Does the human body need sugar? The benefits and harms of sugar, its impact on he alth

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Does the body need sugar? This is a question that interests not only nutritionists, but also ordinary people. This substance is often called the culprit of many diseases. There are various types of sugar, starting with simple ones called monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose and galactose. In addition, there are more complex forms, the so-called disaccharides, such as sucrose, m altose and lactose.

Main types of substances

Before moving on to the question of whether sugar is necessary for the body, you should understand its composition and types. This is a carbohydrate that can be obtained in various ways.

Here are the basic definitions of naturally occurring sugar:

1. Glucose. Under natural conditions, it is found in plants and fruits, and is a by-product of photosynthesis. In the body, it can be burned as energy or converted into glycogen. It is worth noting that the human body can produce glucose when needed.
2. Fructose. It is a sugar found naturally in fruits and berries. It is also formed naturally in cane sugar and honey,is incredibly sweet.
3. Sucrose. Found in cane stalks, beetroot roots, and can be found naturally along with glucose in some fruits and other plants.
4. Lactose. In fact, it is milk sugar. This is what is created as a result of the process taking place in our body. Children have the enzyme necessary to break down the molecule to lactose. It is used by cells. And some adults can't break it down. These are people with diagnosable lactose intolerance.

So, there are several key types of sugar in nature. But where this complex carbohydrate-related compound actually comes from is an interesting question. It is created by processing one of two types of plants - sugar beet or cane. These plants are harvested, processed and refined to ultimately produce the pure white refined sugar you know and love (or don't). This substance has absolutely no nutritional value. It is not always helpful. This is the answer to the question of whether the body needs sugar. In most cases, it provides only an excess of calories in food.

What happens when you get sweets

When analyzing the question of whether the body needs sugar, one should pay attention to the principle of its action. This will allow you to understand at what point such a substance begins to have a negative effect when consumed. Depending on your genetic predisposition, your body may be better equipped to process sugar as energy, or you may be more likely to store it inkind of fat. This can be attributed to individuals with faster metabolisms compared to individuals with slower metabolisms.

The problem is that our bodies have a lot more room to store fat and a lot less to burn sugar for energy. When your pancreas detects it, it releases insulin to deal with all that excess stuff.

This hormone helps regulate blood sugar levels. The more it is, the more insulin is secreted. This compound helps to store all the incoming glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen and in fat cells (acadipocytes) as triglycerides. In this case, the answer to the question of whether sugar is necessary for the human body will be yes.

Often the body struggles to strike the right balance (people add too much sweetness to the body very quickly). Excess insulin is secreted, which ultimately leads to a drop in blood sugar levels below the normal level. This pathology is called hypoglycemia, essentially sugar.

Unfortunately, the more often this process occurs (the more sugar you consume), the more acute the level of its content in the blood and the more insulin is required. This means that it is getting easier to move away from the use of sugar as energy and move on to additional accumulation of the hormone and fat. When answering the question of whether sugar is necessary for the human body, the answer here will be negative. But do not forget that in this particular caseits sharp decline will also lead to negative consequences.

Mass gain

Does the human body need sugar and how much is needed? This is a question that deserves attention when formulating a diet. It is important to observe and correctly calculate the diet. In addition to being overweight, sugar consumption has been associated with a range of actions, including an increased likelihood of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, macular degeneration, kidney failure, chronic kidney disease, and high blood pressure. Now, you might be thinking that reducing your sugar intake can help you get rid of these listed problems. But in fact, this is not entirely true.

When answering the question of whether the human body needs sugar and how much it needs, it is important to take into account individual characteristics and general he alth.

This is a good start, but it's only half done. The body actually processes certain types of carbohydrates in a similar way to processing sugar itself. There is a whole field of scientific research on how the body processes certain foods.

You've probably heard of the glycemic index and its lesser known measure, the glycemic load. Let's take a closer look.

The glycemic index is a calculation of how quickly a particular type of food raises blood sugar on a scale of 1 to 100. Harvard researchers found that things like white bread, french fries and other simple carbohydrates affect blood sugar is almost the same as glucose(index is 100).

