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Fat Vs. Sugar

A few days ago, as I did my last set of sit–ups at the gym; my mind became fully fixated on what I was going to eat afterwards. In my life revolving around food even when I’m supposed to be focused on my workout, I’m weighing the evils of fats vs. sugars. To make matters worse, there was a fleeting thought of how Heidi Klum did the Victoria Secret show several months after giving birth to her third child. Never mind doing the Victoria Secret catalogue, I just have to get through this last set of abdominal crunches. My workout complete, I had to really get some food to satisfy my hunger.

What will make the most sense after a workout? The fat versus sugar question has been debated over the years and yet we don’t fully understand it. Way back when I started my cooking career, I worked at a beautiful health spa where everything had to be low fat. It was common to suggest bagels, as long as there was no cream cheese on them. One of the favourite dessert options was meringue because it had zero fat. Somehow, the sugar didn’t seem to be a culprit.

After all the research and many debates I conclude that we need to go back to what our body requires. It is a simple equation of balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Dah, we’ve heard that a million times, you might be thinking. I know but why do we continue to search for low calorie, low fat processed food instead of eating an apple? An apple grows on a tree, it’s easy to store in a desk drawer and you eat it exactly the way it grew on a that tree, more or less.

After you’ve had a great workout, if you give your body simple sugar – quick energy – it will start releasing insulin to properly process that sugar. Your energy level will rise sharply but then crash hard. It's key to try to maintain a moderate blood sugar level by eating smaller meals more often. This also sends a message to the body not to store but to keep the engine running.

The other problem with eating sugar is you will still be starving. So you’ll eat more than you would if you had a bowl of yogourt, with nuts and fruit – a perfect balance of protein, carbs and fat.

Oh and don’t get me started on the diet sodas! What is the purpose of that garbage? Yes, it has no calories but there is some evidence that the body behaves as though it is having sugar because of the sweet taste. It just keeps you craving more sweet flavours.

To summarize: Eat about 20- 30 lean protein, about 20 -25 % natural fats( nuts, olive oils , avocado etc.) and 50- 60 % carbohydrates – not in the form of white /processed sugars or flours. In short, the less processed the better. It’s better to eat a piece of multigrain toast with butter , than a breakfast bar, loaded with sugar and processed ingredients. If the thing can sit in your desk for 2 years and you can still eat it . Don’t! If mould doesn’t like it , you should not either.

And further more , the body needs fat for many of its functions but it does not need simple sugars. These are man made and our bodies are struggling to understand how to process the vats of sugar we eat every year. This is the most common cause of Type 2 Diabetes which is lifestyle induced.

Sugar is definitely worse than fat. Just for the record.

Here is a great recipe I am including to practice what I am suggesting.

ginger chicken lemon soup