The TRUTH ABOUT STEVIA, THE SUBSTITUTE FOR SUGAR

Today everyone wants to stay healthy and anything in the market that shouts that health literally earns the confidence of people in the Kenyan market. Diabetes has been on the rise today and the use of STEVIA leaves been up to substitute the white or brown sugar that is commonly used. So many do not understand the effects of using stevia both the good and the bad...

Famously, Stevia is a plant that is native to South America. It is probably best known as a source of natural sweeteners. In fact, native people in South America have used stevia as a sweetener for hundreds of years. But the leaves are also used to make medicine.
NEMA agreed to the growth of these leaves in Kenya after realizing their medicinal effect aside from the sweetening ability.

Normally, Stevia is used as a weight loss aid; for treating diabetes, high blood pressure and heartburn; for lowering uric acid levels; for preventing pregnancy; and for increasing the strength of the muscle contractions that pump blood from the heart.

THE GOOD
Growing stevia in Kenya is a good backyard gardening activity for every household. This is a perfect way to reduce the household budget of sugar, as the sweetener is 30 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia herbal sugar offers sweetness minus the unhealthy effects and the sweetener is calorie free. The leaves can be used directly in tea fresh or dried. The natural leaves can also be cooked and eaten as vegetables. Stevia herbal sweetener is said to be good for all people including diabetics.

Stevia also serves as a natural, calorie-free sugar substitute and can be found as an ingredient in a variety of processed foods. Unlike dietary sugars, the sweetening agents in stevia do not increase your blood glucose levels after you consume them and can therefore help your blood sugar remain steady, nor do they contribute to dental cavities the way table sugar does. Finally, stevia holds an advantage over aspartame, an artificial sweetener containing the amino acid phenylalanine, for those with phenylketonuria. Phenylketonurics cannot process phenylalanine and must therefore avoid it. Because stevia doesn’t contain phenylalanine, it is a safer alternative to aspartame. But all these benefits are only available if used when raw... If you use it when processed the bad is bound to occur:

THE BAD
At high doses, stevia compounds can cause mutagenesis, or damage to your genes, and they also can lead to temporary gastrointestinal upset, muscle pain and weakness. Stevia can also interact with medications and affect their potency. For example, it can increase the effects of both blood-lowering and anti-diabetic drugs, requiring careful monitoring by your healthcare provider. In addition, until more thorough safety assessments have been completed, pregnant women should avoid stevia.In some people, stevia can cause nausea, bloating or gas.

You must be wondering how come you have not probably heard of it.. This package above can be found in Nakumatt or Tuskys today and is easy to grow on your backyard. In fact,  Stevia herbal sweetener is harvested 3 months after planting, after which the crop is dried and ground into powder for use as a sweetener. Alternatively juice can be extracted and used in a similar way. 

It is the best invention and departure from sugar but requires caution for the best use possible. For more email me on ndutaniceness@gmail.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT ALCOHOL AND BEER BELLIES

So in my line of consultancy, I have come across various people asking me what about beer? what about a little wine? and what if I am just the occasional drinker.
I will first clarify that morally, I do not advocate for any amount of ingestion of alcohol. But then again choices in life are sometimes self made and thus I speak for all when I stipulate the nutritional truth about alcohol.

In the first Place,
Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is made through a process called fermentation. During fermentation, yeast breaks sugar down into ethanol and carbon dioxide. This process is done without any air present, and once complete, the carbon dioxide gas bubbles out into the air, leaving ethanol and water behind. Distilled spirits, such as vodka, rum, gin, and whiskey, are fermented and then distilled to separate the ethanol from the water.
Various sources of sugar are used in these processes, resulting in different forms of alcohol. The sugar from crushed grapes is used to make wine; malted barley is used to make beer; sugar cane or molasses makes rum; grain, potatoes, beets, molasses, and a variety of other plants are used to make vodka.
The technique used to make the beverage will determine the alcohol content. You will see the percentage of alcohol per volume listed on the bottle, as well as the proof of the drink. The proof of a beverage is twice the alcohol content, so a drink with 12% alcohol per volume is 24 proof. Generally, a 12-ounce glass of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor all contain a ½ ounce of pure alcohol and are considered one drink.

