Ironically, some of these sugar free diets actually use substitutes such as honey, maple syrup, and the like. Yet, they are all sugar. Then there are the diets which use sweeteners, and again too little is known about the total effect on the body. It somehow seems unnatural to eat something with zero calories, and no nutrient value, and makes me wonder what on earth is our purpose for eating? I shall look at this now from a Biblical point of view.
So, suddenly sugar/honey whatever form of it is evil, and to be avoided at all costs, yet inM the Bible honey is mentioned positively. I found hundreds of Bible verses, and the interesting fact I gleaned from reading them, is they also mentioned cheese from cows, and milk, and wheat in a positive light. Another group of foods so recently demonised. Yes, there are some genuinely allergic who should avoid, but cutting out these things from the diet seems rash. Interestingly dairy fats have recently been shown to protect the body, and the heart, but in MODERATE amounts, which leads me on to the next thing.
MODERATION!!
Some say it is the food companies making us fat. No, it isn't! Yes, they are very clever at adding sugar to just about every food available, including savoury meals. (A major reason for cooking our own from scratch!) It is our lack of control leading us to be fat. I put on weight because I simply ate too much, and probably too much of the wrong things. No one seems to preach about gluttony any more from the pulpit, it is a no go zone, yet it exists, everywhere. Basically eating way more than we need to eat on a daily basis. The Bible commands us to be moderate, and self controlled, also remembering that our body is a temple of the holy spirit. (1cor 6:19 )
Back on to the positive verses in the Bible, here are just a fraction;
''And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.'' EX 3:8
''And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.''EX16:31
''And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.''DEUT 11:9
''My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:''PROV 23:13
Last, but not least, this is really interesting;
''Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.'' prov 25:16
So, enjoy, but don't over eat of it! Matthew Henry says this; ''It is not forbidden fruit to thee, as it was to Jonathan;eat as much is sufficient and no more. We must use all pleasures as we do honey, with a chack upon our appetite. The pleasures of sense lost their sweetness by the excessive use of them and become nauseous, as honey which turns sour in the stomach.''
So, I guess that pretty much sums it up. All foods in moderation can be good. We should be trying to avoid the processed foods that are packed with flavour enhancers, sugars, and chemicals. Yet, surprise, surprise, there are so many processed 'no sugar' products on the market! All of them touted healthy. Same with low fat, or no fat. I was horrified recently, when accidentally purchasing fat free yoghurts, only to find 9 teaspoons of sugar in it!! Healthy? It seems the low fat add more sugar, and the no sugar just sub chemicals would could be potentially dangerous. If honey was good enough to be mentioned a s a blessing so many hundreds of times in the Bible it is good enough for me!
