Consumers are aware of the dating between food and health, and since the COVID-19 pandemic, this has taken on a new meaning. As the virus continues to spread, it makes sense for others to pay attention to what they can control, including healthy nutrition to increase the chances of a healthy immune system.
Sugar is at the forefront of this conversation. In recent years, the war on sugar has intensified and it is difficult to forget the link between excessive sugar consumption and a greater threat of type 2 diabetes, central disease and obesity.
In response, governments around the world introduce taxes on sugar, and food corporations lower the amount of sugar in their products. And studies show that two-thirds of Americans are looking to reduce their sugar intake.
Along with the plummeting fall in sugar reputation, consumers are aware of the effects of eating a large amount of processed or commercial meat on their physical and that of the planet, and as a result, some are reducing it. The plant-based industry is estimated to be worth approximately $4.5 billion, which has grown to 29% in the last two years, and is expected to multiply tenfold by 2025.
It was only a matter of time before the two trends met. Plant corporations are increasingly looking for tactics where their products can be healthier. For example, the impossible burger has reduced the amount of salt and saturated fat in your vegan burgers. Now the industry is turning to sugar and providing low-sugar, sugar-free herbal opportunities, and is leading the race to sugar without aggregate, depending instead on herbal sweeteners.
Icelandic commissioning Bueno Bueno, for example, makes a replacement for sugar and spreading products made from an aggregate of erythritol and stevia, than sugar. Gardar Stefansson, co-founder and CEO, says the use of herbal sweeteners has the merit of reducing the likelihood of increasing blood sugar in the body.
“When we introduced Good Good, we were looking for a solution for the diabetic circle of relatives when we discovered that there were gigantic amounts of sugar added in every popular meal, from breakfast to lunch, dinner and snacks. by replacing sugar with stevia, we can limit our sugar intake without removing the treats we enjoy,” he says.
Similarly, Otamot Foods has created sauces that do not involve added sugar, but that get their sweet flavor from vegetables such as beetroot, carrot, pumpkin and sweet potatoes, meaning that sauces are herbal with the added advantage of being the best. Fiber.
These vegetables are complex carbohydrates, which means the frame converts them into glucose. This leads to an increase in blood sugar, however, studies show that this peak is more progressive due to fiber, and is less likely to be destructive in the long term, than added sugar.
This makes it less difficult for diabetes to control blood sugar levels, however, those products aren’t just for other people with diabetes. As other people become more sensitive to the content of their food, plant-based products will no longer be considered healthy by default, says Andrew Suzuka, founder of Otamot Foods.
“Consumers need transparency more than ever. They read labels and cook more for themselves and their families,” he says. “Nutritional labels and item lists are reviewed, which is welcome through brands like ours.”
Fody Foods takes another path to opportunities to add sugar with its low-quality foDMAP foods, which are an organization of fermentable carbohydrates that cause intestinal symptoms in some people, and uses opportunities such as maple syrup, raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, organic brown rice syrup and fruit juices.
Although these foods have the same effect on blood sugar as table sugar, Steven Singer, CEO and founder, issues studies suggesting that saccharin, stevia and sucralose can affect the gut microbiome, although researchers concluded that more evidence was needed to draw conclusions. The use of those ingredients, Singer says, provides a low-sugar product.
“While our most sensible precedent is making foods that are as nutritious as can be imagined and that promote digestive health, we locate it by focusing on total and genuine food ingredients, our products tend to naturally decrease added sugars,” he says. .
Companies that prefer factories are even starting to consult the concept of sweets. For example, Tara Bosch, CEO and founder of vegetable confectionery company SmartSweets, her business after her own struggle to lower sugar.
“I SmartSweets after my love story with sweet became a bad date with food, and I felt the negative effects of excess sugar on our health,” she says. “I tried to eat less sugar, but it only led me to need even sweeter, which triggered my quest to give sugar and keep the sweets.
To achieve this, SmartSweets offers opportunities to add sugar that will not keep consumers in a constant cycle of sugar intake and craving.
“One of the new ingredients we are pleased to present as a sugar substitute is allulose, a non-artificial sweetener discovered in raisins and figs,” he says. “It tastes like sugar but doesn’t act like sugar in your body,” Bosch says.
As consumers become smarter and continue to avoid animal products and sugar, it makes sense for the herbal industry to take sweets. More studies are needed on the effects of some sweeteners on fitness: a review of studies indicates that long-term studies are needed to compare sugar with sweeteners to see if they are a safer and more effective option, but what we know for sure is that consumers interested in herbal nutrition are also looking for more and more sugar options.
I am a co-founder and president of the Redutarian Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the intake of animal products.