugar Can Kill You - Your Sugar “Addiction" May or May Not Be Genetic

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