The good and bad of sugar
While current research has shown that people overall have reduced their fat intake, there are more alarming findings about sugar consumption. Obesity has now been declared a global epidemic and statistical evidence suggests that obesity has more to do with sugar consumption than fat consumption.
We need a reasonable understanding of the different sugars to make the right decisions. As this may be too technical for some people, I have relegated a list of definitions to the end of this article.
Sugars of one type are found naturally in foods like fruits and vegetables. Processed sugars that have a different constitution are added to foods, fruit juices, and other beverages as sweeteners to make the products more palatable. Here lies the difference between what is good and what is bad.
We need to differentiate between sugars classified as monosaccharides Y disaccharides and then we have to familiarize ourselves with the terms fructose, saccharose, glucose, lactoseY galactose. Then there is the paper glucose against glycogen in our bodies. It gets complicated, so let’s stick with the essentials.
monosaccharides
monosaccharides are the simplest form of sugar and include fructose, glucose Y galactose.
Fructose it occurs naturally in fruits, honey, berries, and most root vegetables. Its consumption of foods in which it occurs naturally is healthy. other monosaccharides include glucose Y galactose.
An American survey reveals that around 9% of the average caloric intake comes from fructose. Only one third of this fructose comes from fruit, while the other two thirds comes from added refined sugars; This is where you’ll find a correlation between unhealthy sugar consumption and obesity.
disaccharides
disaccharidesare carbohydrates that are created when two monosaccharides They are united. The best known disaccharides is saccharose, commonly known as table sugar, in which a fructose molecule is joined with a glucose molecule. Another common disaccharide is lactosefound only in milk, in which a glucose and a galactose molecule are combined.
Glucose
Glucose It is a sugar that our metabolism converts into energy. Our brain and other tissues require a constant supply of blood glucose to survive. Glucose, carried through the bloodstream, is the main source of energy for the body’s cells; it is the main source of metabolic fuel for most organisms, from bacteria to humans.
Our body produces glucose when we digest the sugar and starch that carbohydrates contain. Such foods include rice, cereals, pasta, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. Enzymes break down starch and sugar into glucose that is absorbed into our bloodstream. Glucose combines with insulin and together they provide energy for our muscles and brain.
It is vital for our health to maintain glucose levels within a normal range. Because energy originates from the food we eat, our body has a mechanism to maintain a normal range. This mechanism is based on our liver, which stores excess glucose as glycogen.
glucose and glycogen
Our body absorbs glucose from the food we eat and this can obviously happen irregularly. Glucose that is not used by the body immediately turns into glycogen.
Glycogen is a chain of glucose subunits stored mainly in the liver and in our muscles. This glycogen is used to buffer our blood glucose level. For example, our muscles use glycogen stored in the liver for energy during strenuous exercise.
What is important in our pursuit of fat loss is the fact that any excess glucose needs for energy and storage as glycogen is converted to fat. This is the underlying cause of the common argument that states the following:
- The fruit contains fructose.
- Fructose is converted to fat.
- If you want to lose fat, don’t eat fruit.
This argument is essentially false because it ignores how our bodies metabolize fructose.
fructose and glycogen
Fructose may to stimulate lipogenesis which means the accumulation and storage of fat. However, fructose is mainly stored in our liver as glycogen. The liver can comfortably handle a daily intake of 50 grams of fructose without storing additional fat, and it can store 100 grams of glycogen.
This is an important observation. A normal piece of fresh fruit contains approximately 6-7 grams of fructose, so you will need to eat more than 5-7 pieces of fruit a day to absorb 50g. Conversely, you can very easily absorb more than 50 g of fructose by drinking lots of carbonated soft drinks or drinks sweetened with fructose corn syrup.
High fructose corn syrup HFCS consumption has increased dramatically and is now one of the leading contributors to obesity. It is necessary to understand the following misconceptions:
- People confuse HFCS with the fructose found naturally in fresh fruit.
- The total weight of a piece of fruit is not made up of fructose; most of the weight is fiber.
Conclution
You will not suffer ill effects from eating several pieces of fresh fruit daily. What you should avoid is the consumption of HFCS and processed sugars added as sweeteners to food and drink products.
Additional definitions:
Fructose
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is one of three dietary monosaccharidesbeing the other two glucose Y galactose. All three are absorbed into our bloodstream during digestion.
Fructose is a naturally occurring sugar typically found in fruits, honey, berries, and most root vegetables. It is the most water soluble of all sugars. In plants, fructose can exist as a monosaccharide and/or component of saccharose. in scientific terms called disaccharide.
Commercially, fructose is derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and corn. Derived from these sources, it comes in three forms:
- crystalline fructoseit is the monosaccharide and has a high purity when it has been dried and ground.
- High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a mixture of glucose and fructose.
- saccharose (see definition below) is commonly added to foods, fruit juices, and other beverages to enhance flavor.
saccharose
Sucrose is a complex carbohydrate that occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables and is found in the highest amounts in sugar cane and sugar beets. The food industry separates sugar from these plants to produce table sugar and sweeteners that are added to food, fruit juices, and other beverages.
During digestion, sucrose is broken down into its constituent monosaccharides, glucose and fructose. The glucose and fructose molecules are absorbed into our bloodstream and cause a rapid increase in blood glucose levels. This can cause problems for people with hypoglycemia or diabetes.
galactose
This is a simple sugar found in lactose that’s less sweet than glucose (sugar table). Is a monosaccharide (see above) which comes mainly from milk and milk products. Galactose is mainly metabolized in our liver to glucose 1-phosphate.
Lactose
A sugar made up of galactose Y glucose It is found mainly in milk where it occurs at 2-8% by weight. When we consume milk, an enzyme called lactase breaks down lactose into glucose Y galactose. Due to hereditary factors from food sources, Europeans are generally much more lactose tolerant than Africans and Asians. People who are lactose intolerant can experience bloating and flatulence when they consume dairy products.