These days, there are increasing amounts of dietary requirements for everyone. From gluten free, to sugar free, here are a few interesting facts.

Gluten Free

The most common reason for a gluten free diet in the UK is coeliac disease, which affects around 1 in 100 people. It is also estimated that 500,000 people are going undiagnosed. Coeliac disease can come with some dangerous, painful side effects so obviously this is an increasing problem.  

However, you might just have a less serious intolerance to gluten or even want to cut down on it in your diet.

A 2013 article in London Loves Business, states:

“About 1% of the UK population has some kind of wheat intolerance, although for now only a fraction of us know about it. A further 5% are estimated to have gastric-related problems linked to gluten, while many more are choosing to reduce their intake for other health and fitness reasons. That’s at least four million Brits that should be making the switch to gluten-free.”

Most of us eat too much wheat compared to the energy that we exert, so gluten free is no bad thing.

Sugar Free

The most obvious reason for going sugar free is diabetes. It is estimated that that 415 million people have diabetes globally and 90% of those are type 2, which is largely preventable. While it’s almost impossible to have a completely sugar-free diet in the long term, reducing your sugar intake helps to keep blood glucose levels under control.

Everyone should be eating less sugar though, as a general rule. People who’ve cut down on sugar have reported less headaches, less mood swings and steady weight loss. Refined sugar has a negative effect on brain power, mood and decision making. Cutting down on sugar can have many surprising benefits.

Suitable for Vegetarians

According to a study in 2012, 2% of both adults and children in the UK are vegetarians, which is around 1.2 million people. The earliest records of vegetarianism come from the 6th century B.C., in India, Greece and the Greek civilization in Southern Italy. In India this peace towards animals was called ahimsa and was a common lifestyle among religious people and philosophers.

Various studies have suggested that a vegetarian diet is better for weight loss, improved cholesterol, a longer life, and less chance of developing various diseases: an estimated 70 percent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are related to diet.

Suitable for Vegans

People go vegan for many reasons. Taking a stand against animal cruelty, health concerns, a commitment to the environment etc. Veganism is a sustainable diet with many health benefits. There are a whole host of nutritional benefits, prevention from diseases, weight loss, increased energy and a longer life. A plant-based vegan diet can reduce the risk of mortality from conditions such as:

Type 2 diabetes

Cardiovascular disease

Ischemic heart disease

Hypertension

Stroke

Obesity

Some cancers including prostate and colon cancer

Luckily, Truede Turkish Delight caters for as many people as we possibly can. All our Turkish Delight is GM Free, Gluten Free, Suitable for both Vegans and Vegetarians. We even have a sugar free Turkish Delight!

Dietary considerations make snacking harder, we all know this. However, even when you think you’ve found the perfect product, that’s both tasty and something that you can eat, there might be something in the ingredients that creates problems. Such as these:

Carmine

Can something made from crushed insects be considered suitable for vegans? Apparently so, in the case of carmine. The red food colouring is obtained from cochineal insects and about 70,000 of them are used to make one pound of dye. Carmine is considered a ‘natural’ dye and can be found in a lot of food and cosmetics products. It also goes by:

Carminic Acid

CI 75470

Cochineal Extract

Crimson Lake

E 120

Natural Red 418

Vitamin D3

Vitamin D is an important nutrient which helps keep your bones and joints strong. If you didn’t already know, there are three kinds of vitamin D. The most obvious is from the sun and about 10-30 minutes of daily exposure is about all most people need. However, there are commercial supplements – vitamin D2 and D3. The only problem is, not all vitamin D is created equal.

D2 is always vegan, and research from 2009 has shown it can be just as effective as nonvegan forms of D3. But most D3 supplements are not vegan as they come from animal sources – either sheep’s lanolin (a waxy substance that is secreted by glands found in a sheep’s skin) or fish oil in most cases. So, make sure that any product containing vitamins uses the right kind.

Natural Flavours

Apparently does not mean the same thing to everyone. The term natural flavour or natural flavouring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavouring constituents. These can literally be derived from anything, so seeing this on your packaging is just as likely to confuse as delight.

Lucky for you, we at Truede take our commitment to ‘natural’ seriously. If we say our products are natural, it’s because we truly believe that fits most people’s definition of the word. For example, our Turkish Delight flavours are made from plant extracts and we list the ingredients on our website so that you can see exactly what’s in our products. We want everyone to be delighted with Truede.

Works Cited:

Sikimic, Simona. “Why gluten-free and sugar-free are London’s fastest-growing foodie fads.” London Loves Business. N.P. 19 July 2013. Web. 7 September 2015.