TV chefs warn sugar is addictive as nicotine

Salt and sugar are responsible for overweight

06/19/2013

Obesity is an enormous health problem in Germany, affecting more than 50 percent of the population. The main culprit is attributed to salt and sugar, not least in so-called fast food. The two prominent TV chefs Rach and Schuhbeck see both ingredients as similar to drugs and explain how easy it is to replace them.

Salt and sugar act like drugs
Cooking shows on German television and also on the internet are enjoying ever-increasing popularity. Two of the most well-known TV chefs now warn against widespread food habits in this country. According to the chefs Christian Rach and Alfons Schuhbeck, salt and sugar act like drugs and mass animal husbandry poison people. High blood pressure and a dulling of the taste buds are consequences of the nutritional errors of the Germans. The prominent chef will be the subject of his new TV program „Rach reveals“ typical nutritional mistakes of the Germans and says fast food and cheap products to the fight. Rach and Schuhbeck also try in the column of „image“-newspaper „The truth about our food“ to fight against the nutritional sins of the Germans.

The worst mistake is factory farming
According to Rach, factory farming in Germany is the worst mistake in the food industry. Unlike, for example, in southern European countries, Germans are rather stingy in their spending on food. The result of this austerity are cheap products from the supermarket, which are often of inferior quality. He also thinks that doner kebab and burger were so popular only because of this saving effect. In Germany, quick and inexpensive food would generally be preferred. The chefs point out, however, that there are also many healthy dishes that can be prepared in a short time and are suitable for a small budget. And although it is known that many health risks such as allergies result from fast food, few Germans want to do without it. One of the reasons for this is that the sugar contained therein is as addictive as nicotine.

Soy sauce and liquorice juice as substitutes
The German population must be weaned from sugar and salt, says Schuhbeck. Salt intake and high blood pressure are directly related, and the World Health Organization (WHO) also hopes that the reduction in salt intake will significantly reduce the number of chronic diseases. Salt and sugar are also responsible for the dullness of taste buds. Both foods would be so easy to replace with healthier ones, such as soy sauce and liquorice juice. Another alternative is the sugar-sweet plant Stevia. The natural sweetener Stevia, which has only been approved in the EU since 2011, could be used more frequently as a sugar substitute in the future. Extracts of the stevia plant taste up to 400 times sweeter than conventional sugar without being burdened with comparable health risks. Basically, the consumption of salt, sugar or fast food must not be directly harmful. But the TV chef Rach warns that everyone plays with his health when he eats a doner kebab every day.

Create awareness of food
The two chefs want to use their appeals to raise awareness of how to eat and how to handle it. They want to educate about the production and risks not only to the consumers, but also to the producers. In Germany, more than 3,000 chemical additives are authorized in foods, and many of them are unknown as to how they work in the human body. According to Schuhbeck, a good way to eat a healthy diet is to cook and cook with good spices. These would prevent diseases, as well as strengthen the metabolism and the immune system. And they are also the best radical scavengers, unless you heat them too much, the chefs concluded. (Ad)

Image: Thomas Siepmann