Yes, as a nutritionist I am aware of the various types of alcohol in the market, as it is the truth about all of them is that they improve metabollic/digestion rate but provide empty calories to your body!!

 There is a popular belief that pot bellies in men are caused by drinking beer. This is why pot belly is referred to as ‘beer belly’. However, lets evaluate the facts, there are people who do not drink but develop pot belly. At the same time, there are people who are daily drinkers yet are extremely skinny. Therefore we should not generalise beer as a bad evil that impregnates men.

Today I will tackle the beer belly in men:

There are several reasons why beer is blamed for pot bellies in men.

1. The first reason is that beer is high in calories. 1 gram of alcohol contains approximately 7 Calories. This is the second highest number of calories compared to other macronutrients in food. 1 gram of fat contains 9 Calories, 1 gram of carbohydrates contains 4 Calories and 1 gram of protein contains 4 Calories. Calories in beer are referred to as empty calories. This implies that most of these calories end up converted into fat.

A 500 ml beer (approximately 1 pint) which is 5 % v/v alcohol contains approximately 170 Calories. This means that consuming 5 beer bottles of 500 ml gives a total of 850 Calories. These are only derived from beer. When you add the calories from the other foods then you exceed the daily recommended calorie intake.

2. Beer consumption leads to hunger, this can cause a person to eat additional unhealthy foods which are also high in calories such as barbecue meat (commonly referred to as choma), sausages and other fatty foods. Actually, many beer drinkers say that fatty foods reduces the level of drunkenness.

3. Beer also leads to dropping of blood sugars level. This leads to lethargy. Lethargy leads to reduced activity which implies that less calories are burned. The burning of less  calories increases the likely hood of accumulation of fat and hence pot belly.

Men with ‘beer belly’ are at high risk of many healthy problems. These include:

• Stroke
• Some types of cancer
• Abnormal lipids
• Insulin resistance
• High triglycerides
• Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol
• Metabolic syndrome
• Type 2 diabetes
• Sleep apnea
• Heart disease

I love questions. Why not leave them in comments section.

GREEN OR RED APPLE?

An apple a day to keep the doctor away is a very well-known adage. Apples definitely are among the favorites of fruits when you go to the market.But what exactly is it about this much-lauded fruit that is good for your health? As it turns out, quite a lot – apples can positively impact the condition of your bones, your respiratory system and other crucial organs inside your body.

Here are a number of ways that apples benefit the body:

. Teeth: Since apple is a hard fruit and if eaten uncut, it stimulates saliva production in the mouth, which in turn reduce the chances of tooth decay be caries and lowers the level of bacteria. Also biting and chewing on apple makes teeth self cleansing.

  Cholesterol: Apple is again rich source of soluble fiber. This soluble fiber binds with the fat cells in the intestine and thus helps in reducing the cholesterol levels in the body. Since we all know how bad cholesterol can harm the cardio vascular system of the body. Thus eating apple is very good for cardio vascular health too.
Fighting Cancers: An  Apple is a very rich source of trierpenoids . This compound has natural anti cancer growth activity. This compound help fight the free cells in the liver, breast and colon which can turn cancerous. Thus eating apple does reduce the chances of cancers in colon, breasts and liver.

 Type 2 Diabetes : Though it helps in both sexes but the result in women are more. Those women who eat atleast one medium size apple a day have more than 25% less chances to develop type two diabetes.

Weight:  To control weight a high fiber diet is advised by most doctors and since the apple are one of the richest source of fibers, thus they are very good for keeping your weight down.

 Liver: What ever toxins a body consumes, it is excreted through the liver. So most doctors advise a rich fruit diet for the liver. And apple is the best fruit for the liver detoxification.
 Cataract: Since apples are rich source of anti oxidants and anti oxidants are suppose to fight cancers and studies have shown that people those who eat apples regularly have more than 10% less chances of developing cataract. Thus apple is very essential for the health of the eyes too.

 So the saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away is not wrong since apple is so rich in nearly everything good for the body and has countless health beneficial ingredients.

But which is best? Red or green?

Green Apple:

 • less sugar, less glucose

 • less antioxidant

 • Eco-friendly looking 

Red Apple:

 • have varying amounts of poly-phenols

 • strong antioxidant

 • anti-cancer compound

So, if your having a per-diabetes or diabetes then green apples are the perfect choice to eat. With its less sugar and less anti-oxidant then this type of fruit will keep your tummy full and having no doubts in eating this.

