I have a terrible sweet tooth. The way I avoid consuming my weight in cake is that I simply don’t buy it. I get my love of sugar from my father, a dentist (!) who can’t resist the biscuit tin. Thanks Dad.

It’s not good for you. At all. Never mind what it does to your teeth (I have an obsessive and compulsive flossing addiction, if I don’t do it at least twice daily I start getting the shakes…) but what it does for your health. Which is precisley nothing folks.

And now they have scientifically proved that the excess consumption of sugar ages you, almost as much as sun exposure and smoking. Something to do with breaking down the collagen in your skin and making it sag. Great. Now every time I crave a fondant fancy I have to consider the adverse effect this small indulgence may have on my jowls.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how much is too much, I do know there are lots of “hidden” sugars in food stuffs you might not expect and I also know that cutting out the things I really love to eat completely would make me very sad indeed.

Apparently it’s about reducing your intake of refined sugars and replacing them with more natural sugars such as fruit and so on that’s the key. There are also various alternative ingredients you can add to your recipe repertoire to sweeten things up without relying on those teeny tiny innocent looking white granules which are (if rumour is to be believed) the root of all evil.

As I mentioned in my Body Matters post, I have a new found respect for my body post pregnancy and I don’t want to fill it with junk. This doesn’t mean I’m about to remove desserts from my life altogether or anything, it’s just a case of weening myself off the Kit Kats and using organic honey, apple sauce or algave syrup to create delicious yet ultimately better-for-you treats. It’s about eating clean and not being um….mean.

I’m doing ok with it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how there are quite a few simple things you can introduce to your diet that make a big difference. I am actually going to be talking more about my intended “lifestyle” change on Monday but for now I was just wondering if anyone else is using sugar substitutes? Are there any you would recommend?

Do you like me become consumed with thoughts of the chocolate Hobnobs should they somehow find there way into your kitchen cupboard? (It was my husbands fault, he went and ruddy bought a packet with the Sunday papers from the One Stop…) Do you have the willpower to ignore them and have an apple instead? ( I did, but only just.)