Elze Schaap (35) makes responsible candy as Aunt Toos Sugarless. And she prefers to help all children in the Netherlands to a healthy lifestyle:'The younger you learn to eat healthy, the better.'
YOU MAKE RESPONSIBLE CANDY. ARE YOU RAISED SO HEALTHY?
'My mother always cooked fresh, we had very few sweets in the house and soft drinks were not available at all, so choosing good food was indeed part of my childhood. That changed when I started living on my own. Back then I preferred to eat white pistolets with filet Américain and onions, I drank cans of Red Bull and I smoked a pack a day. Later, when I started working as a fashion and beauty editor for a magazine, I started eating healthier again. The unhealthiest thing I did was occasionally eat a microwave meal when I came home from a long day at work. It was in the back of my mind that I wanted to delve further into healthy nutrition, and once I started reading more I was in shock. There is so much sugar in products that you would not expect it. From that moment on, the switch went off and I started to do things completely differently in terms of nutrition.'
DO YOU FEEL A DIFFERENCE IMMEDIATELY?
'Well, right after I changed my diet I got sick. I lost ten pounds in three months, and I wasn't that full already. After that I got a lot of stomach pain and my energy decreased very quickly. At one point I could barely lift my son, who was then two. In the hospital I found out that I have the autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis, a chronically inflamed colon. I probably only started getting complaints now because I had suddenly started to eat 'heavier':whole grain products, grains, fibres. My theory is that my intestines suddenly had to work, while they had not much to do with white flour and pasta in the years before. I think they got a little lazy. I was prescribed medication and according to my doctor I could continue to eat everything. Even if I wanted to drink Coke daily, that would be fine. I didn't think that made sense. I believe in the power of food as medicine. It can't help but that what you send through your gut has a huge influence on how they are doing. That diagnosis only stimulated me to delve even deeper into the matter and learn more about nutrition. I also went to an orthomolecular therapist.'
Read the entire interview with Elze in the January issue of Santé from page 20.
About Elze
Elze Schaap (35) studied fashion at the Artemis Academy in Amsterdam and was subsequently fashion and beauty editor for CosmoGirl! magazine for many years. There she quit her job to pursue her dreams. Now she is building her fast-growing brand Tante Toos Suikerloos, with which she shares her knowledge about healthy food for children and makes lactose, gluten and sugar-free sweets herself. Elze lives in Rotterdam with her five-year-old son.
Text:Rianne Seepers | Photography:Bart Honingh | Styling:Linda Huiberts
