The enthusiasm for sugar is innate in us. Whether it’s gummy bears, chocolate or cake, many people can’t get enough of it. Per capita consumption is 34 kilograms annually. In this post, you’ll learn more about sugar and why you should keep your sugar consumption low.
Sugar - one word, many substances
Sugar is extracted from sugar beets and comes in countless forms: Dextrose, lactose, fructose, and so on. Sugar is an umbrella term for all types of sugar. It can be added to foods or be naturally present in them. It is not always easy to recognize on the list of ingredients, because sugar is hidden behind many terms such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, isoglucose, maltose, fructose-glucose syrup and more.
How sugar works in the body
That’s quite a lot, however sugar should only be consumed in moderation. When we eat sugar, our blood sugar level increases, causing insulin to be released in the body for its absorption into the cells. If we constantly reach for something sweet, the cells no longer react so sensitively to the hormone or even become resistant – this is how diabetes mellitus type 2 develops. A consequence of too much sugar can also be obesity, since excess sugar is simply stored in our bodies as fat. And that too much sugar leads to tooth decay is something we learn as children. So if you want to eat healthily, you should enjoy sugar only in moderation. More precisely, this means a maximum of 50 grams a day for adults, half of which would be ideal. Is it possible to simply replace sugar with honey or syrup?
Sugar alternatives: useful or superfluous?
Sugar consumption has risen sharply since the beginning of the industrial age. In view of the health consequences, this is rather an undesirable development. So what good are the alternatives? Simply replacing sugar with honey, agave syrup or maple syrup doesn’t really help, because these contain a lot of fructose, many calories and only traces of vitamins or minerals. Coconut blossom sugar or birch sugar, on the other hand, can have health benefits over regular table sugar, according to studies. However, it is best to generally eat sweets in small quantities and then really enjoy them. Our sense of taste gets used to sweetness, which means it can also wean itself off it. So if you generally cut back on sweetness, you won’t need so much sugar because your taste buds will become more sensitive again.
Here you can find out how to wean off sugar consumption.
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