Delicious Sugar Free Ayurvedic Mango Energizing Bites
Written by Lauren Arent (Lo Clark)
Owner of Bewitched Esthetics & Licensed Esthetician since 2013
January 13th, 2023
Hello my darlings,
I am so excited to share this recipe. Mainly because I have gone sugar free for January and it’s not been as easy as I thought. Not that I am the biggest sweets girl, I leave that aspect to my husband. I honestly got into the habit of having something sweet after dinner and now my body just doesn’t feel like meal time is over until I’ve had a treat.
This isn’t a bad thing *NECESSARILY*, calm down I can literally hear the eye rolls right now. Refined sugar is bad 100%. Of all the things I’ve learned about health and nutrition I can honestly say from the sound of things, refined sugars are easily the worst thing you can consume. However, having a sweet treat doesn’t have to come from these sources!
Which leads right to this delicious recipe, a treat that is sweet but contains nothing but delicious foods from mother nature herself. And I really love that this recipe is Ayurvedic. It’s not an avenue I know much about quite yet, but I am very excited to learn more!
Ayurvedic
Ayurvedic refers to the traditional Hindi practice of medicine of Ayurveda. Although it’s referred to as “pseudoscience” a whopping 80% of the population of India and Nepal report practicing Ayurveda according to Wikipedia. Many people I respect refer to this branch of natural healing and it has long been something I welcome into my practice so I can learn more about the different ways of health and healing.
Before I talk about the effects of sugar on your skin and why I would encourage you to skip the refined kind, here’s a few delicious tid bits about Ayurveda.
#1. Ayurvedic therapies range from herbalism, yoga, medicinal oils, meditation, massage, laxatives & enemas.
#2. In this practice your health relies on the balance of your three elemental doshas – vāta, pitta and kapha. Imbalances result in disease.
#3. Ayurvedic medicine boils down to eight different components and while I would love to share, I feel as though I must do a full article on these to do them justice. If you would like to read more, head right over to wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda) for a little light reading.
To Be Sugar Free in a World Obsessed with Sugar
I’m not even going to bother calling out the world on eating sugar because I myself am so guilty of accidentally consuming it. You can say you never really eat sugar because you don’t eat cookies or ice cream or candy. What about sodas? Or even Kombucha?! Don’t get me started on sauces because Ketchup is a big culprit. You can hardly buy a sugar free stir fry sauce. Even supplements!! Sugar can be found in gummies and worse, kids vitamins. Please don’t be fooled by the sugar free BS on the label, because if it has aspartame in it, just buy the one with sugar. You are better off. Read your labels!
Today I am not going to unload all of the evils of sugar. I want to focus on what I really know, and that is your skin. How can going sugar free benefit the health of your skin?
Three Things You Shall Inherit
When you over consume sugar, which in this world is far too easy, there are three things that will cause damage to your skin. The first is the most basic. Sugar causes inflammation. Inflammation is always the culprit and nearly everything causes inflammation. (Not to alarm you but even eating does which is why I highly recommend intermittent fasting if you haven’t tried yet.)
Inflammation
Inflammation specifically affects our skin in the form of inflammatory conditions like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, etc. However it can also be a general problem as inflammation speeds up the aging process which as you know means more fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin.
Glycation
The second part is also related to aging but in the form of glycation. This word refers to excess sugar or glucose in the skin fibers. These sugar molecules bind to proteins and lipids, forming what are called AGE’s or advanced glycation end products. To summarize: sugar inhibits the production and function of collagen and elastin resulting in collapsed skin support systems. This means wrinkles and crepey skin (a matrix of wrinkles).
Compromised Barrier
As I repeatedly refer to the microbiome, I would hope I don’t have to reiterate the importance of your lipid barrier. Excess sugars can damage the function of this barrier – resulting in the inability to hold moisture within the skin and most likely ACNE when the skin tries to hydrate itself by overproducing sebum to compensate.
All of these manifestations caused by sugar are really quite cyclical in nature, meaning if you have one you are sure to trigger another and it’s really quite terrible.
From Sugar Addict to Sugar Free
For those of us who are addicted to sweets, meaning myself and especially my husband, there are delicious alternatives to sugar found in nature! These alternatives aid the body and heal the skin instead of destroying and causing dis-ease. Now is a great time to go sugar free!
The most common form you will see is honey. I LOVE honey. It’s one of nature’s many antibiotics, as well as being anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.
Studies have shown honey to be an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety aid, it can prevent memory disorders and has been used in wound care for centuries. Liquid gold…
Agave, stevia, fruit, particularly dates, are other natural sweeteners. In this particular recipe, we are going to use dates as our main source of sweetness but the coconut and mango will also lend to the mix.
Food Magick in This Recipe
Dates: contain lots of antioxidants, which aid in fighting free radicals and slowing the aging process. They are a great source of vitamin C & D to improve skin elasticity and brightness for an overall smoother and more radiant complexion.
Mango: contains many vitamins and nutrients key to skin health but the main element here we love in skin care is Alpha Hydroxy Acids, also known as AHAs. These are wonderful for resurfacing the skin, removing old, dead & dry skin cells to alleviate dark spots and a dull complexion.
Coconut & Coconut Oil: reduces inflammation and has antimicrobial properties excellent for treating acne, as well as lots of healthy fats to keep the skin hydrated & nourished.
Cashews: rich in magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron & phosphorus, excellent for ideal collagen and elastin production therefore slowing the development of fine lines & wrinkles
And so much more…if I haven’t convinced you by now to go sugar free and swap for these natural alternatives, just one bite of these mango energizing treats will. THEY ARE ALEXX APPROVED! For those of you who don’t know my husband, let me just tell you, he is a sugar addict and is hard to please, although he will try my healthy recipes and give his honest opinion. In this case he said, and I quote, “Hide these from me or I will eat them all.”
Mango Energizing Bites Recipe
Wishing you a life full of beauty and blessings!
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