Sugar is not needed by the body and does not bring any benefit. But is it really dangerous for us, no matter how much we eat? Is it true that sugar feeds cancerous tumors? Addictive? Makes kids hyperactive? And what about the sugar in the fruit? Amina Manzour, who specializes in medical coverage, has studied what science has to say about sugar.
Emotions are raging around sugar. Someone enjoys it and rejoices in it, someone feels guilt and shame. And some even treat him with anger and suspicion. There are many different opinions about sugar, and there is often a fierce debate between those who think sugar is dangerous no matter the dose and those who believe that even a healthy diet may include some sugar.
So how are things really going?
Do we need sugar?
Sugar comes in many forms. It is found naturally, for example, in fruits and berries. We also add it to our food. Together with fruits, we get some sugar, but also dietary fiber and vitamins. So, first of all, artificially added sugar to food is called to limit, since it provides energy, but does not have any special nutritional value.
When we talk about sugar, we most often mean sucrose, that is, granulated sugar. It is composed of glucose and fructose and contains no vitamins, minerals or dietary fiber. Glucose is an important fuel for the cells in the body, especially the brain. However, glucose is also found in carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, root vegetables, and pasta, so you don't need to eat sugar to get enough glucose. The brain can also consume ketones, which are produced by the body from fatty acids.
According to the WHO and the NNR12 Scandinavian Nutritional Guidelines, artificially added sugar should account for no more than 10% of the total calories consumed daily. For adults, this means about 50-75 grams of sugar per day, depending on energy requirements. This is roughly equivalent to one can of sugary soda or one candy cane. Also, according to WHO, reducing the daily sugar intake even to 5% or less is beneficial for health.
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Where do we get sugar from?
Research by the Swedish Food Board shows that 40% of adults and 50% of children eat more than 10% of artificially added sugar. But in general, we do not remember very well what we eat, so it is possible that these numbers are underestimated. This problem often arises in the course of nutritional research.
It is sometimes said that one of the main sources of sugar for us is non-obvious sugar "hidden" in food, and this may indeed be the case if you eat, for example, a lot of sweet fruit yogurt, cereals and the like. But for most, the main source of artificial sugar is still chocolate, baked goods and sweetened drinks.
It is also important how much you eat of this or that product. For example, ketchup contains a lot of sugar, but one tablespoon of ketchup - which is considered a standard serving - contains only 3 to 5 grams of sugar, according to the State Food Administration. But in a can of sweet soda - 30-35 g.
How can you tell if a product contains sugar?
Sugar has many different names. For example, the label may include sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, agave syrup, isoglucose, or honey. On the label in the paragraph called "Carbohydrates, of which sugars …" should be written how much natural and how much added sugar the product contains. Determining how much added sugar is in a product is more difficult. The State Food Administration even compiled a special directory.
How does sugar work?
You've probably heard that sweets make babies hyperactive. Many already know that this is a myth. Studies have shown that parents regard their child's behavior as hyperactive when they believe they have eaten sugar.
But there are many other common beliefs about sugar. For example, it is often said that sugar can cause cancer and "feed" cancerous tumors. Many experiments showing that high amounts of sugar can cause cancer have been done in mice, and the results of this type of research can rarely be directly applied to humans. In addition, during experiments, mice often receive huge amounts of sugar - much more than a person could eat.
But if you look at all the available human studies as a whole, rather than at individual scientific papers, it becomes clear that the evidence for the carcinogenicity of sugar is very shaky. However, an indirect connection can be found. If you eat a lot of sugar for a long time, the risk of excess weight and even obesity increases. But this, in turn, increases the likelihood of cancer.
There is no strong scientific evidence that sugar alone increases the risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. In its analysis, WHO states that the association of sugar with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes is primarily due to an increased likelihood of being overweight and obese.
Another popular belief is that sugar is addictive. This is highly controversial, and sugar dependence is not considered a scientifically sound diagnosis. Instead, some talk about a kind of food addiction, but this is not a medical diagnosis either. Sugar (and other foods) do not increase tolerance as much as drugs do. True, some people have more sugar cravings than others, but this is not a medical addiction.
Is fructose harmful to the body?
Fructose is sometimes cited as the culprit in the obesity epidemic around the world. As the name suggests, fructose is found in fruits, but also in candy and soda. It is believed that fructose, regardless of the source, is harmful to the body. But fresh fruit doesn't contain that much fructose, but it does have a ton of other nutrients. There have been studies in which people ate a lot of fruits (up to ten days in a row), and this did not have any negative effect on their weight and blood sugar. And most of all we get fructose from regular sugar.
What about sugary drinks?
There are no rules without exceptions, and here is the same story. There is strong evidence that sugar-sweetened drinks like soda are very unhealthy. They have been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and tooth decay. Exactly why this happens is unclear, but one explanation is that liquid calories do not saturate as effectively as solid ones.
Of course, drinking water is best, but it's pretty boring. So if you drink soda more often than sometimes, choose a low-calorie one.
Does the amount of sugar we eat matter?
Excess calories increase your risk of gaining excess weight, which in turn may be associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and obesity. In many studies, after which it was concluded that the risks associated with sugar, the subjects gained weight. Therefore, it is impossible to say for sure what exactly influenced the results - sugar or excess weight itself. The amount of fat in the body affects many health parameters.
But according to the most comprehensive pooled study, to date, there are no clear risks to a healthy, normal weight person, in whom no more than 10% of all energy received per day is covered with sugar.
A Swedish study of nearly 50,000 people from Malmö and the surrounding area and Västerbotten lane, using which scientists tried to understand how the consumption of artificially added sugar is associated with premature death, confirms this statement. The lowest death rate is among people who eat 7.5 to 10% artificially added sugar per day.
At the same time, the rule "the less sugar, the better" does not exist. The group that ate the least sugar - less than 5% - showed a higher mortality rate than those who ate between 7.5% and 10%. We cannot conclude from this study that sugar is beneficial, but in any case the recommended 10% artificially added sugar does not increase mortality.
However, too much sugar - more than 20% of the daily energy intake - increases the risk of early death. True, people with such an indicator, in general, led a less healthy lifestyle, ate worse and smoked more than others.
What we do know for sure is that sugar is bad for teeth and increases the risk of tooth decay. Therefore, for the sake of dental health, it is worth eating sweets only on Saturdays, and brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride paste.
conclusions
We are not encouraging you to eat more sugar with this article. Reduce your intake if you want, as soon as you think you need it. It is very easy to exceed the sugar intake, because there is a lot of it in sweets, rolls and chocolate. And because of this, you are more likely to gain excess weight, which causes many diseases. But do not dwell on sugar alone. Most studies show that health is more influenced by the overall diet rather than a single food.
Even with the healthiest, varied diet, consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, olive oil, fish, seeds and nuts, you can sometimes afford a piece of chocolate or a roll.