So hopefully you know sugar isn’t your best friend from a health perspective, but you might be in denial because man it tastes good, right? The thought of giving it up leaves most people really on the fence and maybe not doing as much as they can for fear of sacrificing taste and missing out on what they love to eat. Avoiding sugar isn’t the easiest thing to do either as it’s in packaged foods, your favourite sweet treats, as well being hidden in your pasta sauce, ketchup and even sausages. And how depressing is it when you read a label, thinking that you’re making a healthy choice, only to see sugar or one of the 50 other variations that mean the same thing but aren’t called SUGAR like fructose, maltose, glucose, sucrose, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, high fructose corn syrup, then there’s artificial sweeteners that you think are the way to go only to find out that NO don’t go there either… It’s defeating. We’ve talked about living a sugar free life and gave the question of Is Sugar Evil in episode 7 that has been our most listened to episode. Then in episode 8 with Barry Friedman, the author of I love me more than Sugar, he has been sugar free for almost 10 years now, that also was a fan favourite. But is that something that you could do – ditch sugar all together? It’s not easy and know that there’s no shame if you can’t. There might come a time when you do need to for health reasons and sure, it would be great if that was a lifestyle that you lived, but many don’t. So what if there was a middle ground – what if you could start to focus on LOW sugar, and not NO sugar. Maybe that’s the right next step for you. And then that brings about questions to what are all these alternatives like xylitol or what fall under the sweeteners found under the ‘natural’ umbrella-like stevia, that many people aren’t sure about from either a safety standpoint or taste.
Being healthy can take many shapes, and knowing that lessening sugar kinda ranks at the top of the list of what to put your efforts into, I think that a LOW sugar approach feels achievable. It’s like you’re doing something, without the deprivation, fear of missing out and living a life without another sweet something ever again, well that isn’t worth living. It’s a battle that many deal with, especially with the battle of comfort eating and trying to fit into your pants, or look in the mirror and not have the negative self talk unleash itself on you. If only there was someone to help guide us on becoming LOW sugar, and can speak from experience of creating a sweet treat that does tick all the LOW sugar and healthier options… well there is, and today we are going to learn from her just what to look out for with so many new ingredients on labels.
So today on EAT THIS with Lianne, how to go low sugar as your next step on your health journey, and some alternatives to look out for that don’t bring on more health concerns, or leave you disappointed.
Typically when you decide not to eat something, there’s a sacrifice involved. Usually taste and enjoyment. I remember going gluten free and buying corn pasta. If you left it one minute too long, the whole pot of water and pasta became one. It was tricky. And what about the early ice cream substitutes, Chris. They sucked, didn’t they? The coconut milk ice cream is a far cry from the Rice Milk options that I once ate. Then there’s the dark chocolate that you eat because it’s healthy, but really just fancy a sweeter milk chocolate, but not one that’s laden with chemical artificial sweetener alternatives. The new trend is something called sugar alcohols like xylitol that have hit ingredient list labels of late and while I’ve got the toothpaste and chewing gum with it in it because I know it slows down the bacteria proliferation and makes them slooooow down in general, consuming it in my mints have given me a burble or two in my tummy. So what’s that all about? As with most things, they might start off being the new answer to our troubles, like agave syrup, then only to find that sure it has a lower glycemic index, but what we didn’t know was that it’s full fructose and awful for your liver. Ok, back round again to something new.
As I often get pitches from companies and authors to interview on this show and podcast, when I was pitched by Yumy Bear sweets, it took me a bit to figure this one out. But we got there, and I am excited to speak with Erica because she, like many of our other guests, have expertise in an area that I don’t, so you and I are both going to learn something today that’s going to talk all of us one more step on our health journey. Erica Williams is a serial entrepreneur and has a long standing passion for health and wellness. Erica has always been a candy lover but couldn’t find a healthier option that was also affordable. Her health journey began years ago when she developed an unhealthy relationship with food and realized to live a healthier lifestyle, education was key. She started her company Yumy Bear by using her kitchen as a starting point, experimenting with high-quality ingredients to create a unique gummy candy that is delicious for health-conscious people that also care about animal welfare. It took her a year of rigorous testing to crack it, but she did it. Erica speaks about that journey and helps others figure out how to be healthier as a health coach, and now a healthy sweet manufacturer. So welcome Erica.
About Erica
Erica has always been a candy lover but couldn’t find a healthier option that was also affordable. Her health journey began years ago when she developed an unhealthy relationship with food and realized to live a healthier lifestyle, education was key. Erica undertook studies in Kinesiology at the University of Fraser Valley and even furthered her knowledge with personal training and nutritional certification. During her studies, Erica competed in fitness competitions across Canada and created a consistent, healthier lifestyle and positive attitude towards foods.
Yumy Bear is founded on the “Feel Good” philosophy Erica now follows in her day to day. From her experience with coaching clients, the number one thing on everyone’s agenda was searching for low-sugar, plant-based snack options. “Using my kitchen as a starting point, I got to work experimenting with high-quality ingredients to create a unique gummy candy that is delicious and optimal for health-conscious people that also care about animal welfare. After over a year of rigorous testing, Yumy Bear was created and in the hands of happy friends, family, clients and loyal customers!”
Want to give some of these treats a try? Use promo code Yumy20 for 20% off your purchase at yumybear.com. Make sure to enter our Yumy Bear giveaway too! Erica has generously offered for one lucky listener to win a pack valued at $350! Head to sproutright.com/yumybear to be entered to win:
– 2x 12 pack Box of Strawberry Kiwi Yumy Bear
– 2x 12 pack Box of Peach Yumy Bear
– 2x 12 pack Box of Sour Watermelon Yumy Bear
– yumy candy hat
Goodluck!!
Do you have a topic that you’d like me to do a deep dive into? Reach out on either of my websites, liannephillipson.com and sproutright.com or follow me along on social media and send a message on liannephillipson and sproutright handles. Share this episode with your sweet loving friend, your family member and boss and let him or her know that CoreChair is the best option to sit on all day long and check out corechair.com/eatthis for that 15% off discount too. I’m off to have a wee dance with my Tango chair, so I’ll leave you by saying thank you for being here and taking responsibility for your own health, and as always remember to eat this one mouthful at a time.