In general, the more refined (processed) food you eat, the more likely it is to quickly turn into sugar in your body.

Producer tricks

Big companies want to add utility to their products to increase popularity and increase sales. Here it is worth asking the question, does the body need refined sugar added for flavor? The answer will be obvious. Many manufacturers are implementing it. At the same time, he does not bear any benefit.

Sugar is bad, and there is nothing secret about it. In addition, this is not news for companies that produce food. For this reason, companies have begun masking sugar in their products, so it's not as obvious how much you're consuming.

Here is a short list of the ingredients that say a particular product contains sugar:

1. Agave nectar.
2. Brown sugar.
3. Reed crystals.
4. Cane sugar.
5. Corn sweetener.
6. Corn syrup.
7. Crystal fructose.
8. Dextrose.
9. Evaporated cane juice.
10. Organic evaporated cane juice.
11. Fructose.
12. Fruit juice concentrates.
13. Glucose.
14. High fructose corn syrup.
15. Med.
16. Invert sugar.
17. Lactose.
18. M altose.
19. M alt syrup.
20. Melassa.
21. Unrefined sugar.
22. Sucrose.
23. Syrup.

Why do producers change the name of sugar? Because by law, the most important ingredients of a product must be listed first. By putting two or three different types of sugar in food (and calling them by different names), they can distribute this substance into three components, allegedly underestimating the level and its content in the mass fraction of the product. But this is wrong from a he alth point of view. Does the body need refined sugar? The answer is obvious - no. It only causes harm and contributes to an increase in body fat.

How about a fruit sweetener?

Sugar for the body exists in different forms. This was discussed at the beginning of the article. Whether all of them are equally useful or harmful, and which one is best to use in the diet, is a question that will be discussed further.

When you eat fruit, you not only get fructose (in its natural state), but you also get fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals. Yes, fruits can affect your blood sugar levels. But they generally produce a smaller concentration spike than pure table sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Along with this, fiber is an important part of a balanced diet, and fruits can be high in fiber.

If weight loss is your main goal and you want to keep your carbohydrate intake low, then you will need to minimize fruit intake and eat vegetables instead.

How about fruit juices?

Sugar for the body can be harmful when itconsumption in various beverages. There are also a number of important nuances here.

So, fruit has been found to be beneficial for blood sugar when consumed properly.

Unfortunately, fruit juices don't fit into this pattern. And that's why. When you consume fruit juices such as orange, apple or cranberry, they contain very little fiber and nutrients that are left over from the process of making the liquid itself. The benefits and harms of sugar for the human body in the form of an addition to juice are obvious here - it's just sweet water with natural flavors, and it does nothing but harm. Of course, if you drink juice daily in large quantities.

Here is a typical amount of sugar per 0.5 liter for four popular drinks:

• Orange juice - 21g;
• Apple juice - 28g;
• Cranberry juice - 37g;
• Grape Juice - 38g

At the same time, a small can of cola contains 40 g of sugar.

Use of alternative substances

There are other solutions to safely consume sweets. The effect of sugar on the body may not be as harmful, given its origin and amount of consumption. The diet must be accurately calculated.

So with new research emerging about the dangers of sugar, companies are trying to protect their image by offering "he althy" alternatives so they can become better alternatives.in the fight for excess levels of this substance in the blood.

There are several basic substitutes for a sweet product:

