In recent years the food and nutrition industry has painted it cup sugar as "a villain"; the truth is sugar is a quick source of energy!
Our body obtains sugars from fruits, vegetables and dairy products and converts starches derived from potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and legumes into sugars.
Sugar consumption can become problematic when we eat too many processed and processed products to which components are added; this is what is termed "Added sugars".
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What is it and where is it located?
Many foods in the refrigerator and pantries contain added sugars, which come with almost unrecognizable and devious names.
The ketchup to put on chips, the salad dressings, the “all natural” aroma of yogurt can contain very high quantities of added sugars; but how do we recognize it in nutritional labels?
Added sugar can appear under many names including: fructose, dextrose, syrup, nectar, sweetener ...
Starting from 1 January 2020, the products of companies with over 10 million revenues, are required to include a line under the words “total sugars” which indicates the count of added sugars in grams.
The products of other companies with less income have the obligation within January 2021 to update nutritional labels, so within the next year we will be easier to recognize the added sugar in all products.
Why are added sugars important?
The reason we need to consider the amount of sugar we are taking has to do with what happens when it enters our body.
The spike in blood glucose caused by added sugars tells the pancreas to produce insulin; insulin signals the cells that it is time to absorb their energy dose and the cells will use that energy if they need it, otherwise they will store it for later.
This process is lightning fast when we eat added sugar, and our blood sugar will have a rapid downward spike soon after; the "low sugarWhich we sometimes perceive can cause symptoms such as irritability, and fatigue.
The constant overload of added sugars can lead to certain problems and pathological processes:
- Impairment of endocrine function
- Insulin resistance
- Storage of sugar as fat
- Liver problems such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (almost 25% of the population suffer from it!)
- Increase in cardiovascular pathologies
How to reduce added sugars
It happens to everyone to have a craving for sweet things occasionally; these make us feel good immediately after eating them, at least in the short term and that is why they can become a real addiction.
There are some tricks we can try to reduce the consumption of added sugars:
- Try to give up for a period ranging from 3 to 30 days; you may experience some withdrawal symptoms, such as headache, nausea, fatigue, sleep disturbances, but they should go away within a week
- Try replacing it: put real fruit in yogurt, use only oil and vinegar for salads instead of sauces, sip water fizzy instead of soda, use cinnamon in your coffee, eat berries or fruits as dessert, or create delicious fit recipes.
In conclusion…
Nobody stops us from enjoying an ice cream, a beer or a slice of cake every now and then; knowing added sugar doesn't mean labeling foods as good or bad, it's about being aware of where it sneaks into our diet and how it affects our bodies.
This knowledge allows us to make useful changes while continuing to indulge ourselves occasionally.