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Below you'll find a brief summary of our conversation with Kevin Bael. You can listen to the full episode via Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
About Kevin Bael
Kevin Bael is the founder of Nutr!Break, a Belgian brand focused on tasty, natural and more nutritious snacks based on the innovative sugar isomaltulose.
Kevin has been active in the food industry for more than 16 years, and Nutr!Break grew out of the awareness Kevin built up around more nutritious and more sustainable food. His mission is to bring a completely different kind of healthier food to the market, a healthier fuel, for a healthier body.
Isomaltulose vs classic sugars and natural sugars
Isomaltulose is a natural sugar and therefore provides energy. The big difference with classic and other natural sugars is that isomaltulose is absorbed by our body 4 to 5 times more slowly. This has a significant, positive impact on our blood sugar levels.
When we consume fast sugars, such as cane sugar or honey, the glucose level in our blood rises very sharply. Our body can't not be converted into energy right away, and that surplus glucose will then be converted into fat. What's more, after that quick spike, our blood sugar level drops sharply, sometimes even below normal levels, causing an energy dip along with loss of concentration and hunger pangs.
With isomaltulose, you can avoid that spike in blood sugar levels and the energy dip that comes with it. Because it's a slow-release sugar, energy is delivered more gradually and over a longer period, and you feel fuller for much longer. This ultimately even results in a lower carbohydrate intake.
So flatten the curve which we hear so much about these days, is also important for our blood sugar levels because it indirectly has a very positive impact on our health.
Reading nutrition labels: carbohydrates and sugars
The amount of carbohydrates and sugars listed on a food label doesn't actually say much on its own. The quality of the sugars and carbohydrates, as well as energy needs, also matter.
The quality of the sugars is linked to the impact on our blood sugar levels. On one hand, there are the low-glycaemic, slow-release sugars such as isomaltulose, which do have a positive impact on our blood sugar levels and which we can consider a nourishing source of energy, regardless of the food product they're found in.
In addition, we have the high-glycaemic carbohydrates/sugars. Yet these can also have a low-glycaemic impact have on our blood sugar levels and also be a nourishing source of energy. One example: oats contain high-glycaemic carbohydrates, but oats also contain a large portion of insoluble dietary fibre, which means the carbohydrates in oats are ultimately absorbed much more slowly in our intestines, causing a much smaller rise in our blood sugar levels.
So besides the amount present, it's important to also look at also at the quality of the sugars to look at, and also taking energy needs into account.
Nutrient quality
Fibre and high-quality nutrients — that's exactly what JustBite focuses on too, by carefully examining the snacks on offer. Among other things, by looking at the 3 key groups of macronutrients and how they relate to one another: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.Â
Proteins are truly the building blocks of our body. In case of an energy shortage, our body will also draw energy from proteins, although that's a very inefficient process and really leads to muscle breakdown. That's why we also need carbohydrates and fats as energy sources.
Fat there's actually enough present in our body, on average more than 10 kg in an adult man/woman, which corresponds to more than 90,000 kcal. If you compare that to a daily calorie need of 2,000 to 3,000 (depending on the person, activity, genes, etc.), there's certainly a sufficient reserve available.
Alongside fats, you then have carbohydrates. These are present in our body (in muscles and in the liver) in the form of a specific type of carbohydrate, glycogen. But on average only 500-700 grams of this is present, much less than fat, and nowhere near enough to sufficiently meet our energy needs, especially during more intense physical activity.
Glycogen also converts to energy much faster than fat, so during higher-intensity physical activity, our body can't draw energy from fat alone fast enough, and we really need that glycogen reserve. Since less of it is available, it's important to plan for extra sugar intake during physical activity.
Is a low-carb diet a good idea?
Diets like the ketogenic diet, where sugar and carbohydrate intake is extremely limited, aren't necessary for living a healthier life. It's entirely possible to follow a more nutritious, balanced diet without going to such extremes. There's still a strong focus on avoiding added sugars and choosing light products. Sugars get written off entirely, without considering that not all sugars are the same, and that other factors, such as fibre content, also matter for the feeling of fullness and the impact on our body.Â
What's more, the glucose we produce from carbohydrates is the primary energy source for our brain, which is exactly why a sugar dip has such a negative impact on our concentration.
Snacking smart and mindfully, but above all, snacking deliciously
More nutritious snacks should suit each individual and their daily activity.Â
But above all, more nutritious snacks need to be tasty snack that carries us through to the next meal without hunger creeping in.
A tasty snack with a nutritious dose of fibre and protein, keeping us feeling full for longer, without unnecessary flavourings and/or colourings.
A great example is snacks based on flaxseed and sesame combined with isomaltulose. Nuts and seeds have a proven positive impact on our health, as they're rich in protein and fibre and contain essential minerals like magnesium.
Conclusion
Be critical when it comes to nutrition, and invest some of your time in seeking out information about it. We eat and drink every day, and nutrition has a huge impact on our health, our mood, and, for athletes, our performance... We can't survive without food, so it's worth investing some precious time in understanding nutrition
JustBite also wants to help people navigate the complex topic of nutrition by making information highly accessible, driving behavioural change, ...
That's why you'll also find Nutr!Break's snacks in JustBite's snack boxes.