Days have gone since the first day of Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by Malaysian government to curb with coronavirus outbreak. As seen on social media, many has shared their funny moments where men totally bewildered by the grocery shopping list and ladies running out of menu ideas to prepare meals for their families! Well, we would like to introduce a little bit of fun back into the “MCO” lives by making the cooking fun for all! From preparing for candlelight dinners, to getting the kids to join in for some baking or even preparing the mise en place for a family dinner, add some passion into the meal preparation and you will not disappointed by its outcome.
Study shows that the process of preparing a good meal does cheer up and live up one’s spirit, feeling better after savouring on own cook meal. May not be a bad idea in current situation where it can be a little stressful for some of us!
Back to the cooking part, today’s topic is about sugar! Malaysian is known for their sweet tooth and has no resistance against sweet temptation. You can find the presence of sugar in almost every food or drink in Malaysian diet be it Nasi Lemak to Roti Canai to their must have Kopi-O-Peng! Perhaps that’s what makes Malaysian such a sweet and friendly citizen!
However, there’s a dark side to this sweet sugar which many tends to ignore. Sugar is notorious for contributing to a number of health problems. When it drives your blood sugar level up, it induces the release of insulin. Insulin plays the role of bringing down your blood sugar level whereby all the sugar in your blood is taken up by your body cells. When the immediate energy (sugar) in your blood is depleted, it gives you episodes of yawning and fatigue. Sounds familiar?
Low energy makes you crave for more sugar and there goes your blood sugar control and it kicks start a vicious cycle that leads to tiredness and weight gain. It’s bad enough that staying at home with reduce activities, more calories input but less energy output, you surely do not want that extra weight gain during the MCO period. (Someone please get my waist measuring tape!)
Uncontrolled sugar craving also leads to more serious health problems such as Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension. Sugar, in long term can damage protein, especially collagen. Sugar damages your skin through a natural process called glycation. The sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins to produce harmful free radicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). As AGEs accumulate (the more sugar you eat, the more you develop), they damage the proteins around them. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are proteins or lipids that become glycated as a result of exposure to sugars. They are a bio-marker implicated in aging and the development, or worsening, of many degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, chronic kidney disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, 1 out of 2 fellow Malaysians is obese and its time we take our health a little bit more serious.
A good choice of food allows you to stay energetic, alert and feel boosted whole day long. In particular, the source of energy should be those that sustain you throughout the day. It can prevent your sugar cravings, sudden sugar spikes and sugar crashes as well as fatigue.
Sweetsanté, an innovative sugar replacement from France contains SweetPearl®. It is maltitol from natural corn extract with low glycemic index. This means it does not increase blood sugar drastically, hence does not cause a spike in insulin in our blood. This is important for the body to be able to receive gradual energy supply, without any spike was proven to give you sustainable energy. Replacing table sugar (sucrose) in any of your baking and cooking with Sweetsanté helps make your recipes healthy, more importantly YOU healthy!
So, let’s get to preparing! We have some easy to make recipes to share with you, even for a dummy chef!
