Deliciously Ella - are they actually healthy??

[Exilecardigan]

Posting for traffic! Myself & DH trying to be healthy. Gave up sugar about three months ago. Still had one portion of fruit a day but quit everything with added sugar in it and all sweets etc. We both have a massive sweet tooth. I found those deliciously Ella salted caramel cups // Livias millionaire shortbread.

Mainly dates oats but also maple syrup coconut sugar and cacao in them - is this still good for you as it’s not refined sugar

Can we eat these things as part of a sugar free diet?

We would love to find a ‘healthy’ sweet treat. Can’t eat nuts so lots of those healthier treats are out!

Here’s the ingredients:
Ingredients

Date Syrup, Gluten Free Oats (26%) Coconut Oil, Dark Chocolate (11%) (Cacao Nibs, Coconut Sugar, Cacao Butter), Coconut Sugar, Cacao Powder (6%), Roasted Almond Butter Maple Syrup, Salt.

And for Livias salted caramel shortbread;

Date Paste (57%), Gluten Free Oat Flour (22%), Organic Dark Chocolate (11%) (Raw Cacao Mass, Coconut Sugar, Cacao Butter (Cocoa Solids 72%)), Coconut Oil, Maple Syrup, Himalayan Pink Salt (0.6%)

Well, no, it's a lot of sugar, so it's not brilliant for you, taken in isolation.

I don't why you are trying to give up sugar, though? Especially if you have a sweet tooth. I'd think it would just mess up any diet you tried because the temptation will be too big. I know some purists will say they'll get their 5 (or 7, or whatever) fruit and veg a day entirely from the veg side, but on the whole, fruit is actually considered pretty good for you.

I don't get reducing fruit to one per day but having something that sounds like a sugarfest.

Would it not be possible to have things like berries as a treat, and maybe some dark chocolate, instead of restricting the fruit down so much?

Maybe everything in moderation? Are this sugars more naturally occurring perhaps?

I like Davinas sugar free - I had such a sweet tooth but followed the recipes in the book and it made such a difference! Could probably veganise a lot of the recipes easily too

@NaggingWorries it’s to try to conceive. Recommended by a fertility nutritionist. Also why we’ve stuck with it with no issues for the 3 months (although the withdrawal was shocking!!). Also gave up dairy gluten most carbs so treats are jars to come by.

I guess it is a lot of sugar 😭😭 will have to just survive without treats. I thought maybe as no refined sugars it would be ok and as they’re marketed as healthy etc!!!

@NaggingWorries I guess I don’t see fruit as a treat! Looking for something to have with a cup of tea in the evening!!

If you're low sugar/low carbing, could you have raspberries with double cream, then grate some 80% dark chocolate on the top. Would that feel treat like, even though it's fruit?

Could you just have a date? Yes its sugary but it's kind of sickly and doesnt make me want to binge like say biscuits. Also its unprocessed and presumably has good stuff in them as well. Or cut them smaller and dip them into very very dark chocolate if you want to make it more of a treat

No, they are laden with sugar. My low-sugar, low carb treat is usually nuts. Or super-dark chocolate.

Any sugar, whether naturally occuring or highly processed, is metabolized by the body in exactly the same way. Dates are full of sugar, as is maple syrup.

Sounds like you're giving up a lot of food groups which can't be healthy in itself.

www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/follow-fertility-diet

The diet above sounds much healthier and more sustainable than the one you are following. Did your fertility nutritionist (whatever that is) give you a reason for giving everything up?

Giving up carbs isn’t a great idea. It’s an important food group. Have you seen a registered dietician, referred from your GP?

Don't know why it says you need to log in so I've copied and pasted:

Avoid trans fats.These artery-clogging fats threaten fertility as well harm the heart and blood vessels. Go trans free.

Use more unsaturated vegetable oils.Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help improve the body's sensitivity to insulin and cool inflammation, two trends that are good for fertility. Add in more vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and cold water fish such as salmon and sardines. Cut back on saturated fat.

Turn to vegetable protein.Replacing a serving of meat each day with beans, peas, soybeans or tofu, or nuts can improve fertility.

