Enjoy Healthy Sweetness

With expanding waistlines bulging more than ever and blood sugar rocketing in many of us, there is an urgent need to find healthy sweetness alternative to replace sugar.

Soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit juices, coffee, tea, chocolate malt, doughnuts, 'kuih muihs', cookies, muffins, cupcakes, sweets, 'cendol', 'ice-kacang'. The list of sweet temptations is endless.

Unfortunately, high sugar intake is associated with a number of poor health conditions including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high triglycerides, inflammation, all which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

The link between diabetes and sugars is most obvious when researchers look at sugary drinks. Harvard's Vasanti Malik explains that he and his team summarized the results from eight studies and the meta-analysis pulled in data from over 300,000 people. The result: "for each 12oz. serving (a standard can) of a sugar-sweetened beverage you drink a day, you're getting about 15% increased risk for diabetes," says Malik.

Diabetes pandemic

More than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. There is an emerging global pandemic of diabetes that can be traced back to rapid increases in overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.

Closer to home, according to the 2006 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) conducted by the Health Ministry, one in seven Malaysians is diabetic. However, this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Many leading experts in the Malaysian medical and nutrition community now believe that diabetes afflicts up to a staggering 22% of the country's population - meaning one in five adults in Malaysia is diabetic.

Unfortunately, too few are told that all of these complications are largely preventable with lifestyle changes, which includes diet, nutritional supplements, regular exercise, as well as keeping tabs on a few simple medicals tests such as HbA1c, regular eye examinations, etc.

Below are some simple yet important ways to prevent complications associated with high blood sugar levels.

Lifestyle changes

a) Regular exercise - Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle for everyone, and it's especially important for people with pre-diabetes and diabetes. But exercise doesn't necessarily mean running a marathon or bench-pressing 100kg. The goal is to get active and stay active by doing things you enjoy, from gardening to playing tennis to walking with friends.

b) Diet - Having pre-diabetes or diabetes should not prevent you from enjoying a wide variety of foods. The aim is to learn to eat well-balanced meals in the correct amounts. Knowing what to eat can be confusing. Some basic principles have stood the test of time. Here are a few tips on making healthful food choices for you and your entire family.

  • Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from the rainbow of colours available to maximize variety.
  • Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli, or green beans with meals.
  • Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products. Choose brown rice over white rice and wholemeal bread instead of white.
  • Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
  • Choose Sugar-free 3-in-1 hot beverages sweetened with all-natural extract from the sweetest part of the stevia leaf called Rebiana A (Reb-A).

Stevia

Also known as sweet leaf or Stevia rebaudiana, stevia is about 300 times sweeter than sugar but contains no calories. Stevia extract is made from the sweetest part of the stevia leaf.

Besides tasting good, stevia extract is safe and has no side-effects. In December 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially granted GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status to high purity Reb-A for use as a general purpose sweetener. Hence, natural low-calorie sweetener using high purity Reb-A from stevia has been found to be safer compared to the potential side-effects that artificial sweeteners carry with them. To date, there are no proven side-effects which unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin carry with them.

Stevia extract has no calories and does not raise blood sugar levels, thus is an ideal choice for pre-diabetics, diabetics and those concerned about health.

Stevia as a natural sweetener does not have the same taste as sugar; it is still an excellent substitute for cane sugar. (When it comes to sweetness, no other sweeteners whether natural or artificial can ever measure up to sugar as sugar is the 'gold standard' because we are used to taking sugar since birth.)

3-in-1 sugar-free beverages sweetened with stevia extract

What is apparent is that denying your loved one the simple pleasures of drinking coffee or chocolate malt without sugar can be heart-wrenching. How can we tell them not to add sugar into their drinks without hurting their feelings or seeing the despair on their faces?

Fortunately, there is an answer. Now you can find a range of delicious 3-in-1 sugar-free white coffee, chocolate malt and oats &cereal sweetened with stevia, the natural sweetener-- in independent pharmacies, selected chain pharmacies, grocers as well as mini markets. Look for these 3-in-1 sugar-free beverages and bring healthy sweetness back into your life.
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If you wish to know more about Eversweett 3-in-1 sugar-free beverages, please call EverSweett INFOline 03-6142 6570 (Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm) or email: enquiries@eversweett.com or visit www.eversweett.com