Adding Sugar-The Killer of Obesity, Diabetes and Dental Caries
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), [Free sugar] refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides added to food by manufacturers, cooks or consumers, plus sugars naturally occurring in honey, syrup and fruit juice. Monosaccharides have one sugar molecule and include glucose, galactose and fructose. Disaccharides have two sugar molecules. The most widely consumed disaccharides are sucrose or granulated sugar. However, sugar in whole fruits and vegetables is not included.
We have compiled a table to let everyone know the characteristics of common added sugar.
Sweeteners-Not the Solution
Compared with added sugar, sweeteners are not carbohydrates, which will not cause dental caries, increase blood sugar and contain no energy while providing sweet taste.
For example, a 250 mL ordinary Coca-Cola with sugar (high fructose syrup) contains 26.5 g of free sugar. Drinking one bottle consumes 44 kilocalories and 450 kilojoules of energy, which is equivalent to [drinking] half a bowl of rice. However, Diet Coke (acesulfame) and Coke Zero (acesulfame, aspartame), which use sugar substitutes as sweet sources, do not contain energy.
At the same time, the current mainstream view is that sweeteners have high sweetness and low addition amount, are safe under consumption amount, and will not cause negative impact on health.
In this way, it seems that the health problems caused by excessive intake of added sugar, including obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, can be solved by sweeteners.
But in fact, so far there is no definite evidence to prove that the simple method of [using sweeteners instead of adding sugar] can reduce body weight, control blood sugar and promote health.
How to choose common sweeteners?
The above-mentioned common sweeteners are all approved and have no obvious difference with each other except sweetness.
In addition, there is no evidence to prove that stevioside and Siraitia grosvenorii extract, two sweeteners extracted from plants, are safer and healthier than chemically synthesized sweeteners.
There are two points that need special attention in the process of using these sweeteners:
1. It is recommended to use it only in drinks and baked foods, not in cooking and stir-frying.
2. For aspartame/Yikou sugar, phenylketonuria patients are forbidden and cannot be used for drinks and foods that need heating.
Add sugar? Sweetener? -There is no shortcut to health,
For ordinary people, limiting the intake of added sugar is still the dietary basis for protecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. For diabetics, carbohydrate measurement, limiting the total intake of carbohydrate and added sugar are still the key to blood sugar control. For obesity, limiting the total amount of energy intake is still the focus of weight loss.
The more popular and practical translation of the requirement to restrict the intake of added sugar is: do not choose sweet drinks (including soda, tea, coffee, porridge, soya-bean milk, milk, etc.) and sweet processed foods (biscuits, cakes, etc.).
No matter sweeteners or sugar-free beverages and foods added with sweeteners, how to promote health concepts such as [sugar-free] [low sugar] [no sugar added] [low calories] can only play the role of icing on the cake. Uncontrolled intake of sugar-free beverages and foods, or blind pursuit of sweeteners and sugar-free foods, is putting the cart before the horse.
The healthiest choice is to control your excessive desire for sweet drinks and processed foods, and do not eat them or eat them occasionally, without any need to deliberately pursue sweeteners or sugar-free foods added with sweeteners.
For people who are addicted to sweetness, on the basis of healthy diet and control of total energy intake, choosing the above sweeteners to replace the added sugar in drinks, or choosing sugar-free processed foods added with the above sweeteners can help reduce the intake of added sugar and help control blood sugar and lose weight.
Summary
In order to avoid the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases, no matter for healthy people or people with diabetes and obesity problems, the intake of added sugar should be controlled. This should first be achieved through a healthy diet, that is, avoiding the intake of sugar from drinks and processed foods.
If you can avoid or occasionally eat sweet drinks and processed foods, there is no need to deliberately choose sweeteners and sugar-free foods added with sweeteners. If this is not possible, then on the basis of a healthy and reasonable diet and limiting total energy intake, it is only possible to choose sweeteners instead of added sugar that is beneficial to health.