Sugar, Brown

Being a World War II baby, I spent the first fifteen years of my life on food rations. It is said that we are the "lucky" generation: Many unhealthy foods like sugar, bacon, pork, beef, milk, butter, fat, cakes, and even bread were strictly rationed. Meanwhile, we could eat as much as we liked of cabbage, onions, and turnips!

You should treat dried fruit (raisins, currants, dates, figs, apricots, peaches, etc.) as sugars. The drying process destroys some of the micronutrients, so in no way can dried fruit be a substitute for the fresh variety. In addition, we do not recommend that you liquidize fruits. Juicing, pasteurizing, concentrating, and reconstituting are processes that destroy the nature and utility of the natural fibers, strip out the nutrients, and increase the glycemic index.

We have seen how most sugars— e.g., the high-glycemic ones such as table sugar— and most confectionary are harmful for us. They must be ruthlessly removed from the diet. More surprising for many of you is that the "natural" sugars, honey and maple syrup, are to be treated with caution. Some dried fruits have high sugar content and are highly glycemic; for example, dried figs, dried dates, sultanas, and dried apricots. They should be avoided.

What about condiments? It's been said that the only way to get a kid to eat his vegetables is to smother them in ketchup. If that is what works, then it is tolerable; a good quality ketchup is not such a bad condiment. The main drawback is the sugar content. Read the ingredients label and only choose the best— there are low-salt, low-sugar versions available. Better yet is to make it yourself.

With the creation of the "basic seven", several changes were made from the 12 food groups in the family food plans. "Potatoes and sweet potatoes" have been lumped in with "other vegetables and fruit." "Eggs" and "dry beans, peas, and nuts" are lumped in with "meat, poultry, and fish." The "butter" group has been expanded to "butter and fortified margarine." The word lean has been dropped from the category "lean meat." The "other fats" group and the "sugars" group have disappeared entirely.

Our [Savanna model] modified groupings then are: Grains; Vegetables (Starchy); Vegetables (Non-Starchy); Fruits; Milk and Dairy; Meat, Fish, Eggs, and Poultry; Dry Beans; Nuts; Fats and Oils; Sugars and Sweeteners; Salt and Sodium; and Beverages.

Back in the Middle Ages, monks were experimenting with making alcoholic "elixirs" designed for medicinal purposes, with closely guarded recipes using fruits, sugar, herbs, and spices. We know these elixirs today as "liqueurs."