“The difference between sugar addiction and narcotic addiction is largely one of degree.” - William Dufty, Sugar Blues.
For years I struggled with the sugar habit from hell, so I empathize with the vast majority of the population struggling with one now. Although most will deny their habit, one only needs to check the number of aisles in the local supermarket stacked with sugared foods - at least half - to know we have a problem.
My parents did not allow everyday sugar eating, so when we visited our grandparents at Christmas time, sugar and chemical laden ice-cream with packet custard was a real boon. However, the third “bon bon” lolly was always turned down with a groan, our digestions just couldn’t take too much sugar without complaining painfully. I am ever grateful that my parents were strict with our sugar intake because it was not until puberty that I really began to eat sugared foods.
Expanding my experience with my new found freedom, I found all sorts of culinary wonders. I remember sucking instant coffee through a Tim Tam straw or four - shudder - during those all night study sessions at university. I had a full blown sugar addiction which lead into all sorts of other addictions (another story).
Next was the ultimate exploration of dietary boundaries, the quest into vegetarianism and veganism. Originally, this was a political decision, as it is for many people, based on my newfound (and half-baked) understanding of ecology and animal rights. Pretty soon I had also convinced myself this was the healthy way to go. Even when my Chinese medicine professor warned me my “spleen” needed meat, I was too stubborn to listen, while I chugged down cappuccinos and scoffed chocolate mud cake almost daily.
Of course, the more I avoided animal protein and fat, the more I craved sugar, and the more I ate sugary foods, the more I damaged my digestion and the more I needed protein and fat to repair it. Sound familiar?
I was to suffer a lot more before I came to my senses: a pregnancy filled with unexplainable pain, tiredness, depression and horrific Candida symptoms followed by a disastrous two day labour and my body refusing to repair a perineal tear. eeeww! I started the Candida diet vegetarian style. I was a conscientious vegetarian, rigorously dedicated to food combining and proper preparation of grains and nuts. It was just not enough, no matter how much plant based protein I packed away, I couldn’t keep up with the demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Protein deficiency leads to cravings especially for sweet foods so I struggled for a year or so with slight food addictions. Bread always led to sugar as did caffeine, and Candida infestations recurred over and over again. Finding it virtually impossible to enjoy a vegetarian diet without sugar and bread, I finally began to eat more animal foods to abate my cravings - and heal my “spleen” (Chinese medicine speak for digestion).
I found raw milk products and bought organic meat. Every time I felt a desire for refined carbohydrates, I ate a spoonful of raw cream or a chunk of organic ham (with lots of fat) or cheese. Eventually I had replaced all refined carbohydrates with small amounts of unrefined honey, maple syrup, buckwheat and rice. I found I could consume home made sweet treats without addiction and I could easily let go of bread. These days you couldn’t persuade me to let refined sugar pass my lips and I very rarely eat bread.
There are many alternatives to refined sugar, one of which is Rapadura. After reading about this wonderful alternative, I wished I could buy it here in Australia. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Rapadura is being imported by the company who imports Rapunzel Organic Chocolate. Since I follow my parents’ lead and ban all refined sugars from my house, I am ecstatic to be able to occasionally offer biscuits and sweets made with Rapadura to our kids.
What is Rapadura?
Historically, sugar was made by pressing the juice from the cane and boiling away the water. The product retained its critical vitamins, minerals and trace nutrients.
With industrialisation came new ways to employ less people, the new sugar technology was born. Now sugar was made by dividing the cane juice into two substances; ultra-refined, 99.6% pure sucrose and nutrient-dense molasses which was fed to animals. The sucrose portion is easily dried, stores for longer, pours easier and transports easier, making it more economical in terms of human labour and wastage. Modern manufacture of sugar from cane juice also employs a potpourri of chemicals such as sulphur dioxide, lime, phosphoric acid, bleaching agents & viscosity reducers.
This new type of sugar was marketed well. It was white, a very important colour to the growing western middle class mid-last century. To have white goods, white flour, white sliced bread, white gloves was the height of social success. By the mid 1950s it was considered shameful if your mother made her own brown bread or you had an old fashioned ice box.
