Beware of 'fit' dessert recipes: they are not as healthy as they seem

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Protein cake in one minute, oatmeal brownie, pumpkin waffle, choco healthy cereals, croissant and fitness donuts... And so we could continue with titles that accumulate views in the millions.

Since the yeast ran out in lockdown and turned anyone with a mobile phone into a potential masterchef, there is an explosion of delicious content in video format that is easily replicable in any home. Now, many of these recipes with the last name fit are actually fat (and apologies for the anglicisms in this pun). In other words: what may seem healthy in Spanish is sometimes not so healthy and sugar substitutes are not a panacea.

The common denominator of all these appetizing desserts is that they replace some ingredients with healthier ones. But to what extent is it a big lie that crushing five dates or eating six eggs in a cake is the right thing to do to kill the candy monkey?

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MORE SUGAR THAN YOU THINK

Scientific evidence has shown in different studies that a higher consumption of sugar worsens in the short term the main indicators of cardiovascular health (such as triglycerides and blood pressure).

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reducing daily caloric intake to 5%, which is equivalent to about 25 grams per day. Although we believe that we do not reach these indicators because we have gotten rid of the habit of pouring two tablespoons of white sugar into our coffee without first tasting it, the reality is that our menu is overflowing with sugar, especially if we do not base it on real food and opt for ultra-processed foods, soft drinks, etc.

HOOKED ON SWEETS?

By sweetening with honey and adding nuts, we sometimes lose track of the recommended amounts. Shutterstock

However, being more and more aware of this problem, we still crave sweets. And some indulgence is fine. The obsession with good habits can't lead us to feel bad about not doing everything perfectly. That's why so-called fit desserts seem like the best solution when it's time to eat a piece of cake on a birthday or to add the rich, low-calorie finale to a celebratory meal. But this can't be every day, of course.

"If we look at the rest of the animals in the world, we can come to the conclusion that human beings are the only ones who are hooked on ultra-palatable foods and extreme sweetness," criticizes Juan Bola, nutritionist and technician of Physical and Sports Activities. This specialist believes that it is a cultural mistake to associate unhealthy foods with a reward and reward for grades or "that parents laugh at the face of the child eating their ice cream," he says emphatically.

"From a very young age, often unconsciously, we are addicted to ultra-processed foods such as buns, cakes, cookies, biscuits and other bombs for the body. This is terrible, because as a species we have lost the taste and all the nuances of the flavors that nature gives us." And he explains that this supranormal stimulation of the brain by means of diets rich in sugar, such as those that are now widely available in modern societies, "generates a reward signal, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus lead to addiction," he warns.

THE QUANTITIES

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More and more people are concerned about their health and understand that industrial products are harmful and should be kept as far away from the shopping basket as possible. This awakening is driving the trend to cook at home. "The point is that these healthy desserts are consumed on a regular basis when they think that they are not harmful or that they can even bring benefits because an influencer says so," questions Bola.

"The recipes should be homemade so that everyone is aware of the ingredients in their cake. But homemade is not synonymous with 'I can eat whatever I want, because it's healthy'. The portions must be controlled," says Marta Verona, a nutritionist and cook who often shares numerous videos of this style on her social networks.

QUESTIONABLE INGREDIENTS

No one is bitter about a sweet treat, but its consumption must be punctual. Shutterstock

Many of the foods used in these fit recipes are refined flours or artificial sweeteners that are not as healthy as they seem or are, but only in the right measure and in their nutritional matrix (this is the case of dates or almonds). Below, we analyze with Juan Bola the different controversies they generate.

• Refined flours: oats, buckwheat, corn, rice and other cereals. "They are foods with a high glycemic index and low nutritional density, that is, few nutrients per energy obtained," the nutritionist clarifies. That shot of energy they provide us with makes us feel full but, after a short time, "that hyperglycemia turns into a hypoglycemia that makes us feel tired, fatigued, irritable and wanting to eat more similar foods". This type of flour is "an invention of the human being without precedent in our evolutionary history" and should not be consumed beyond "some very occasional whim," says Bola.