While the red apple are the perfect one for those who are on diet. Since these apples can keep you on the go with lots of sugar content that can be used as a alternative as your regular unhealthy snacks.

 But the green as opposed to the red has the following extra benefits:

It is known to cure diarrhea, constipation especially in children and the fiber that it provides can help you to have a regular bowel movements. it also enhances memory and cures rheumatism an preventing gall stones.

SO YES! YOU GUESSED RIGHT, THE GREEN APPLE IS THE BEST TO CONSUME! THOUGH IT IS NOT ALSO WRONG TO EAT THE RED, BUT SPARINGLY!

 Make that choice!

For more guidelines keep emailing:ndutaniceness@gmail.com

Nduta

Nutrition counsellor

White or Brown Sugar?

Do you find yourself paying more for brown sugar than the “regular” white sugar? Have you ever wondered which is healthier for you?

In order to answer, let’s explain how sugar is manufactured. Yes, although it comes from sugar canes or beets, sugar does go through quite a bit of processing before we see it in its final form on supermarket shelves.


What you need to know:
The raw materials utilized are either sugar cane stalks or sugar beet (a root). Let’s talk sugar cane today:

1. After the sugar cane stalks are harvested, they are chopped into small pieces
2. The stalk pieces are pulverized in order to release the sugary cane juice.
3. the juice usually has some impurities in it such as mud, pieces of stalk and other stuff, so it is filtered using both mechanical and chemical processes (using  polyacrylamides).
4.  The purified liquid is boiled until the water evaporates.
5. The remaining “juice” is heated once again and the sugar begins to crystallize. A side product that is left over is called mother liquor (it is the source of molasses)
6. A centrifuge is used to separate individual sugar crystals.

 The result is raw sugar. The crystals are relatively large and have a brownish tinge to them. Stay tuned folks, this is NOT brown sugar.

Raw sugar is shipped to a refinery for further processing to create the white sugar that we know:

1. The raw sugar is heated and melts into a liquid again.
2. The coloration is removed by using chemicals such as phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide or calcium dioxide.
3. The liquid is boiled one last time in order concentrate it into the fine white granulated crystals that make up white sugar, or refined sugar.

 White and brown sugar are similar in calorie content, with 1/4 cup of white sugar containing 194 calories and 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar containing 209 calories. All of the calories in white sugar come from carbohydrates, of which there is 50 g. There are three types of carbohydrates: fiber, starch and sugar. All 50 g of these carbohydrates is sugar, all of which is in the form of sucrose. Nearly all of the calories in brown sugar come from carbohydrates as well, although one serving does contain 0.07 g of protein. However, this protein accounts for less than 1 of the 209 calories per serving. One serving of brown sugar contains 54 g of carbohydrates, nearly all of which are sugar. Brown sugar is primarily sucrose, although the added molasses provides small amounts, less than 1 g, of glucose and fructose.

Okay so sugar ought not to be a paramount thing in our diet and yes insignificance of nutrients in both sugars is not something to dwell on...But look at these trait comparisons...

TRAITS	BROWN/ SUGAR	ORDINARY WHITE SUGAR
Physical Appearance	Yellowish-brown sugar in the rich aroma of tropical sugarcane.	No flavor, taste, or color from natural sources.
Production Process	Produced by a precise co-crystallization process to retain natural flavor & color components.	Ordinary sugar manufacture process employs several chemicals.
Chemical Additives	At no stage in the production process, are any chemical additives added. It is free from any harmful chemicals like phosphoric acid, formic acid, sulfur dioxide, preservatives/bleaching agents. This results in a health-friendly and chemical-free sugar.	Processing involves a potpourri of chemicals; all finally showing their impact on our health in the long run. Sulfur carryover puts health at stake.
Nutrition Content	Apart from a pure and natural sweetness, it contains 187 mg calcium, 56 mg phosphorous, 4.8mg iron, 757 mg potassium, and 97 mg sodium per cup of sugar-all from natural sources.	Does not contain natural minerals.

Now, this makes brown sugar the safest bet in Kenyan market!

LOOK OUT NEXT TIME!

Nduta 

Nutrition Counsellor