2/6/2015
There has been a lot of debate about sugar and the dangers of added sugars. The sugar industry has been promoting the idea that a calorie is a calorie. On the other hand many researchers are now saying that a calorie from sugar in a whole food is very different to a calorie from an added sugar in manufactured or factory assembled food.
There is now a growing group of researchers that are saying that any added sugar at all, is bad sugar. Below is a summary of what the experts are saying:
- Any added sugar is a bad sugar as it contributes to obesity and obesity related diseases.
- Opting for cane sweetened beverages rather than high fructose corn syrup sweetened beverages presents exactly the same danger.
- The science now shows that your normal white sugar is no different to high fructose corn syrup.
- High-fructose corn syrup is nearly identical in its simple sugar composition to both sugar and honey.
- Science has been unable to demonstrate that high-fructose corn syrup affects the human body differently than any other source of added sugar.
- There is not enough scientific evidence to say that high-fructose corn syrup causes a different boost in appetite or an increase in body fat as compared to other sweeteners, or if it is metabolized differently than other sweeteners.
- Pure corn syrup is composed completely of the simple sugar glucose, which is not sweet enough for use in food manufacturing. Food producers add enzymes to the corn syrup to convert about half of the glucose into fructose.
- All sources of dietary sugar contain a mix of glucose and fructose. Both table sugar and honey contain 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose, while high-fructose corn syrup is usually 45 percent glucose and 55 percent fructose.
- The body does process pure fructose and pure glucose in different ways, and studies on both humans and animals have shown that pure fructose can negatively influence a person’s health and appetite.
- People eating pure fructose are less likely to feel full and more likely to overeat, which can lead to obesity and diabetes.
- Fructose can only be processed in the liver and doesn’t send that insulin-generated signal to the brain that one is full.
- All nutritionists agree on one point, people need to limit their consumption of any sugary sweetener if they want to stay fit and healthy.
- The practical point is you don’t need any added sugar in your diet to have a healthy diet.
Although the science is now a two camp situation, that is one camp believes that all added sugars are bad and the other does not, as a consumer of foods, one must ask if we need any added sugars at all? A return to a lifestyle where no processed, factory made foods are consumed will mean that whichever camp is correct or incorrect you will remain healthy.
This story was published in medical express.com and can be read by clicking on this link.
