“Sugar is essential for the brain”, “Sugar is sweet death”. The Internet is full of contradictory statements that are difficult to understand. In this article, we will tell you the truth about sugar, based on scientific data. Why are sweets dangerous to health? What products contain “hidden” sugar and what can you replace it with? Read the answers to these questions!
1. What is sugar?
Sugars, or saccharides, are a short general name for all simple carbohydrates. They are present in food products or are formed in the body after processing complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides, starch).
Simple carbohydrates include:
- Sucrose is the complete sugar that is produced from sugar cane and sugar beets.
- Glucose is grape sugar, dextrose. It is found in fruits and vegetables (pumpkin, carrots), berries, honey and plant inflorescences. In industry, it is obtained from starch.
- Fructose is fruit sugar. It is found in fruits and honey. It is sweeter than sucrose and glucose. It is a component of almost all confectionery products, processed foods, and semi-finished products.
- Galactose is part of milk sugar (lactose). It is found in milk. Less sweet than regular sugar.
- Maltose is malt sugar. It is obtained from sprouted grains (malt) of barley, rye, and other grains. It is present in tomatoes, pollen, and nectar of a number of plants.
In other words, sugar is not only granulated or refined sugar, but also a number of other substances contained in honey, fruits, vegetables, cereals and even milk.
Natural and added sugars
All sugars that enter the body with food can be divided into two large groups – natural (contained in unprocessed foods) and added during processing (industrial or home).
The World Health Organization uses the term “free sugars” to mean, in addition to added sugars, sugars naturally found in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
2. Which sugar is harmful to health?
All sugars, regardless of their source, affect the body in the same way. In moderate doses, sugar is useful and even necessary. It is the excess of sugar that is harmful: it causes obesity, tooth decay, type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
The sugar level necessary for normal functioning of the body should be obtained from natural sources of sugar: vegetables, fruits, cereals, milk, nuts. After all, in addition to sugars, they contain vegetable proteins, fiber, vitamins and microelements, the lack of which causes chronic diseases.
Natural sources tend to contain less sugar. For example, a cup of fresh strawberries will contain 7 grams of sugar, while a bag of strawberry-flavored fruit snacks will contain a whopping 11 grams.
But free sugars are unnecessary. They contain nothing but empty calories. That is why WHO calls for limiting their consumption.
3. What are the limits of sugar in the diet?
The World Health Organization recommends limiting the share of free sugars to 10% of the total caloric content of the diet (the “soft” norm). With an average diet of 2000 kcal, this is 50 g of sugar, or 2 glasses of juice, or 4 small jars of sweet yogurt. This norm can safely be reduced by half.
4. Why are natural sugars sometimes restricted?
Some fruits (grapes, tropical fruits, including bananas) have too much sugar, so eating them in excess can be harmful if you already have a tendency to excess sugar in the blood. If you don’t, you can eat sweet tropical fruits – in moderation, of course.
5. What foods contain added sugar?
The main sources of free sugars are confectionery, candy, sweet and alcoholic drinks, sweetened dairy products, cereals and muesli, processed meat products. You can read more about products containing large amounts of free (added) sugars here .
Sugar is often present in foods that are not considered sweet – bread, sauces, fast food, dairy products, etc. To find out for sure whether a product contains sugar, you need to carefully study its label.
In industrial production, sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose and other syrups, barley malt, dextrin, dextrose, lactose, maltose are often used – these are the names you may find on the label.
6. Is there a sugar addiction?
Sweet foods can act like a drug on the body, as their consumption stimulates brain processes that cause feelings of pleasure and reward. In addition, when eating sweet foods, there is a drop in blood glucose levels: first, the concentration increases, and then sharply drops, causing fatigue and headaches. This can cause a desire to eat more sweets to relieve unpleasant symptoms and improve well-being.
Give up excess sugar gradually to avoid stress. Put less sugar in your tea or coffee, eat less sweet pastries and candy. Instead of sweet drinks, drink fruit drinks or compotes that you make yourself without sugar. Reduce the amount of processed foods in your diet. Don’t forget to eat complex carbohydrates.
7. Should I use sugar substitutes?
Sweeteners are substances with a sweet taste, but with low or zero calories. They should be used with caution when sweetening food, since the effect of sweeteners on the body has been poorly studied, and there are no international or national recommendations for their use.
According to research, the abuse of such popular sweeteners as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose negatively affects the kidneys, and in the long term can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart attacks and stroke. A number of researchers claim that the use of sweeteners leads to an uncontrolled increase in appetite, an increase in blood sugar levels, and has a depressing effect on the intestinal microbiome.
How to Limit Sugar Intake: Helpful Tips
- Instead of desserts and sweets, including dried or candied fruits, eat fresh or frozen fruits, berries, nuts.
- Quench your thirst with clean water, not sweet drinks and juices.
- Use minimal sugar when cooking.
- Replace white bread with black or grey bread, refined grains (white rice, semolina, corn) with whole grains (buckwheat, Poltava, barley, pearl barley).
- Limit consumption of fruits that are too sweet (bananas, grapes).
- Give up commercial sauces.
- Eat fewer processed foods and convenience foods.
- Study the composition of products on labels.
A varied, balanced diet is the key to avoiding regular sweets containing added sugars!