Choose slow carbs, not no carbs.Choosing slowly digested carbohydrates that are rich in fiber, like whole grains, vegetables, whole fruits, and beans, instead of rapidly digested carbs can improve fertility by controlling blood sugar and insulin levels.

Make it whole milk.Skim milk appears to promote infertility. If you drink milk, choose whole milk while trying to get pregnant, or have a small dish of ice cream or full-fat yogurt every day.

Take a multi-vitamin.Getting extra folic acid (400 micrograms a day) before you get pregnant could actually help you start eating for two.

Get plenty of iron from plants.Extra iron from plants, including whole-grain cereals, spinach, beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, and beets, appears to promote fertility.

Drink to your health.The best beverage for keeping your body hydrated is water. Coffee, tea, and alcohol are okay in moderation. But skip sugared sodas—they appear to promote ovulatory infertility.

Head toward the fertility zone for weight.Weighing too much or too little can interrupt normal menstrual cycles, throw off ovulation or stop it altogether. The best range for fertility is a body-mass index (BMI) of 20 to 24. Working to move your BMI in that direction by gaining or losing some weight is almost as good.

Move to the fertility zone for activity.If you don't get much physical activity and are above the fertility zone for weight, daily exercise can help improve fertility. But don't overdo it: too much exercise, especially if you are quite lean, can interfere with ovulation.

Check out keto desserts and keto groups on Facebook- lots of sweet treats ideas with no sugar (also dieting to conceive)

I'm sugarfree...well, try to be! Aldis no sugar chocolate is fab.

@Pandacub7

Giving up carbs isn’t a great idea. It’s an important food group. Have you seen a registered dietician, referred from your GP?

You can see them privately without a referral if you have a good reason to see one as they tend to specialise in certain things. So for example one that specialises in golfers and others sportspeople won't be as helpful as they could be if you want to see one for fertility reasons.

Try deliciously guilt free or sugar free by Marta!

deliciouslyguiltfree.com/

sugarfreebymarta.com/sugarfree-by-marta-keto/

Anything labelled KETO would be very low carb and sugar free

Banana pancakes are nice as a sweet treat (2 eggs, 1 mashed banana cooked like thick American style pancakes rather than thin crepes). I asked for snack ideas a little while ago and got some great suggestions. Frozen grapes are my new favourite thing! Here is the thread in case anything on it appeals to you...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3991255-Snacks

Chock full of sugar

Sugar is sugar.

At the end of the day there's no real difference between natural and refined sugars bar a few extra minerals in quantities so small as to make no difference. And all carbohydrates are sugar to your body, including starch.

Going "sugar free" is a fad if you're just substituting one for another.

Speak to a dietitian, not a nutritionist - the difference is important.

I get you about not seeing fruit as a treat - I thought it might be a treat for you given what you said about reducing amounts.

I totally get where you're coming from with TTC - I've tried loads of things too and it's a rough road - but are you really sure this is a good idea? So many fruits are recommended when you're TTC. All the advice I've had from the NHS and from fertility clinics has been clear about that.

I know that sugar can be an issue, especially with conditions like PCOS for example, but cutting fruit out of your diet almost completely sounds really worrying. And you're replacing it with high-sugar fruits (eg dates) and with things like coconut oil that are very high in saturated fats.

@RedRumTheHorse yes agree, definitely see a registered dietician that specialises in fertility. I don’t trust “nutritionists” though. There’s a big difference between dieticians and nutritionists.

Thanks everyone. They will not make the cut then!! Thanks also for information and concern re diet. I’m happy with the nutritionist as she was referred by my actual fertility clinic and has a lot of experience. Unfortunately a lot of the cutting out is due to intolerances and allergies - allergic to nuts, highly intolerant to eggs and dairy and given the dreadful ivf results I’ve had am happy to give this way of eating a try. I two portions of fruit a day (apple & 10 raspberries) with my breakfast and I have then 8 different types of veg a day in my lunch and dinner. Nutritionist said I don’t need carbs in traditional sense of a side of pasta/rice/potatoes as there will be some carbs in the veg/fruit I have or when I have a bit of hummus etc so it’s not totally carb free.

Shows you the lack of knowledge out there. I would’ve thought I was quite clued in but hadn’t thought about @MattBerrysHair point about it being metabolised the same way.

I’ll do without a bit longer 🙈😂