Unfortunately white sugar - any refined sugar - creates havoc within our bodies and like anything refined, it is highly addictive. Once refined, sugar is no longer a food, it is a drug. And today, most of the western world is addicted. (One wonders if the supermarket chains would stay in business without pushing it.)
Rapadura along with a traditional Indian medicine called Jaggery, are the only sweeteners made from sugar cane that are not refined. They are squeezed, dried, and ground, that’s it. The juice is not separated, dried and then reunited with its more nutritious counterpart (molasses) in artificial proportions as are raw, brown and black sugar, demerara and sucanat.
Rapadura delivers vitamins, minerals and other trace elements as well as the sweet taste that all humans desire, and need. We have sweet taste buds for good reason. Sweet foods in nature provide us with high quality vitamins and minerals, especially magnesium. As long as we balance the sweet taste with the other four (sour, bitter, salty and pungent), according to Chinese medicine, we will maintain good health.
Rapadura is made from organically grown sugar cane from Colombia and Brazil through fair trade programs. For this reason it is more expensive than other sugars which degrade our soils, our water, and our bodies not to mention the standard of living of the 3rd world farmers who grow the stuff. It’s worth it to buy Rapadura from your local health food shop. You can buy it in bulk or packaged, in chocolate (Rapunzel) or drinks (Santa Cruz soft drinks), even the Ozganics range of sauces have dried cane juice.
Use it by substituting 1 for 1 with raw sugar in recipes using whole foods such as eggs, butter, cream and other whole milk products, nuts, coconut, arrowroot, fruit and eat the result knowing you are eating a whole food. It tastes mildly like toffee due to the molasses content. I have been known to eat Rapunzel chocolate for breakfast with a spoonful of raw cream and a glass of raw milk, no insulin spike and no need to eat again for hours. I wouldn’t recommend this as a daily practice of course, just a bit of fun. Naturally sweetened foods should still only be eaten once or twice weekly. This is easy to achieve without a the chemical addiction eating refined sugar develops.
You can order Rapadura in bulk from Santos Trading. There are two distributors that I know of, Fresh Whole Food, a small company in Northern NSW 0266 722 715 and Daabon Organic Australia. As far as I know, Jaggery is not yet available in Australia.
For a delicious recipe using Rapadura try our Almond Biscuits for Fussy Rug Rats
To explore this topic further, we recommend…
Sugar Blues
The Yoga of Eating: Transcending Diets and Dogma to Nourish the Natural Self
Lick the Sugar Habit
About the Author...
Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).
Jul 1st, 2005 at 8:20 pm
Interesting and exciting article. I will pass your website on to Margot in the Health shop, Nature’s Health Barn. You give your parents a big rap. I’m definately not as strict about refined sugar as you are. Interesting links. Good job, Jo.
Mum
May 16th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I have found jaggery in a small shop in Albany W.A
Oct 18th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
I am from Brazil and i would like to inform you about the word “Rapadura”. It is a very common portuguese word in Brazil for this kind of cane sugar. The german company Rapunzel registered this in Germany and US as a trademark. This would be the same if a brazilian comapany would register “Sauerkraut”. This is not fair trade.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Who knew? Thanks for submitting this to the carnival on all substances. I’ll post it on Sunday. Meanwhile, consider courage, the May 16 post as an appetizer. It might make you happy.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Jaggery may be found at some Indian shops. Is it any different from Rapadura?
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
It is the same. Rapadura is fair traded. I’m not sure about Jaggery
Jun 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am
I never heard of Jaggery or Rapadura, I knew about the Candida diet I have a friend who is addicted to ice Cream and it is worrying me to the extent that I have come accross your article I hope I can sway my friend from their addiction.
Jun 24th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Gillian, since writing this article I’ve realised that fat, more than protein, was what brought me back from sugar addiction. If your friend doesn’t have lots of fat in her diet, she will tend to rely on rapadura for energy. She’ll get the minerals in Rapadura but will miss out on the fat soluble vitamins (A,D,K) in fat - hence the minerals won’t be assimilated. She will still be relying on empty calories. Animal fat is a more readily available source of energy (the liver has to convert sugars first to fat while animal fat is usable instantly) and won’t tamper with her insulin and therefore hormone balance. Ironically, she’s probably best off replacing her commercial ice cream with home made ice cream made from organic pasture-fed cream (high vitamin, low pesticide), maple syrup, rapadura or honey and organic pasture-fed egg yolks. mmmm. Buy her a ice cream maker and send her to this recipe. She’ll love you for it.
