What is the 'Week of No Sweetness' promoted by Narda Lepes to reduce sugar consumption

07/26/2021 19:01

• Clarín.com

• Gourmet

Updated 07/26/2021 7:13 PM

Long ago

Narda Lepes

is taking advantage of

its high profile in the media to promote causes such as Labeling Act Food Front, which in 2020 was passed by the Senate last July 13 Deputies got an

opinion.  

In this context, this gastronomy reference chosen as the Best Female Chef in Latin America in 2020 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants, joined the public good campaign

"No Sweetness Week"

, from July 26 to 31,

which aims to raise awareness about the importance of moderating sugar consumption.

The initiative is also promoted by companies, dietitians, nutritionists, health professionals and the media, among other social actors.

It emerged in 2019 as a reaction to the famous

 Sweetness Week, which was born in 1989 to promote the consumption of sweets in kiosks.

What is the "hidden" sugar in food

“

Hidden sugar atrophies our palate

until we can no longer feel and enjoy the natural sweetness of a fruit.

We have to lower our consumption of sugar, which we see and which we do not see.

And especially

children should not consume

high fructose corn syrup, which is the worst type of sugar.

I'm not saying stop, it's not 'never anything', but lower the amount, everyone, ”said Lepes.

The campaign supports the black stamp system that is used in Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

Image extracted from OPS document.

Narda refers to the

hidden sugar in more than half of the products that today are in supermarket shelves

without consumers noticing.

For example, in toothpastes, sliced ​​bread, sauces, dressings and frozen pizzas, among others.

“This ingredient

is in greater proportions than we think and is often identified with names or acronyms that are difficult to recognize

(such as corn syrup or HFCS, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup, dextrose, molasses, panela, glucose syrup, concentrate of fruit, molasses, etc) ”, warns the official campaign statement.

The Week of No Sweetness is

 a movement organized in a collaborative, horizontal and federal way

that expresses the intention of a sector of the population to improve nutrition.

See this post on Instagram

A publication shared by Week of NO sweetness (@semanadelanodulzura)

"According to recent studies

in Argentina, we consume

114 grams of sugar per day per inhabitant,

triple that recommended by the World Health Organization,

which ranges between 25 and 50 grams," warn the organizers of the campaign.

They also underline that this

excess contributes to the growth of obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases

(such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and cerebrovascular diseases), which are the leading cause of death in the country.

How to fight hidden sugar in food

Narda Lepes also demands "food education" in schools.

The Unsweetened Week supports

the initiative of

the graphic warning system

(black octagons)

that seeks to make visible

in the packaging those

critical ingredients

that in excess are harmful to health and allow the consumer to make better informed purchasing decisions.

The Front Labeling Act is crucial for

the industry to stop taking advantage of loopholes

to promote unhealthy foods as healthy.     

This third edition of this campaign, which has the slogan #AzucarOcultoAlFrente, also

encourages the development of a bill on food education in schools.

Narda has also been forceful about this issue for years: "

Latin America needs food education or 'food' as a subject in primary schools,

" he said on Twitter in 2019.

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