We often hear that sugar is good for brain function, that it's hard to live without sugar, and so on. I most often encounter such statements from the older generation of grandmothers, who are eager to feed my child or their grandchildren candy, sincerely believing that it will do them good.
Blood glucose (or sugar) is the fuel on which the body runs. In a broad sense, sugar is, of course, life.
But sugar is not the same as sugar. For example, there is sugar that is naturally found in the plants we eat. And there is sugar, which is added to almost all processed foods. The body does not need the carbohydrates from added sugar. Glucose is made from any carbohydrate that comes into our mouths, not just candy. And added sugar is of no nutritional value or benefit to humans.
For example, the World Health Organization recommends not consuming added sugar (or free sugar, as they call it) at all. The WHO defines free sugar as 1) monosaccharides and disaccharides ADDED to foods or beverages by the producer of those foods, the cook, or the consumer of the food themselves, 2) sugars that occur naturally in honey, syrups, fruit juice or fruit concentrate. These recommendations do not apply to sugars found in fresh fruits and vegetables and milk.
However, modern man consumes too much added sugar-sometimes unknowingly. Sometimes we put it in our food ourselves, but most of the added sugar comes from processed and prepared store-bought foods. Sugary drinks and breakfast cereals are our most dangerous enemies.
The American Heart Association recommends drastically reducing added sugar intake to slow the epidemic of obesity and heart disease.
One teaspoon holds 4 grams of sugar. The Association recommends that most women eat no more than 100 kilocalories per day (about 6 teaspoons, or 24 grams of sugar) of added sugar, and most men eat no more than 150 kilocalories per day (about 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams of sugar).
The proliferation of alternative sweeteners is misleading, preventing us from realizing that under their name is still the same sugar. In a perfect world, the label should tell us how many grams of sugar each product contains.
Sweet drinks
Refreshing drinks are a major source of extra calories that can contribute to weight gain and have no nutritional value. Studies show that "liquid" carbohydrates found in, for example, store-bought juices, sodas, and sweetened milk do not satiate us as much as solid foods. As a result, we still feel hungry despite the high caloric content of such drinks. They are responsible for the development of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.
The average can of sweet soda contains about 150 kilocalories, and the source of almost all of these calories is sugar - usually high-fructose corn syrup. This is equivalent to 10 teaspoons of table sugar.
If you drink at least one can of this drink every day and don't cut back on calories from other sources, you gain about 4-7 pounds a year.
Cereals and other foods
By choosing whole, unprocessed foods for breakfast (like an apple, a bowl of oatmeal, or other dishes with a very short ingredient list), you are protecting yourself from added sugar. Unfortunately, many traditional morning foods, such as ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, cereal bars, flavored and flavorful oatmeal, and prepared baked goods, can contain large amounts of added sugar.
How to Recognize Added Sugar on a Label
To figure out added sugar on an ingredient list, sometimes you have to do an entire investigation. It hides under numerous names (the number of them exceeds 70). But despite all these names, your body absorbs added sugar in the same way: it sees no difference between brown sugar, honey, dextrose, or rice syrup. Food manufacturers may use sweeteners that are not terminologically related to sugar at all (the term "sugar" actually only applies to table sugar or sucrose), but these are all forms of added sugar.
Below are some of the names by which added sugar hides on labels:
- agave nectar,
- condensed cane juice,
- malt syrup,
- brown sugar,
- fructose,
- maple syrup,
- cane crystals,
- fruit juice concentrates,
- molasses,
- cane sugar,
- glucose,
- unrefined sugar,
- corn sweetener,
- high fructose corn syrup,
- sucrose,
- corn syrup,
- honey,
- syrup,
- crystalline fructose,
- invert sugar,
- dextrose,
- maltose.
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