Jun 26th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
What about about xylitol, Joanne? Is this a good sugar substitute? I know it may not give the minerals, but it is supposed to be very good for the teeth. What do you think? (I think I have a sugar addiction, although I go through periods of abstinence, now that I’ve realised it was causing my candida. Your info about needing fats is very helpful. Thanks!)
Jun 26th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I bought Jaggery in an indian food supply shop in New Farm Brisbane, it is a lot cheaper than Rapadura. They sell it in chunks, so you have to smash it up to more manageable sizes.
Jun 26th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Be careful with xylitol- most of the stuff is made from corn ! and I don´t think that is a wise substitute just look at the high fructose problems…
The stuff that showed good effect on teeth and ear infections was derived from birch tree sap…
just like maple sap.
The birch sap boiled into sirup was a traditional sweetner in Finland.
Jun 28th, 2007 at 2:52 am
Xylitol is actually made from D-xylose which is made from xylan syrups that are extracted from a number of plant sources (including birch and corn). The end xylitol product has the same molecular structure no matter what plant the xylan syrups came from. So the debate of corn vs. birch xylitol is based on a false premise. When you look at xylitol your concern should be purity. I recommend only buying pharmaceutical grade xylitol. And I know of a number of people who use xylitol as a sweetener because they have candida.
Oct 3rd, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Well Donald I have to disagree
Corn can be pretty evil for some us…
the number of people with intolence to corn is growing due to the widespread use …
and I know for sure that my body reacts differently to corn xylitol - than to birch xylitol…..
Jan 10th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Very good the article. I would like to add a few more details about the wonderful rapadura, from our own experience (Do pressure on the merchants of your city for you can find rapadura to buy).
We are a small company from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
We have some brazilian high quality organic products to offer,
including organic sugar cane rapadura , certified by IBD, besides other
international certificates to organic products and by and Brazilian
Ministry of Agriculture, currently with authorization for the sale to
Europe and USA.
The our organic rapadura is a handcrafted natural sugar cane candy. It
is produced by boiling the juices of organic sugar cane. This
traditional Brazilian product is highly nutritious and tasty. Our
organic rapadura is rich in vitamins, iron, fluoride. It is very
energetic and has all the benefits of an organic product.
Some details of organic rapadura:
- Brown / dark brown in color (no color additives)
- Organic certified
- Constant texture and dry enough
- Natural - Minimum or no natural additives during production and no
added chemicals at all, no additives, no preservatives, no artificial
colors and no artificial flavorings
- Sterile and hygienic in its making and packing.
- Long enough shelf life
- There cannot be any traces of earth, sand, dead insects, foreign
matter and fiber
- No visible non-soluble matter when mixed with hot water
We can understand that this is a product that can be consumed without fear, believing that we will be taking care of our health in this way.
Being in the interest of you, please make contact.
Kindly,
André Cardozo.
Jan 11th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I would kindly excuse me for not having left my contacts visible in the comment above, when I spoke of my small business in Brazil.
So there goes:
braziltrader@veloxmail.com.br
brazil_organiktrade@btnmail.gov.br
andrelukar@gmail.com
And, if someone speak Portuguese (my English to talk is nothing good …!), my personal numbers phones are:
55 21 26679916
55 21 87888864 (mobile phone)
I have the greatest pleasure in receiving comments and respond to anyone who comes into contact.
Blessings for All
Jun 1st, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Hi there, can you tell me what company imports the Rapunzel Organic Chocolate here in Australia? I tried to see if someone was importing it last year but couldnt find anything. Regards, Brit.
Jun 10th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Brit, Organic Times import Rapadura Chocolate.
http://organictimes.com.au/
Their chocolate is delicious and I’ve word from Lawrence and Kerchung that they do not use high temperature dried milk in the milk chocolate range. That means it is only wholesome and not damaging at all.
