MANILA, Philippines - Until recently, parents trying to control the sugar intake of their children fought a losing battle. With the wide assortment of sugar-loaded products on the market, they could only resort to deprivation with feeble results.
Well-known sugar substitutes deemed unsafe for youngsters did not provide them alternatives. Yet more and more studies were showing — and continue to show — the ill effects of the over consumption of sugar, including obesity in children.
A manufacturer of what he calls the “next generation sugar” that carries the Suchero brand, Joey Villa has made it a habit to do online research on the effects of uncontrolled sugar levels. A father himself, Joey, has avoided sugar overconsumption simply by not having the refined variety made from cane in his household. In their home south of Metro Manila, cookies, desserts, and drinks are sweetened with Suchero, a certified organic, natural sweetener made from coconut sap. As in most households where this healthy sweetener is used, Sofia, the Villas’ nine-year-old, has grown up with desserts that don’t have the cloying taste of refined sugar. Thus, she is naturally repelled by foods and drinks that liberally use cane sugar.
Villa relates that he and his partners in the Churner Group which manufactures Suchero decided to market this affordable, healthy sugar alternative after sampling this sugar five years ago.
Foods that register a low glycemic index like Suchero release glucose more gradually into the bloodstream. Prolonged use of high GI food can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, not to mention obesity.
Sweet success: Suchero is an affordable, healthy sugar alternative. It dissolves and behaves just like sugar, making living without the refined variety made from cane sugar a lot easier for families.