1. Is honey a better alternative than regular sugar is an interesting question. Its attraction is that it is not just fructose or glucose, but a mixture of all kinds of compounds, minerals and much more. A study comparing this substance with various types of compounds found good results: “Overall, honey improved blood lipids, lowered inflammatory markers, and had minimal impact on blood glucose levels.” However, it resulted in a lower spike in rats compared to other sugars.
2. Agave nectar is the he alth food industry's latest fake. Unfortunately, despite the fact that it is made from a cactus, this product is so processed and refined that it contains a high amount of fructose (90%) and 10% glucose. In addition, the process for creating this component is similar to the process for the synthesis of corn syrup with a high content of sweet substance.
3. Aspartame. So, a lot of people switched to Diet Coke because they heard that plain soda could be bad. It is known that 90% of diet sodas contain aspartame, a lab-created alternative to sugar. Some brands of juice also contain it. And this substance should also not be consumed. Material studies have been inconclusive and varied. Although some lab tests have mentioned an increased association of aspartame with cancer, many scientists believe more needs to be done.tests.
4. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is low in calories as the body struggles to break it down. It is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and therefore can be consumed in smaller amounts to achieve the same desired effect. Sucralose is available in products such as protein powders.
5. Stevia is a natural sweetener from the sunflower family. It is about 300 times sweeter than table sugar and is claimed to have less of an impact on blood glucose levels.
6. Saccharin is another artificial sweetener created in the late 1890s that is much sweeter than table sugar and therefore consumed in smaller quantities. This has been linked to an increased risk of cancer in lab rats, and saccharin was considered dangerous in the US, although the label was removed in 2000 because the results could not be replicated in humans.

If you love sugar, then consume it from fruits or natural sweeteners. With that said, to minimize the impact on blood levels, minimize intake of the substance across the board. The effect of sugar on the body will decrease, and it will be easier for you to get rid of excess body weight.

Is there an addiction to sweets?

Many are interested in the question of how sugar affects the human body. Some people say that there is an addiction, others associate it with habit and stress. Sweet foods can be as physiologically addictive as many drugs.

Most mammals, including rats and humans, have evolved sweet receptors in ancestral low-sugar environments. Therefore, they are not adapted to high concentrations of such flavors. Supranormal stimulation of these receptors with glucose-rich diets, such as those currently widely available in today's society, will generate a satisfaction signal in the brain with the potential to override the self-control mechanism, thus leading to addiction.

In other words, humans are not genetically designed to consume the amount of sugar they currently eat. For this reason, the brain receives the substance and identifies it with a pleasant feeling, as a result ignoring other signals that say enough has already been eaten. What is harmful sugar for the body in this case? A person compensates for many of his problems by overeating sweets. The result is overweight and addiction.

Major misconceptions

The effect of sugar on the human body is not always so dangerous. It is still important to observe the measure and not try to replace many natural products with canned or packaged ones. While everyone can agree that sugar is not exactly a he althy food, there is a lot of misinformation about how sugary foods should be factored into your diet. They say, for example, that some types of sugar are he althier than others. But will it really help you lose weight quickly, get rid of acne, prevent mood swings, or otherhe alth problems?

It turns out the answers may not be what you think. Next, consider the main misconceptions and solutions that will later help you compose and choose the diet you need.

Any sugar is bad

How sugar affects the body has already been said above. But in reality, everything is not so bad, there are pluses and minuses. You've probably heard over and over again about how everyone should be eating less sugar. But experts argue that it is necessary to reduce the consumption of so-called added sugar to a minimum. This is a special ingredient in foods that makes them taste sweet (like brown sugar in chocolate chip cookies or honey).

Added sugar is different from the regular sugar found naturally in some foods such as fruit or milk. On the one hand, the natural composition is distinguished by a set of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that help offset some of the negative aspects of the high level of sweetener. For example, fruits have fiber, which causes the body to absorb sugar at a slower rate.

Don't worry about fruit or dairy (like milk or unsweetened yogurt). Sources of added sugar are desserts, sugary drinks, or canned goods. This is something to keep an eye on.

There is also the fact that naturally sweetened foods tend to contain less sugar overall. For example, you will get seven grams of the substance in a cup of fresh strawberries and elevengrams - in a bag of fruit biscuits with strawberry flavor.

Inflated benefits of minimally processed sweeteners

"Sugar is the main source of energy in the body" - a statement that can be easily challenged. But there is some truth in this statement. It's true that minimally processed sweeteners like honey or maple syrup contain more nutrients than processed ones like white sugar. But the amounts of these nutrients are negligible, so they probably won't have a noticeable effect on your he alth. For the body, all sources of sugar are the same.