Jul 18th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Excellent article and just what I am looking for! We are avoiding refined sugar, although I have some for
what reason I don’t know.
Aug 25th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hi,
Great article. Very informative.
Question:
My mother in Law is a type 2 diabetic and I was wondering if I made a cake with rapadura in it for her birthday would she be able to eat it?
Feb 23rd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
I kind of wonder about the reasons you justify eating meat. Seems a little self-absorbed to me. And sugar addiction leading to other addictions? I think maybe you might want to look at the causes for addiction rather than blaming it on sugar.
Feb 27th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Hi Joanne and all,
Bit of a late post given the first was posted some time ago.
1. jaggery and rapadura are the same thing as is panela. jaggery is however more descriptive of the process rather than the product.
2. jaggery production has higher quality control than traditional South American rapadura production, fact of life India is better at it, being the world’s largest producer of jaggery.
3. At the time this article was posted Australian cane farmers were forbidden by law (the Sugar Act) to do anything else with their sugarcane other than send it to sugar mills for conventional sugar production. If a farmer sold sugarcane juice at the local markets they were promptly prosecuted for offences against the act, I know several farmers who were forced to stop alternative sugar production in Queensland. Thankfully the act has now been repealed.
4. Organic sugarcane production is almost impossible in Australia as our only monopoly cane breeder now prepares to introduce GM sugarcane varieties into the market because they have failed in the past 1o years to produce anything decent via conventional breeding techniques. This is compounded by the fact that all previous sugarcane varieties are heavily Smut disease susceptible and will later this year be banned from growing under the Queensland Plant Protection Act forcing farmers to use the more modern resistant varieties.
The good news is the Australian sugar industry or rather the conventional sugar industry is in complete disarray and endanger of collapsing due to inequity within the milling and breeding system.
As a result some of us more enterprising cane farmers are now investing in alternative sugar production systems. Conventional Australian rapadura (that is rapadura produced from conventional sugarcane production, not organic certified cane) will be available in far North Queensland (Cairns area) later in 2010.
Apr 28th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
When I started reading this i thought it was written about me. I am a vegetarian, with major sugar issues, I eat unbelievable quantities of it everyday. I always knew it wasn’t very good for me but now I know why and what my alternatives are. Thank you so much, It’s great to know I’m not alone and there’s hope for me yet…and I have just started taking chromium tablets which are really helping also. I just wish there was a way I could try to convince my mother and grandmother that I’m not crazy or a bad mother for now allowing my children to have sugar and processed foods.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Thanks so much for the fantastic, succinct information. You will be glad to know I heard of rapadura during this morning’s Channel 10 show so hopefully many others will know of this alternative. I especially appreciate your substition information - I wasn’t sure not ever having it before! Thanks again.
Jun 19th, 2010 at 10:03 am
yes I am an Australian born Sri Lankan & Jaggery has always been available in local Sri Lankan/Idian spice shops. Its pretty cheap too..
Jul 18th, 2010 at 4:09 am
i am diabetic and struggled for years with sugar addiction altho i am not obese. stevia is a natural sweetener and you can grow it yourself or buy at whole/healthfood palces. i agree about fat , i eat full fat yogurt, avocados and make my own mayonnaise (olive oil, eggs, vinegar, salt) to increase my intake as i eat few carbs now. alcohol, sugar and grains all turn to a similar thing in the blood, and they are addictive for most of us. sugar should carry warnings like tobacco does. i have fruit, yogurt and nuts/seeds (ground) for breakfast or lunch EVERY day and that has given me enough ’sweet’ foods to get over addiction and back to nutrition. i recomend stanton peele’s addiction website. he is a lifelong expert on addiction, and somewhat wide of mainstream. i agree with him that food and sex/love are the most difficult addictions to stop. ( perhaps cos they are hardwired into us for survival??) stick at it everyone battling with this addiction, i have learned to really love my diet and cooking and i save the money i used to spend on binges. i use it to plant fruit trees and flowers and herbs and veg in my garden. here is my sugar addict mantra: sugar is not nutrition, pleasure is not happiness.
Sep 10th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Some of your links are throwing 404 errors.
Great post, will be linking from wherespresso.com
Tim