If you like taking care of your body, or are worried that you’re not taking your heath care seriously then you are at the right place. We know that many of you are becoming more and more careful of what you put in our body. That’s exactly why you might be interested to hear the truth about sugar. Soon you’ll find out what sugar actually does to your body, and how you can avoid it. We’ll also discuss many of the ways and names manufacturers use to disguise sugar in everyday products that we use frequently, so that you can try to avoid those too.
Humans need sugar
First of all, we have to get some things about sugar straight. Sugar is a fundamental molecule that helps power our body’s cells. Our body converts sugar and uses it as fuel. So how come has sugar all of the sodden become something we try to avoid at any cost? When did it suddenly become the most undesired and hated ingredient?
Is our relationship with sugar toxic? Or are we looking at it the wrong way?
First we’ll need to go over a few questions about sugar that are puzzling most of us. We’ll try to get to the truth as we go along.
READ MORE: 5 super foods you need to start eating right now!
What is sugar and where can we find it?
Sugar isn’t just the thing you put in your coffee each morning, or an ingredient you use to make your favorite dessert. Sugar can be many things. You can find it in a lot of foods you eat on a daily basis. Not all of them need to be sweet, but can still be loaded with sugars. Some sugars take less time to be digested, than others and are therefore separated into complex and simple carbohydrates.
If you’re a foodie, than we’re sure you’ll like to read a few more food facts that you might not have heard of yet.
Why does sugar taste so good?
I’m sure that to most of us sugar tastes too good to resist. What you might not have known is that it’s evolution that has made sugar tasty to us. This is because fruits and similar sweet foods are usually full of vitamins, and minerals, and provide us the energy we need to function.
Now that we know why sugar is so irresistible to us, let’s go over to the even more important parts, like: how much should you be eating it, what makes it unhealthy, and how can you recognize the hidden sources of sugar in your food.
READ MORE: Coconut oil is ‘as unhealthy as butter and beef fat’.
How much sugar should I eat?
One of the questions that we’re afraid to ask is how much sugar do I actually need to eat on a daily basis?
The answer to that question is quite simple, yet not so easy to abide by. The World Health Organisation, actually recommends adults to eat no more than 30 grams of added sugars. This equals to 7 sugar cubes. The number is a bit lower for children. Their recommended dose is around 19 grams, for kids aged 4-6 years old, and 24 grams, for children aged 7-10 years old.
Why is sugar bad for your health?
Sugar supplies our brain and muscles with energy, and helps us lead an active life. When it comes to active individuals, that exercise regularly, sugar is a welcomed support, and a much needed energy source. It’s not those individuals that have a problematic relationship with sugar – it’s the majority. Most of us do not have a regular exercise regimen, and lead very sedentary lives, hence we shouldn’t be consuming that much sugar.
The biggest threat to our health actually comes from the foods we love and eat the most. Our busy lives and schedules have put us in an uncomfortable position. Sometimes it’s hard for us to find the time to prepare and cook a healthy meal. Instead we grab the first and easiest thing we can get, which most of the times is processed food.
Processed foods are loaded with sugar, and make our blood sugar levels to go up. They also give us a burst of energy, and a sugar high. The outcome of the sugar high is always the same, and is never pleasant. Soon after the meal, we’ll start to crash and we’ll start feeling even more tired than we did before we had our meal. This is the vicious cycle that processed sugar and fast foods have gotten us into, and we have to admit: it’s not that easy to break free.
Hidden sources loaded with sugar
What many of us don’t realize is that nowadays you can find sugar in almost anything. You might go to the supermarket to buy a salad, but you’ll somehow end up eating sugar after all.
What most people don’t know is that even if you read the label of the product, you may sometimes miss the fact that it has sugar in it. This is due to the fact that a lot of companies and manufactures have become smarter with the way they present their product to you. Since more and more people are becoming aware of the negative effects of sugar on our body, manufacturers have had to become more creative with the packaging and labeling their products.
Here are some of the words under which they hide sugar: Anhydrous dextrose, brown sugar, cane sugar, cane crystals, corn syrup, corn sweetener, corn syrup solids, evaporated cane juice, crystal dextrose, fructose sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, honey, pancake syrup, liquid fructose, maple syrup, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, syrup.
So next time you’re at the grocery store, look more carefully at the labels, and select wisely.