What's more, these natural sweeteners don't receive any special processing in your body. The digestive tract breaks down all sources of sugar into so-called monosaccharides.

Your body has no idea if the substance came from table sugar, honey, or agave nectar. It simply sees the monosaccharide molecules. And all of these substances deliver four calories per gram, so they all affect your weight in the same way.

Need to cut sweeteners completely

The benefits of sugar for the body are still there. Although there is more harm, this substance also has positive qualities. You don't have to completely eliminate added sugar from your life. Different he alth organizations have different guidelines for how much you should limit per day.

Dietary guidelines often state that an adult consuming 2,000 calories a day should eatless than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams of added sugar per day. This is about the same as in one liter of cola. But the Physicians' Heart Association says women should have less than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) and men less than 9 teaspoons (36 grams) per day. After all, your body doesn't really need sugar. So less is more.

Presence of sweeteners in almost every product

The path of sugar in the body is complex and long. If it is broken down incorrectly due to excess portions, the resulting substances accelerate the accumulation of fats.

According to dietary guidelines, 75% of citizens consume more sugar than they should. Not sure if you are one of them? Try recording your meals on a food tracking app for several days. This can give you an idea of how much sugar you are actually eating.

If you overdo it, contraction shouldn't hurt. Instead of saying goodbye to your favorite sweets, try eating smaller portions. After all, half a cup of ice cream has half the sugar of a whole cup.

Also keep an eye on packaged foods. Bread, flavored yogurt, cereal, and even tomato sauce may contain more sugar than you might expect. So pay attention to the ingredients and look for options to help you stay within your daily sweet limit.

High impact on he alth

The effect of sugar on the body can lead to serious consequences. But it's not as obvious asseems at first glance. You may have heard that eating sugar can cause heart disease, Alzheimer's or cancer. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study of more than 350,000 adults over a decade found that extra sugar intake was not associated with an increased risk of death. Until, of course, people started to overdo it.

Excess total calories in our diets, including from sweets, contribute to weight gain, which can lead to obesity and chronic disease.

addictive

Sugar in the human body leads to the production of a number of hormones responsible for pleasure. The result is more of a habit than a full-fledged addiction. Comparing sugar to drugs is not entirely correct. Experts know that its use stimulates processes in the brain that are associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. Crossing paths can cause effects similar to substance use, but that doesn't make them as addictive as drugs.

So why do some people get so excited when they eat sugary snacks and feel like they need to eat sugary foods on a regular basis to avoid anxiety or a headache, for example? Eating sweets causes a spike in blood sugar, which can help them feel better.

People may crave sugar, but it is unlikely that a person will be addicted. drug addiction is seriousa disease associated with real changes in the brain that prevent people from using these substances.

Substitutes are a good alternative

The question of whether the body needs sugar in its pure form has a simple answer - no. It is not a direct need for the human body and its functioning.

Experts still don't fully understand how sweeteners affect the body. But a growing body of evidence suggests that they can have a negative impact on blood sugar levels, make it harder to control your appetite, and even spoil your gut bacteria. And these things can put you at risk for obesity and related he alth problems.

Lack of sweeteners allows you to lose weight quickly

Of course, limiting your sugar intake can help you achieve your weight loss goals. But only if you are also mindful of your total calorie intake and in control.

In other words, a 600-calorie egg sandwich and a sausage sandwich for breakfast instead of the usual 300-calorie cup of sugary cereal won't get you back in shape even if the sandwich is much smaller than the bar.

Many doctors recommend choosing unsweetened versions of the foods you normally eat, such as plain yogurt instead of flavored yogurt. And if you can't find a good substitute, just gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add to foods like oatmeal, coffee, or smoothies.

Conclusion

Sugar is not a he althy food, but it is also not a poison, as it is sometimes called. There iseverything is possible, but in moderation. Having calculated the balance, you can safely indulge in pleasure and eat sweet cakes with coffee or lemonade, but in moderation.