8 Things You Didn’t Understand About #Sugar

Physinews Daily Health Tips: Sugar certainly has gotten a bad rap lately.
It’s blamed for
everything from obesity and diabetes to heart
disease,
kidney disease and stroke. But is it really all
that bad? Is
there nothing redeeming about those tiny,
sweet granules?

Or is a lot of what we hear misinformation?

We know one thing for sure. Sugar
consumption has
skyrocketed. Most people obtain 16 percent
of their total
calories from added sugars, namely soda,
energy and sports
drinks, grain-based desserts, sugar-
sweetened fruit drinks,
dairy-based desserts and candy.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation that We
should only be
getting less than 10 percent of our daily
calories from added
sugar. In 2014, the WHO even proposed
slashing that recommended rate to less than
5 percent.

Clearly, we need to pay attention to sugar
and our consumption rate. But first, we need
to learn the truth about
our favorite sweetener.

• Sugar is an addictive substance
Sugar is actually an addictive substance.
Animal studies
show sugar consumption causes bingeing,
withdrawal and
craving. Regularly eating sugar also makes it
easier to
become addicted to another drug. When
humans were
studied, consuming fructose (a form of
sugar) caused the
brain’s reward center to light up. Additional
research shows
sugar and sweetness can actually be more
addictive,
rewarding and attractive than drugs such as
cocaine. Seems
a bit preposterous, but a possible
explanation, say scientists,
is humankind’s past evolutionary need to eat
foods high in
calories and sugar Another problem is that
sugar is added
to more products than you might think – it’s
in ketchup,
instant oatmeal and spaghetti sauce, for
starters.
,• Added Sugar is Actually Bad
Added sugars are particularly worrisome.
Added sugars are
sugars or syrups that are tossed into our
food and drink
during processing or preparation. They can
be natural (e.g.,
honey) or chemically manufactured (e.g.,
high fructose corn
syrup). They’re troubling because they don’t
provide any
nutrients — just excessive calories. And
they’re in more
products than you might think. Yet you don’t
have to nix all
added sugar from your diet. Sugar may not
have any
nutritional value, but it can enhance the flavor
of foods that
do provide important nutrients, such as
whole-grain cereal
or yogurt. So if sprinkling some sugar over a
cup of healthy,
plain yogurt is the only way you’ll eat the
yogurt, it’s worth it
to add the sweetness. It’s better to buy the
no-added-sugar
version of the product and add a little sugar
than to buy the
“regular” or fully sweetened version.
Artificial Sweeteners are Healthier than Sugar
Many health-conscious people favor artificial
sweeteners for
their food, figuring they’re a better bet
because they don’t
contain any calories. It’s true you’re avoiding
calories when
you stick with artificial sweeteners.
• Sugar-free Diets Are The Best
So we eat too much sugar. And artificial
sweeteners or other
forms of the sweet stuff, like raw sugar, aren’t
any better
than plain old table sugar. So maybe the
answer is simply to
cut all sugar out of our diets. Perhaps. But
that is a
complicated plan. Technically, if you were
able to eliminate
all sugar from your diet — meaning eating
solely foods
where no sugar was added during its creation
or afterward
— that might be the healthiest option.
• Eat Less Sugary Fruits?
There’s no denying it, fruit contains sugar. A
lot of it. Think of
biting into a fresh, juicy peach or pear, and all
of that sweet
juice exploding in your mouth (or dribbling
down your chin).
Is it really so bad for you? No. True, there’s a
lot of sugar in
fruit. But it’s natural sugar, or fructose, which
is far healthier
than added sugar. Fructose isn’t the only
thing you’ll find in
that peach or pear, though. Fruit is also filled
with fiber,
antioxidants, vitamins and other nutrients
that are great for
your body, helping it fight disease, stabilize
your blood
sugar and more. Fruit is also considered a
low-density food,
which means it makes you feel full and
satisfied. This is a
positive, because if you’re satiated, you won’t
eat too much
fruit, nor will you be tempted to start noshing
on something
else that might not be nearly as healthy (say,
a chewy
chocolate chip Spam bolcked).
So load up on fruit with no worries
• Sugar Causes Diabetes?
One of the more prevalent sugar myths is that
it causes
diabetes. This misconception likely occurs
because diabetics’
blood sugar levels are often out of whack, so
they have to
watch their sugar intake. But in general, there
is no direct
cause and effect between sugar consumption
and the
development of diabetes.
Sugar Causes Hyperactivity?
There have been extensive studies about the
relationship
between sugar and hyperactivity, and no link
has been
found between the two.
• Sugar Causes Tooth decay
If your teeth come in contact with sugary
foods and drinks,
decay can result. But that’s only if those
sugary substances
sit on your teeth for a long time. Further, your
teeth can also
be damaged if all sorts of other foods are in
contact with
them for prolonged periods — fruit, for
example, or bread
or oatmeal. To prevent tooth decay, then, it’s
best to brush
your teeth after eating.

Even rinsing your mouth with water
can help. If you’ve eaten foods that can
easily get stuck in your teeth, like raisins, dry
cereal, popcorn or raspberries, a thorough job
of brushing, flossing and rinsing your teeth is
critical.

Stay Healthy!!!