It was 2016 when Antonio Rodriguez Estrada took his first steps in the world of disclosure. To do this, he created sinAzucar.org: an art project whose goal was to show the world hidden sugar content They have groceries from the supermarket. In addition to the foods we all look forward to, such as baked goods, breakfast cereals or ice cream, we also find the occasional edible surprise. For example, processed foods such as sushi, sausages, fried tomatoes, beer, or crab salad. Yes, to our surprise, they also contain added sugar.
Camera in hand, Antonio Rodriguez began to analyze the nutritional composition of these foods. I really didn’t find anything new that the manufacturer didn’t list on the product label, as the total sugar content is required by law. However, his entertainment is sugar-coated in chunks. caused a stir on social media. Users raised their hands to their heads when they found out in a very shocking way about the huge amount of sugar that we put between our chest and back without even realizing it.
In fact, these doses of sweetened reality have always elicited a rather curious reaction from the crowd. Some users have become annoyed and even offended when viewing images on sinAzucar.org. The website sinAzucar.org, labeled by anti-sugar Taliban, received huge waves hate on twitter throughout his career. Indeed, it is easy to show what is already written on the label: only to inform. However, Antonio Rodriguez never seemed to notice this slight inconvenience. Truth be told, he’s having a great time responding to those users who cross the line.
Life is sweeter without sugar
After more than 6 years of relentless educational work on social networks, sinAzucar.org surprises us with its new book “Life is sweeter without sugar” from the editors of “Platform”. In a familiar, everyday tone, sometimes spiced with an anecdote from his personal life, Antonio Rodriguez Estrada accompanies us on a journey to reduce sugar we consume daily thanks to the latest scientific data. The author himself tells us that the birth of this work is due to the need to answer the doubts that sugar causes in the population.
“The images on sinAzucar.org are very convincing and serve to convey information about the sugar content. However, it is a bit difficult to figure out why sugar is unhealthy and what its connection with the development of certain diseases. Also what are the different types of sugars such as free sugar. In this way, the book provides information of interest to the user and resolves the frequent doubts that subscribers convey to me through social networks.
Antonio Rodriguez reminds us that according to the WHO, free sugars are extracted from the food matrix that originally contained them, becoming health problems when they are released. Some foods that contain free sugar are honey and juices or fruit juices. This is very well illustrated by the monster and cage metaphor created by sinAzucar.org itself:
What is free sugar? Explain to me as if I were 3 years old.
The monster in the cage is not dangerous. When you let him go, he can hurt you. You should avoid free monsters and don’t worry about the caged ones.
– I understand. Sugar is a monster. What is a cell?
– What surrounds sugar, for example, fruit fiber. This makes him digest more slowly and does not harm you.
“That’s why it’s better to take a whole fruit than juice, right?”
– Of course. By squeezing the fruit, you break the bars and release the monster from the cage.
Are Real Food products healthier?
SinAzucar.org has been very critical of the movement lately real food promoted by renowned nutritionist Carlos Rios. The reason was the launch of certain processes with the brand on the market real food which seem to be hiding some other trap in their markings.
Lately you’ve been giving pretty cane real food showing that many of their products hide hidden sugar. What is your opinion about these products? Do you consider them a healthier alternative?
If Carlos Rios himself from 2018 were transported to 2022 and saw his products, he would boycott himself. These are over-processed products that, by all the criteria he makes public on his social media, would not pass through any of his filters. He himself stated in the press that healthy eating does not exist and that the food industry will try to convince you otherwise with their products. In this case, Carlos Ríos has released ice creams, cookies and muffins that are clearly ultra-processed according to all NOVA classification criteria.
Similarly, Antonio Rodriguez emphasizes that date paste contains free sugars. It is about fruit purees that there is some controversy about this. The WHO does not list them as sources of free sugars. Conversely, other organizations such as Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition made from the UK. So adding date purée doesn’t seem like such a good idea as we might think. Of course, does not turn dessert into the cradle of healthy: “The same thing happens with date paste as with orange juice. Dates are healthy on their own, but the moment you mash them, you break down the structure of the food and turn it into free sugar.”
What about vegetable drinks real foodHow about an oatmeal drink? What problem do these products present with respect to sugar?
oatmeal drink real food contains free sugar because it uses a common industry trick. It consists in the hydrolysis of oat starch in order to convert it into smaller molecules of simple sugars. In doing so, you get a sweet taste, but you put sugar where there was none. Carlos Rios had the opportunity to release an oat drink without hydrolysis, as other brands do, but he did not. I don’t know if he was looking for health or sales. I understand you were looking for sales.