• Artificial sweeteners: their consumption has increased by up to 200% among children and 54% among adults. The problem, says Bola, is that they have been around for a very short time and, due to the few quality studies carried out on humans, we cannot analyse exactly the harmful effect they can have on the body. "Many studies have found a direct and significant link between increased consumption of artificial sweeteners and some diseases such as cancer, dementia or cardiovascular disease. Especially aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, steviol glycosides or acesulfame potassium." In July of this year, the WHO declared aspartame, an artificial sweetener present in many beverages, yogurts and other 0% sugar products, as a possible carcinogen. And it's also linked to long-term weight gain, Bola says. "By putting a highly sweet food in the mouth, the body prepares itself by releasing a large amount of insulin. However, caloric artificial sweeteners do not sharply increase blood glucose levels and the insulin released has to do its job. It causes severe hypoglycemia when basal blood glucose is consumed. It is also well known that artificial sweeteners have a negative impact on the composition of the gut microbiota, which can damage the protective barrier," adds the dietitian.

• Dates and crushed fruit: each 100 grams of this food has a total of 75 grams of carbohydrates, of which 66.5 are simple sugars with the same fraction as table sugar. That is, 50% fructose and 50% glucose, says the nutritionist. "It's also true that it brings fiber and other interesting nutrients," he says. But if you take 100 grams of dates and crush or mash them to sweeten a dessert, no matter how much fiber it has, you have more than 65 grams of pure, highly bioavailable sugar in front of you, Bola says. And the same goes for other fruits such as bananas, with 15 grams of sugar per 100. "It is important, in general, to eat fruit in its nutritional matrix and always accompanied by fat and natural protein to reduce the glycemic index. Even more so if they are dried."

• Artificial proteins: The artificial protein industry is doing pretty well, Bola says. "People are more afraid of eating a T-bone steak, which is an ancestral food, than of puffing up on a daily basis with an industrial product such as whey-type proteins." It is supported by studies that analyze its harmful effects, although there are numerous that also talk about its benefits. What we must keep in mind, says the nutritionist, is that many of these products are stuffed with sugar and those that are sugar-free have artificial sweeteners and other suspect additives. "I have to admit that protein powders can be a very good option for malnourished or elderly people who don't have good teeth. For the rest of us, protein has to be purchased from real food."
• Nuts: no matter how healthy almonds are, for example, in this type of recipe the amounts consumed are distorted, explains Bola. A cup of almonds can include 50, when you would normally have about three or four per serving. "Just like when you make orange juice, which its sugars are much more bioavailable, by making highly processed byproducts, such as milk or nut flour you are making much more bioavailable antinutrients, such as enzyme inhibitors that will hinder the digestion and absorption of nutrients and oxalates that chelate minerals." These antinutrients can be a problem in people with autoimmune diseases, digestive problems or imbalances in the gut microbiota, says the nutritionist.

CONCLUSIONS

A fruit is the best dessert in Juan Bola's opinion. It becomes "nature's treat," incredibly tasty and sweet, "when you run away from this food industry-driven craze." Humans are designed to take real food, but we no longer value the food that nature provides us: "We gobble like turkeys and seek the explosion of flavor to calm our stress and anxiety."

For the nutritionist, it's no problem to cook a fit dessert for your parents copied from Instagram as a special occasion. But, on a daily basis, it is preferable to opt for seasonal fruits when we feel like a sweet treat.

Once again, moderation is a human virtue. "It's true that supermarket food tastes very poor because it comes from industries that only look at overproduction. I'd say it doesn't taste like anything," he dares to cry out. His recommendation is to always look for local, seasonal, organic and sun-ripened fruit. "Not only is it so much healthier. Organoleptic characteristics have nothing to do with it," he points out.

• HBPR
• Fitness