Make New Zealand Healthy Again (maybe say “Monzha”)

MNZHA is based on MAHA in the US and part of the moderation process is to comment on MAHA postings. Other posts are based on what I have found out that helps with weight and diabetes issues.

Allulose

Website: Allulose Sweetener Products

This is to tell ye that Allulose and Monk fruit sweetener, seems like a good natural option. It has about 10 percent of the calories of sugar and can be substituted with an equal quantity. I am told of a church bakery, that has recipes that use this successfully. Allulose occurs naturally in small quantities, in many types of fruit.

I have heard that stevia has a metallic taste in cooking and of course birch sugar is poisonous to pets. Splenda/sucralose is completely unnatural and is made via chemical chlorination processes of sugar. If it is not naturally consumed, then there is no benefit from the test of time, that may have already occurred.

We do still need confirmation that Allulose is safe to eat in larger quantities, but its safety profile is already quite good and known.

I hope to convince the government to push an idea like this, for use in baked goods. That could solve a huge amount of the obesity and diabetes problems. It could potentially give a marketing healthy-food edge in baked goods, to those with foresight to take an opportunity.

With greater uptake, the price should come down to a more reasonable level.

Website: Practical Implications for dental health

For Parents
Children are most vulnerable to cavities. Replacing sugar with allulose in children’s foods and drinks eliminates one of the biggest dietary contributors to childhood dental problems. This includes:
* Sweetened beverages
* Candy and sweets
* Baked goods
* Sweetened breakfast cereals

For Adults
Adults aren’t immune to cavities, especially around existing fillings and at the gumline (where gums may have receded with age). Every time you choose allulose over sugar, you’re avoiding an acid attack on your teeth.

Resistant Starch

“Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine, feeding beneficial gut bacteria. It is found in foods like whole grains, legumes, and certain starchy foods that have been cooked and cooled.”

“Resistant starch can be found in various foods, including:
• Whole grains (e.g., oats, barley)
• Legumes (e.g., beans, lentils)
• Unripe bananas and plantains
• Cooked and cooled starchy foods (e.g., potatoes, rice, pasta)

To maximize resistant starch intake, consider cooking and then cooling these foods before consumption.” The level of resistant starch can be increased by adding potato starch to preheated foods such as baked beans or mashed potato. Too much heating can reduce that amount of resistant starch.

Possibilities exist to improve digestion of starchy foods and to reduce GI or the tendency to increase or spike blood sugar levels.
• Refrigerate mashed potato and gently warm it, at a later date.
• Add lentils, butter or EV olive oil to rewarmed mashed potatoes.
• Use wholegrain bread that has been stored in the freezer. Doing this could make burgers healthier.
• Possibly, potato fries could be precooked and refrigerated. Reheating should not be too fierce. This process would need to be optimised to maintain, taste and texture.

It would be useful to have a simple assay to measure digestible (in small intestine) starch content of food, that can be carried out at home or at least in a bakery or fast food store. A sample could be taken off the serving plate. This could be used to estimate the likely GI.

This type of approach could help prevent obesity and diabetes across the population.

Sugar free jam takes a wrong turn

Non sugar sweetened jam is typically made using Splenda. That is a bad choice and we need alternatives based on natural, safer sweeteners.