132. Chemo There is Sweet and then there is Sweet

I'll get off my high horse on sugar after this post (I think 😇), but thought I should mention the following:

In light of my "situation" I tried really hard this festive season not to overdo it on the sweets.  Yes, I do admit I had some, but this year I nibbled daintily, instead of gobbling up by the mouthful.   And it paid off:  I am happy to announce that I gained not an ounce over the holidays!  Hurrah!  Something happened though that I did find upsetting.  We went to visit our son and grandson over Christmas and had promised to look after buying all the groceries for the Christmas supper: turkey, potatoes, salad, gravy, cranberries, you name it.  Because we were traveling, not all the above foods were made from scratch.  The Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, Kraft Stovetop Chicken stuffing mix and McCormick gravy package were obviously store-bought.  That they all would contain some form of sugar goes without saying, but it is the type of sugar that is upsetting.  The canned cranberries were processed with Glucose-Fructose, which is a sneaky way of saying High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS); ditto with the stuffing, which also contains Maltodextrin; the gravy just indicated a non-descript "Sugars".  Sugar is mentioned 3 times in the ingredients of the stuffing!  There is just no getting away from it.  While HFCS is not banned, it is restricted in some parts of the world.  Maltodextrin is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as being safe, but here is where things get interesting:  researchers have discovered that Maltodextrin changes gut bacteria and leads to promotion of intestinal inflammation.  If this peaks your interest, please read all about it in the following link:

  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328349746_Maltodextrin_Modern_Stressor_of_the_Intestinal_Environment    This article also mentions Splenda which contains Sucralose And Maltodextrin.   As an aside:  the Glycemic Index of Maltodextrin is 105-110 whereas that of regular table sugar is around 65.   Any food with a GI of 55 and less is considered "low".  And you probably already know that eating low GI foods can help you gain more control over blood sugar, help manage diabetes and count calories.  Other names for Maltodextrin are: Corn Syrup Solids, Modified Corn Starch, Modified Rice, Tapioca or Wheat Starch.

And here is an article on High Fructose Corn Syrup which can contain up to 80% fructose:

https://www.abouthealth.co.nz/blog/post/high-fructose-corn-syrup-alternatives.html

Because we all crave sweets form time to time, I came across this great suggestion: eat sugary treats along with something that is high in fiber.  Very wise advice I think!  I'll get off my high horse now!😉     Bon Appetit!

Back towards the end of the week.