So, is it possible to consume these products often or, rather, in exceptional cases?
It is preferable to consume them exclusively, like other ultra-processed foods. I myself, for example, eat ice cream on weekends in the summer. And I prefer regular ice cream to ice cream sweetened with date paste because it’s bland. Ice cream a week won’t hurt. The same is true if you take cookies “from time to time”. There will be no problems, you can take the ones that you like the most. Product problem real food is to consider them healthier than they are. Their label may show that they are healthier products than competitors’ products and this makes you want to consume them more often. There will be people who will go from breakfast with extra virgin olive oil toast to breakfast with Carlos Ríos cupcakes.
Lawyers and complaints: daily life sinAzucar.org
As you can see, sinAzucar.org’s path was not strewn with roses. At its beginning received a bureaufax from Zumosol with a request to delete one of their photos. The company was offended by an image showing the free sugar found in their product. Let us recall the information that product labeling is already included in the standard package once again.
“They installed a good one. I got calls from different departments of the company, and everyone had to explain that everything was in order with my photo. I had to explain to lawyers what free sugar is. A real odyssey. However, I think I convinced many who even gave up sugar, ”says Antonio. “In the end it never worked out, because deep down I was right. The photo is still published, and at the moment I have not gone to jail and have not been fined.
Innocent out of control
These fights with industry have not been sporadic. SinAzucar.org has faced a legislative abyss more than once. Antonio Rodriguez tells us in confidence another unpublished case, which until now he has not dared to tell. Indeed, we used to exclusive in the pure style of Josep Pedreroll:
“You can’t talk about this, because I promised in writing not to do this. But I’ll skip it, mind you. 3 years ago, I posted an innocent joke on social media with a sinAzucar.org nougat tablet,” says Antonio. “I said I was going to launch my own brand of products, starting with dates and avocado nougat. I think Carlos Rios was inspired to create his own products here,” Antonio jokingly comments.
“The following year I received a bureaufax from a company imitating this joke, and they took it very badly. They said that I was plagiarizing their product. They thought this product had really hit the market. These lawyers were from the UK and didn’t quite understand what an April Fool’s joke was. So they demanded that I tell them the exact number of tablets I made and sold in order to pay a fee for the misuse of their image. It was very difficult for me to explain to them that it was all a joke,” continues Antonio. “They were tougher than juice barristers. The only way I found for them not to complain about me was to sign an agreement in which I promised to remove the photo and not talk about it again. As you can see this statement, I can get into trouble. Let’s cross our fingers.”
Where to buy sugar cubes sinAzucar.org
To conclude this pleasant conversation with Antonio Rodriguez, I wanted to ask him about some of his deepest secrets. Much more than the sugar found in the ultra-processed foods he portrays for posterity. His sweetest intimacy.
Where do you buy sugar cubes? No company offered you sponsorship? That would be epic, don’t you think?
I have only bought one box of sugar cubes since sinAzucar.org has existed. I reuse them. Life is very precious, I can’t throw clods every time I take a picture. It’s funny because the clods stuck together. So I have batches of one wad, two wads and three wads glued together. That way, when I have to put in seven wads, I don’t have to put them in from scratch. I used to do this on every photo, but it hurt because they fell every two by three. Everything was covered in sugar. As for sponsorship, no, I was not offered it. I only sponsored sinAzucar.org once and I regret it. I tell everything in the book.
When the calculation for sugar cubes comes out to about 10.75, how the hell do you cut them? What legendary weapon do you use to keep it from breaking? I don’t sleep at night, I need to know.
– Damn, well cutter. Not many mysteries either. BUT cutter and a lot of patience. Then it is important to use a file so that the result is flawless. I flatten the sugar cube to make the smallest pieces. Although I confess, when I see that it is very difficult for me, I edit photos digitally. That is, if sometimes the clumps are very high, I digitally edit them using Photoshop. One of the photos that cost me the most was a photo of Nocilla in which you literally have to cut open a can. In this case, it is not digital, but the layers of milk, cocoa, hazelnuts, sugar and butter have to be done by hand. How to make sure that it does not fall? Well, with a lot of patience and a change in the orientation of the boat. These are photos that can take 8 hours to complete.
Source: Hiper Textual
