Remember what your grandmother told you as a child, at the moment when you sat for a long time on your homework. The caring grandmother offered to eat something sweet so that the brain would work. The relationship “sugar – brain works” has become so strong in the minds of people that at the end of a tense meeting you suddenly notice that you have eaten all the pills that were in the candy bowl opposite you …
Can sugar cause addiction, is it scary, has sugar been proven to be harmful to the human body?
Until the last moment you will defend the custard eclair for the right to be registered in your life on a regular basis and assure you that it can make you happier and set you up for work … However, supermarket shelves are bursting with jars where it is written in black and white “sugar free” , “Low sugar”, “fructose / grape juice”, etc. Would you say that this is a clever marketing ploy and another attempt to get you to spend more money?
The harm of sugar has long been proven by scientists. To believe this, it is enough to know that the cost of treatment and therapy for patients suffering from diseases caused by excessive consumption of sugar is estimated at an astronomical amount – 470 billion dollars!
What is sugar
If we consider sugar from the point of view of science, then it is a sweetish chemical substance – sucrose, which has the property of dissolving in water. Sucrose is eaten both in pure form and as one of the ingredients.
Sugar is an easily assimilated carbohydrate with a significant energy value (380-400 kcal per 100g).
Sugar (in its various variations) is literally everywhere – in cherries, in grape juice from a bag, in ketchup and even in garlic!
Sugar happens:
- natural, natural (it is found in vegetables and fruits);
- added (it is added to food during cooking);
- hidden (we may not even guess about its presence in a product purchased in a supermarket – these are purchased sauces, packaged juices).
Varieties of sugar
If we talk about its most familiar embodiment, then there are three categories of sugar on the store shelves: granulated, liquid, brown.
Granulated sugar
The source of this type of sugar is sugar cane or sugar beet. Depending on the size of crystals and areas of application, it can be of several types.
- Granulated sugar or ordinary sugar (it “lives” in every family and in almost any recipe).
- Coarse sugar (the size of its crystals is larger than that of granulated sugar). Experts honor him for his ability, when exposed to high temperatures, not to break down into fructose and glucose.
- Bakery sugar (its crystals are almost perfectly homogeneous). Used in the confectionery industry.
- Fruit sugar (in comparison with ordinary granulated sugar, it has a finer crystal structure). Fruit sugar is often used for making drinks, desserts with a light and airy texture (pudding, panna cotta, jelly).
- Powdered sugar (the most common granulated sugar, only grated or well sifted). Most often, dusting sugar is used for decorating finished confectionery products.
- Ultrafine sugar (its crystals are the smallest size). It is used to impart a sweet taste to cold drinks as it dissolves in liquids at any temperature.
- Refined sugar (this is the same regular sugar, only additionally refined and pressed into pieces of the same shape and size). Due to the laboriousness of the manufacturing process, refined sugar is more expensive than ordinary granulated sugar. It is mainly used to sweeten hot drinks.
Brown sugar
The source of this type of sugar is sugar cane. Representatives of this group differ from each other in color (molasses, which is part of brown sugars, is responsible for color saturation: a little molasses – a light color, a lot – a dark color).
- Demerara (its crystals are large and hard, the color of golden buckwheat). This type of sugar smells like molasses, so it is often used to add sweetness to coffee. There is a lighter version of Demerara: its aroma is more subtle (used in tandem with tea or desserts).
- Soft sugar (light or dark in color). Small crystals and lack of aroma allow this sugar to be used in baking and making fruit pies.
- Muscovado (its crystals are quite small, there are light and dark shades). A distinctive feature of this type of brown sugar is its vanilla-caramel flavor. Light muscovado is used for the production of delicate creamy desserts, and dark – for baking more intense colors, as well as sauces.
- Black Barbados, or “soft molasses” (molasses is a syrupy molasses of dark or black color; contains various trace elements). It has a very rich aroma and a moist consistency. Typically, gourmets use it in cold liquid desserts, dark colored baked goods, or sauces.
liquid sugar
- Liquid sucrose (liquid consistency of granulated sugar).
- Amber liquid sucrose (may be a worthy substitute for some types of brown sugar).
- Invert sugar (glucose and fructose in equal proportions – the composition of this type of sugar). It is part of popular carbonated drinks.
Why do you want something sweet
Sugar is called the “drug in disguise of the XNUMXst century.” Do not believe that sugar can cause addiction no less than narcotic substances? Think about why, at the end of dinner, during tea drinking, the hand reaches for a vase of meringue? Most people admit that they consider the process of eating incomplete if dessert is not the final chord … Why, when, in a moment of stress or aggression, you savor not chicken breast with broccoli, but kozinak in caramel?
It’s not just a trivial habit. Habit is the tip of the iceberg. The most interesting thing is hidden inside.
Sweets, such as a sweet milkshake, quickly raise blood sugar levels. In order to minimize this jump and put everything in place, the pancreas begins to produce insulin with lightning speed (this protein hormone transports glucose to cells that will use it to generate energy).
But the insulin jump is not the only caveat. Sugar rapidly provokes changes in the brain. Yes, you heard right, sugar, as a lever, turns on the centers responsible for addiction. Scientists from Harvard University recently learned about this in the course of research.
That is, sugar addiction is a non-emotional eating disorder. It has nothing to do with habit. This is a biological disorder, driven by hormones and neurotransmitters (these are biologically active chemicals that are responsible for the transfer of information from one neuron to another). That is why it is not easier, and sometimes even more difficult, to give up sweets than from cigarettes.
Sugar consumption rate
If sugar is proven to be harmful, you may ask, in principle, to give up sweets in any form. Unfortunately, this will be difficult to do. Why? Because you can’t even imagine how much sugar you actually consume.
According to the recommendations of the American Heart Association, women should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, and men should not consume more than 9. These figures seem incredible to you, because you drink coffee without sugar, and you eat “natural” marshmallow. But sugar is present in almost all products sold in supermarkets. You don’t notice, but on average you consume 17 teaspoons of sugar per day! But in the diet of your mother thirty years ago, there was half the sugar.
Sugar harm: 10 factors negatively affecting the body
Sugar is a major factor in the development of obesity and diabetes. In addition to these serious diseases, sugar is harmful in that it takes up a lot of energy. The body signals that intoxication has occurred and begins to actively get rid of this toxin through the sweat glands.
Sugary drinks are even more harmful, because they carry sugar through the body very quickly. The main danger lies in the fact that sugar causes changes in the brain. It activates the centers responsible for addiction. In addition, sugar dulls the feeling of satiety, and refined sugar is dangerous because it dehydrates skin cells.
The list called “harm of sugar to the body” is endless. We will highlight the 10 most global, in addition to the risk of obesity and diabetes.
- Sugar affects the heart negatively
A year ago, a group of scientists led by professor at the University of California (San Francisco) Stanton Glantz published the findings of their own study based on an article that was published half a century ago in the British journal New England Journal of Medicine.
In 1967, sugar manufacturers (they were part of the Sugar Research Foundation) suggested that Harvard University scientists, who are studying the relationship between the consumption of fats, sugars and the development of cardiovascular diseases, focus on working on fats, and not focus on sugar, the excessive use of which , along with fats, can provoke heart disease. The experts were silent that the low-fat foods they recommended were high in sugar (leading to extra pounds and therefore heart problems).
Modern scientists and the WHO are constantly issuing recommendations calling for reducing the amount of added sugar in food, calling it one of the main foods that is harmful to the heart.
- Sugar negatively affects the condition of the musculoskeletal system
Sugar can influence the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood: it increases the level of calcium and at the same time reduces the level of phosphorus. The fact is that phosphorus is responsible for the absorption of calcium, and when there is little phosphorus, the body does not receive calcium in the required amount. As a result, osteoporosis (a disease in which bones become fragile and prone to various injuries).
In addition, research by American scientists (published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) has shown that high amounts of sugar in processed foods increase the unpleasant manifestations of arthritis.
- Sugar negatively affects kidney function
Filtration of blood is one of the main functions of the kidneys. At normal blood sugar levels, they do their job well, but as soon as there is a lot of sugar, the kidneys have a hard time – they begin to work out, which ultimately leads to a decrease in their function. Scientists claim that it is for this reason that people are faced with kidney disease.
American and Japanese experts have found that frequent consumption of sugary soda consistently increases the concentration of protein in the urine. And this can lead to extremely serious consequences.
- Sugar negatively affects liver health
Sugar and fat are said to be more dangerous for the liver than alcohol. According to statistics, more people suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease than from alcohol consumption. Animal fats in tandem with easily digestible sugars act on the human body like alcohol – gradually lead to cirrhosis of the liver, and sometimes to cancer.
- Sugar affects vision negatively
If during the day you notice that the quality of vision changes (it gets better or worse), you need to see a doctor. This symptom may indicate a frequent drop in blood sugar levels.
So, for example, with an elevated sugar level, a person may experience blurred vision. This is due to the swelling of the lens. But sometimes blurred vision can indicate more serious problems, such as developing cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy.
- Sugar has a negative effect on the condition of the teeth and oral cavity
Remember the main advice of dentists? Brush your teeth twice a day, rinse your mouth after every meal, especially if you have tasted something sweet. The fact is that for the digestion and assimilation of sugar, B vitamins and calcium are required. Sugar uses our dental tissue as a source of these “ingredients”. So slowly but surely, the enamel of the teeth becomes thinner, and they become defenseless against the attack of cold and hot. And also sugar is a favorite habitat of microbes, where they multiply at a cosmic speed. Do not be surprised if a dentist will soon tell you, a lover of sweets, the diagnosis – caries.
- Sugar negatively affects skin condition
Perhaps everyone knows about the harm of sugar to the skin. You’ve probably noticed that after a festive feast with an abundance of carbohydrate foods and sugars (from lemon to honey cake for dessert), inflammation appears on the skin. Moreover, pimples can appear not only on the face, but also throughout the body (on the chest, back). And all would be fine if the problem ended with acne. The inflammatory process, which results in acne, destroys the skin from the inside – it destroys the elastin and collagen in the skin. And these proteins, contained in the tissues of the skin, are responsible for maintaining its elasticity, hydration and tone.
- Sugar negatively affects sexual health
Age, increased stress, deterioration in the quality of food affects erection. And if in a man’s diet foods containing significant amounts of glucose and fructose play an important role, the risk of encountering erectile dysfunction increases significantly.
Even 12 years ago, American researchers proved that excess glucose and fructose can interrupt the work of a gene that regulates the level of estrogen and testosterone in the body. Their harmonious balance is the guarantor of men’s health.
- Sugar negatively affects a person’s energy supply
You probably noted that after a hearty meal, the final accord of which was a sweet dessert, you feel literally and figuratively exhausted. Although, it would seem, sugar is an energy source. The fact is that without a sufficient amount of the hormone thiamine (sugar lowers it), the body cannot normally finish the process of digesting carbohydrates. In addition, sweet candy eaten at a time when the level of sugar in the body drops, dramatically increases the level of insulin in the blood (this happens after the increase in sugar in the body). Due to sudden jumps, an attack of hypolycemia can occur. Its signs are known – nausea, dizziness, atamia to everything that happens.
- Sugar negatively affects the state of the immune system
The last item in our ranking is by account, but not by value. Keep in mind that the more sugar you consume, the more inflammation occurs in your body. And every inflammatory process is an attack on the immune system. The situation becomes more complicated if a person is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. In this case, sugar is not absorbed by the body and accumulates in it. Such a “treasure” does not add to the benefits – it seriously weakens the strength of the immune system.
How and what to replace sugar
Sugar, the benefits and harms of which have now been sufficiently studied by scientists, is excluded by many people from their diet. But, as it turns out, not completely – people are looking for a replacement for it and find it in sugar substitutes …
Yes, the harm of sugar substitute, it would seem, is not so obvious, but still there is a place to be. The body reacts to it by releasing insulin, which is extremely harmful. He does this because he remembers the reaction when you seem to have eaten something sweet, but the stomach did not receive it.
The harm of cane sugar is that its energy value is higher than that of standard white sugar, which is fraught with extra pounds. The carbohydrate content in it is the same, so there is simply no special sense in replacing one refined sugar with another.
What to do if it is not at all possible to give up sugar? There is a way out, and more humane. It is to develop your own sugar intake rate.
You already know that on average, a person’s diet contains 17 teaspoons of sugar daily. This happens not only through sweetened drinks in the form of tea and coffee, otherwise it could be somehow controlled.
Most of the sugar enters the body through various foods, such as muffins, desserts, yoghurts, instant soups, and other not-so-healthy foods. It won’t be easy to take and cut back on your sugar intake this way, but it will be necessary if you care about your health. To do this, you will need to resolutely give up sweets altogether for 10 days. This beneficial detox program for the body will help you feel better, bring some weight back to normal, and most importantly, help get rid of sugar addiction. And in the future, it will be much easier for you to give up unnecessary desserts, controlling your desires.
How to protect yourself from the harmful effects of sugar
This is difficult to do, but possible. By following these guidelines, you will soon feel that you are less addicted to sugar.
- Cut out the added sugar (if you have previously drunk tea with three cubes of refined sugar, gradually reduce this until the taste of your favorite drink seems pleasant without additional sweetness)
- Do not sweeten food during cooking (milk porridge), and if necessary, add sugar to the finished dish. This way you use much less sugar.
- Prepare the sauces yourself (this is the only way you can be sure that the Caesar dressing does not contain half a glass of sugar).
- Avoid sugary carbonated drinks and juice from the package (remember, sugar in drinks poisons your body faster than in solid foods).
- Do sugar detox periodically. With their help, you will not only reduce the amount of sugar in the body, but also significantly reduce the craving for it, which in the future will allow you to control the consumption of sweets and desserts.
- Replace sweets with fruits and healthy desserts. But keep in mind that fruits have a lot of natural sugar. Do not consume more than two to three servings (80 g) of fruit per day. As a dessert, you can eat dried fruits and berries (for example, apples, cranberries – without sugar).
- Take care of maintaining the level of chromium in the body. Chromium removes excess glucose. Chromium is rich in sea fish, seafood, nuts, mushrooms. If you want to consume chromium in the form of dietary supplements, consult your doctor.
Video about the dangers of sugar for the human body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZe-ZJ0PyFE