SWEETENERS

When we see adverts that talk of the importance of sugar to our health, they are playing with words and are misleading.

They use terms like sugar and glucose as if they were the same. When they say that sugar is necessary because it gives us energy, they are actually saying that blood glucose (known colloquially as “blood sugar”) is necessary because it gives us energy.

This concept is absolutely true; however glucose is not the same as white sugar, which is also known as sucrose.

Sweeteners are part of our pleasures, their overuse is unnecessary. Their long-term abuse is damaging because it can lead to overweight, diabetes, tooth decay, etc..

When choosing the best sweeteners we should be guided in our approach in two ways: firstly by blood sugar levels and secondly by its production process.

Fructose, stevia, polyols, saccharin and aspartame sweeteners are tolerated by diabetics; the other sweeteners mentioned in this article raise levels of “blood sugar” rapidly.

Sugar, white sugar or sucrose is the most consumed sweetener and also one of the most harmful to health if consumed in excess.

There is no recommended dietary sugar consumption, primarily because consumption is not recommended.

However, it can be consumed in moderate amounts. White sugar is a pure chemical and is produced by a chemical process from beet or cane sugar. Sugar cane is harvested from a remote source, possibly in China or India. Until well into the nineteenth century, and until the development of plantations and the industrial implementation of the methods of extraction of sugar beet, sugar was not popular in its use in food.

In the extraction of sucrose the food is deprived of beet or cane fibre, minerals, vitamins and trace elements. The content of sucrose in beet is about 15%.

One 250g bar of chocolate (made with sugar concentrate) has a quantity equivalent to just over one and a half kilos of beets.

Brown sugar is a less refined version of white sugar (white sugar is mixed with molasses), with a negligible amount of vitamins and minerals. This type of sugar does not have any advantage over white sugar.

Whole sugar, also called “cane sugar” and in Spain known as “Panela”, “Azucar integral de caña o de rapadura”, is produced by extracting cane juice and then evaporating the water by heating or freeze-drying, leaving the sugar.

With this method of production of sugar, brown sugar preserves the minerals and vitamins of the cane sugar, so can be considered whole. Its texture is not crystalline and on contact with moisture in the air it becomes sticky.

OF ALL THE TYPES OF SUGAR THIS IS THE BEST.

Fructose is found abundantly in fruits, although it is not usually obtained from them but is made from white sugar by a chemical process which is much cheaper. Whatever its provenance, fructose is a pure chemical substance without vitamins, minerals, or fibre.

Its sweetening power is higher than sucrose or white sugar. The only advantage it has with respect to sucrose is that it does not raise the level of glucose (blood sugar) quickly.

Its advertising is misleading, fructose is not healthier than white sugar, but diabetics tolerate it better, although they have to consume it in moderation.

Eventually fructose can cause problems because it has been shown to induce the formation of triglycerides (fats) and to transform it into glucose the liver needs to work very hard.

Honey is a food produced by bees for their livelihood. It contains a minimal proportion of minerals (0.1-0.2%). Honey contains inhibitants, substances that are bactericidal and antiseptic. One tablespoon of honey has a mild expectorant and antitussive action. Gargling honey soothes sore throats, tonsillitis and laryngitis.

However, being a highly concentrated sugar food, it should not be excessively consumed. Honey should be considered as a food that should be monitored in people with diabetes. Almost all honey that is in the market has been heated to prevent crystallization and yeast fermentation.

The clearer and more fluid the honey, the greater is the chance that it has been processed industrially.

Disadvantages of too much sugar

The food industry uses sugar as a preservative and as a sweetener, if you read nutrition labels you will find white sugar, or sucrose in foods such as ham, sausages, preserves, sweets, soft drinks, cakes, pastries, sliced bread, biscuits, sauces, breakfast cereals, jams, yogurts, etc.

Many people consume sugar without being aware of it.

Advertising on television, magazines and advertisements extolling its virtues abound, and there is silence on its drawbacks.

With an excess of sweeteners you will see the needle on the scales rising, as well as your cholesterol, and you will become a candidate for cardiovascular disease.

Refined sugar is absorbed very quickly in the small intestine; the blood glucose level rises very quickly, which leads to a state of physical and mental excitement.

Subsequently, the blood glucose level suddenly decreases, which is accompanied by mental depression, physical fatigue (morning and afternoon blues) which encourage us to take stimulants, for example coffee with more sugar, which leads to repeat the process of increasing then and suddenly decreasing our blood glucose levels.

The nutrients that come with sucrose in the beet or cane are the tools that are needed by our bodies to metabolize sucrose.

When we consume refined sugar, the body must engineer these removed nutrients from its own reserves, creating a deficit of vitamins, especially B group, minerals (especially magnesium) and trace elements. Ingestion of a considerable amount of sugar produces increased urinary calcium excretion.

The bones become weak and can lead over the years to osteoporosis.

ARANCHA COROMINA

DIETICIAN-NUTRITIONIST

Short URL: http://www.chroniccat.com/?p=403

Posted by editor on 2010-06-01 Filed under Food, Help and Advice, June 2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry