There's no denying it. We all enjoy a bit (or sometimes a lot!) of the sweet stuff. Sugar is everywhere, and most people believe it can be challenging for us to avoid completely. While it can be a challenge, it is most definitely not impossible.
A Paleo diet, often referred to as “The Caveman Diet”, is one that includes foods that are sugar-free, such as fish, lean meats, nuts, and seeds, and then there's what is considered the healthy foods that contain natural sugars such as fruits and vegetables.
How is it possible to go sugar-free if these foods contain sugar? Well, that's just it – they contain natural sugar, which is the healthy kind. White refined sugar, especially when consumed in large amounts, spikes insulin levels, which causes a bolt in blood-sugar levels. This isn't very healthy for someone's body or general health.
Foods that contain naturally occurring sugar, however, release into the bloodstream slowly, therefore causing a slow and balanced insulin spike and therefore prolonged energy.
Many of these foods can be found on Festal Cafe’s menu, with a significant focus on paleo. With these foods being sugar-free, can they be considered healthy?
The answer is yes.
When “sugar-free” pops into people's minds, the first thing that comes to mind is “artificial sweeteners”, which have an unhealthy stigma attached to them. The thing is, the majority of “proper” sugar-free foods actually are healthy, because the OG sugar-free foods are what we call “whole foods” which we mentioned earlier: fruits and vegetables, along with grains, nuts, seeds, fish, and lean meats. These foods do not contain any refined sugar, and therefore can be considered sugar-free. Because of their slow-releasing energy, these are the types of foods that the human body personally prefers: natural, whole foods.
At Festal, the big thing to know is that our entire menu is paleo, so when you order something from our kitchen, you know that what you're getting is sugar-free, and therefore healthy. With such a huge paleo focus, we pride ourselves on the fact that our menu items are also all gluten-free. These foods mostly contain no sugars or only naturally occurring sugars. On top of this, as a large portion of our menu is keto and keto-adjustable, you know that you are avoiding sugar when going for our keto items.
Take our Pesto Turkey Burger for example, which is bunless. This contains free-range turkey, which is served with bacon, yam & sweet potato hash, tomato, mixed greens, coleslaw, and pesto. A keto or gluten free bun is available, sans sugar. Now, if you were to go for a standard turkey burger elsewhere, it would usually consist of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and a brioche bun, all layered with excessive amounts of white-refined sugar. However, ours has only naturally occurring sugars, saving you all the white stuff that your body doesn't need to struggle to digest. Sugar-free? Yes. Healthy? Yes. Tasty? Absolutely.
The bottom line: foods with white-refined sugar cause an insulin spike. Foods that do not contain it stabilize insulin levels and are therefore much more beneficial for the human body. Does that mean sugar-free foods are healthy?
It means that they are.
Visit Festal Paleo Café for the best sugar free food in Vancouver.
