THE SWEET STUFF⠀⠀⠀⠀
I’m often asked why I’m so passionate about not using refined sugars or sweeteners in VALA. In 2012 I was ill for a few months and after several rounds of antibiotics I began searching for more holistic ways to heal my body. My mum showed me a newspaper article about a tennis player who followed a sugar free, vegan diet and noticed the health benefits. Back then I had a big sweet tooth and was a borderline sugar addict but I began researching and slowly started to modify my diet.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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After going cold turkey and experiencing a week long 'sugar hangover', I noticed a decrease in headaches and felt the afternoon slump disappear. After reading 'Sugar Blues' by William Dufty this all made sense, as he says that “Refined sugar is lethal when ingested by humans because it provides only that which nutritionists describe as ‘empty’ calories. It lacks the natural minerals which are present in sugar beet or cane. In addition, sugar is worse than nothing because it drains and leeches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the demand its digestion, detoxification, and elimination makes upon one's entire system".⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Whilst converting to sugar-free life, I found new creative ways to get a sweet hit whilst avoiding refined sugar, which included maple syrup, dates and ripe bananas. Little did I know back then that this small lifestyle change of removing refined sugar and sweeteners would have such huge consequences further down the line and would become the driving force for a future energy gel company.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Fast forward to 2017 and I was searching for sugar and additive free gels for my partner to run with. The ones that I found either tasted too 'earthy' or weren't vegan friendly... that's when I had the VALA lightbulb moment for a 100% natural gel. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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VALA's sweetness comes from date paste and maple syrup, so you can munch away knowing that they're naturally good!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
After going cold turkey and experiencing a week long 'sugar hangover', I noticed a decrease in headaches and felt the afternoon slump disappear. After reading 'Sugar Blues' by William Dufty this all made sense, as he says that “Refined sugar is lethal when ingested by humans because it provides only that which nutritionists describe as ‘empty’ calories. It lacks the natural minerals which are present in sugar beet or cane. In addition, sugar is worse than nothing because it drains and leeches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the demand its digestion, detoxification, and elimination makes upon one's entire system".⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Whilst converting to sugar-free life, I found new creative ways to get a sweet hit whilst avoiding refined sugar, which included maple syrup, dates and ripe bananas. Little did I know back then that this small lifestyle change of removing refined sugar and sweeteners would have such huge consequences further down the line and would become the driving force for a future energy gel company.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Fast forward to 2017 and I was searching for sugar and additive free gels for my partner to run with. The ones that I found either tasted too 'earthy' or weren't vegan friendly... that's when I had the VALA lightbulb moment for a 100% natural gel. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
VALA's sweetness comes from date paste and maple syrup, so you can munch away knowing that they're naturally good!