Yeah yeah, cake's delicious. I'm in total agreement. But here are a few facts about why refined sugar and white flour (both of which are abundant in cake and sugary treats) cause health complications over time:
- there's no nutritional value in either refined sugar or white flour
- they both add empty calories to the diet where more healthful foods could be such as protein, mineral-rich and vitamin-rich foods
- the milling of white flour removes iron, B vitamins and minerals
- it has been said that bleach is used to whiten white flour (yikes!)
- refining flour (thereby removing fibre, wheat germ and bran) causes the body to treat it like sugar, converting it to glucose and storing it as fat
- refined carbohydrates cause congestion and reduced immune function
- eating fatty foods at the same time as sugar and/or refined flour (as in cake) causes the body to store more fat than usual
- eating too much sugar and refined flour causes blood sugar imbalances and frequent 'crash' experiences
Now, I'm going to take this opportunity to repeat something that surely you've heard me say before: MODERATION IS KEY. The purpose of this post is not to say that you can't even eat cake! For God's sake, cake is awesome! Rather, the point is that cake on a daily basis or even every other day causes ill health over time. So, if you're going to eat cake, eat it once a week and enjoy it thoroughly!
Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic
