We consume half of our sugar “ration” without even realizing it, because many industrial products contain hidden sugar, even if they don’t taste sweet at all: salad dressings and ketchup, ready-made soups, ham, sausage, bread, chips. Manufacturers add sugar, which is cheap and masks the imperfections of foods, making them more palatable.
To do this, processed food products are spiked with refined sugar. It is obtained through a purification process that strips beet juice of all vitamins and minerals. This leaves only pure white sugar, which we know as table sugar or sucrose. Other types of refined sugar include crystal sugar, cane sugar, gelling sugar, etc.
Without natural nutrients, these sugars only provide the body with empty calories. The foods that cause the biggest spikes in blood glucose are those high in refined sugar. They also raise insulin levels and promote insulin resistance.
In fact, sugar is everywhere. Even just because something is labeled “skim” or “low-fat” doesn’t mean it’s healthy or sugar-free. Many “diet” foods are actually sugar-containing health traps. Fat-free foods are usually loaded with sugar to give extra flavor after the fat has been removed.
Is there an addiction to sugar?
As soon as you take a bite of a sugar-containing food, a signal is sent to the brain that activates the reward system. The main chemical compound involved in this chain is dopamine (the “pleasure hormone”).
The problem with sugar and junk food is that they can cause huge amounts of dopamine to be released. This is the reason why people become addicted to sugar. “White poison” can be as addictive as drugs and alcohol.
If you notice similar symptoms, consult natural doctor. Do not self-medicate – it is dangerous to your health!
Let’s highlight the main sources of hidden sugar:
- Dairy products (milk, yogurt). They contain milk sugar (lactose), which the body perceives as sugar.
- Alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are just as insidious, because they contain 7 empty calories per gram. And in our body alcohol is converted into sugar.
What names are sugar hiding under?
Read labels carefully, paying attention to the “aliases” of sugar:
- corn syrup;
- malt;
- fructose;
- glucose;
- dextrose (grape sugar);
- lactose;
- maltodextrin;
- sorbitol;
- sorghum;
- sucrose;
- mannitol and many others.
The dangers of added sugars
Too much sugar can contribute to a wide variety of diseases and dangerous health conditions.
Let’s highlight its main negative properties:
Sugar is bad for your heart. New research shows that sugar (not fat) is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease because it can affect the heart’s pumping mechanism and increase the risk of heart failure.
Leads to obesity and overweight. Most foods high in sugar contain very little nutrients and fiber. Meanwhile, dietary fiber slows the absorption of sugar and ensures blood glucose stability.
Foods rich in fiber, fat and protein provide long-lasting satiety. This reduces the risk of overeating. In addition, added sugar is empty calories and virtually no satiety. This is why we are hungry within an hour of going to a fast food restaurant.
Many obese children have excess abdominal fat. One cause of this health problem may be the increase in fructose-containing beverages. A 2010 study of children found that too much fructose (without glucose ingestion) causes visceral fat cells to mature, leading to the accumulation of abdominal fat and an increased risk of disease, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Added sugar can cause damage to the liver. Before entering the bloodstream from the digestive system, sugar is broken down into two simple sugars: glucose and fructose.
Glucose is found in all living cells on Earth. Glucose is obtained from food, but the body is also capable of producing it, unlike fructose.
The liver must convert fructose into glucose to use it for energy.
A small amount of fructose (from fruit, for example) won’t hurt. In this case, the fructose is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver until we need it.
However, the liver can only store a limited amount of glycogen. Its excess overloads this organ and fructose is converted into fat.
Frequent consumption of large amounts of sugar can lead to fatty liver and other serious health problems.
Excessive sugar consumption can lead to cancer. A number of scientists believe that persistent increases in insulin levels (due to excessive consumption of sugary foods and drinks) may contribute to cancer.
In addition, metabolic diseases play a role in inflammation, which is another trigger for cancer development. Inflammation leads to the production of free radicals. Free radicals seek stability by stripping electrons from other molecules, which can lead to a chain reaction that damages cells, proteins, and DNA.
Excessive free radicals can increase the risk of various diseases, including cancer.
Sugar addiction leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. Consuming large amounts of high-sugar foods causes blood sugar levels to spike.
The pancreas is then instructed to produce insulin, which helps deliver glucose to the cells.
However, when insulin levels remain high, the body can become less sensitive to this hormone and glucose builds up in the blood.
Symptoms of insulin resistance:
- Fatigue;
- Constant hunger;
- Arterial hypertension;
- “Fog” in the head.
Insulin resistance is also associated with excess belly fat. However, most people with insulin resistance don’t realize it until they develop type 2 diabetes.
Added sugar is bad for your teeth. We have been warned about this side effect of a sweet tooth since childhood, because sugar feeds harmful bacteria in the mouth, resulting in tooth decay.
Sugar “poisons” the brain. The brain consumes 40% of carbohydrates from food. This is its primary fuel. But when the influx becomes too great, certain areas of the brain regress. Australian researchers at the University of Canberra, in scans, found atrophy of memory-related areas, especially in the hippocampus, in people whose blood sugar levels were high but still considered normal.
In high doses, sugar also disrupts digestive flora and weakens the intestinal barrier, which increases chronic inflammation in the body and over time irritates the nervous system. This can lead to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.
Overabundance of sugar accelerates the aging process. Researchers have found that too much sugar in the blood can accelerate a process called glycation, which in turn causes skin aging.
When we eat, the body breaks down carbohydrates into sugars such as glucose and fructose. These are used to provide energy to the body.
But when sugars are in excess, they can interact abnormally with proteins and fats. They produce harmful molecules – the end products of glycation. The more of these molecules we have, the faster we age.
Glycation end products also play a role in the development of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Thus, excessive sugar intake, including hidden sugar, can shorten life expectancy, causing a host of health problems.
That’s why it’s so important to reduce your sugar intake. The easiest way to do this is to avoid processed foods and sugary drinks.
Brief conclusions
- Sugar is as toxic as alcohol or tobacco;
- Consumption of sugars, including added sugars, should not exceed 5% of the daily calorie allowance (6 teaspoons);
- However, we tend to consume on average twice that amount because “hidden” sugar is found in many unsweetened foods;
- Added sugar leads to a host of health problems and even accelerates the aging process.
List of references used
- “Food and the Brain. What Carbohydrates Do to Health, Thinking, and Memory,” David Perlmutter, Christine Loberg.
- “Sugar Myths. How misconceptions are killing us,” Natalia Fadeeva.
- “Goodbye Sugar!”, Marion Tellier.
