Benefits of Sugar and why excess is bad

The benefits of Sugar & why too much is bad for you

India is a country of dynamic culture with a variety of festivals. Every Indian celebrates festivals with so much excitement and energy like every day is a new celebration throughout the year regardless of religion, community, and state. And if you ask me the common thing in all festivals – Sweets, Sugar, of course!!

Traditionally, Indian sweets are called ‘Mithai’ that comes in a variety of colors and flavors. Sweets are considered to be pure and an offering to the gods. It is basically a symbol of happiness and a small gesture of greeting people, family, and friends with the joy of celebrating the festival.

During these times, family, and friends share sweets and gifts and greet each other to make them more memorable.

Types of sugar

It is available naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as vegetables and fruits, grains, and dairy products. The body converts food to the simplest form of sugar i.e. glucose.

Considering that your body digests the foods gradually, the sugar in them supplies a constant supply of energy to your cells (1).

Natural

There are sugars that are available naturally in vegetables, fruits, and also milk. These sugars are complex carbohydrates that supply nourishment and help control blood sugar.

Fruit contains natural sugar in the form of fructose. Entire items of fruit are not refined, though canned fruit, juices, smoothies, and also other items that contain fruit can have added sugar.

Veggies contain natural fructose and are vitamins and mineral-dense, with fiber and numerous antioxidants that help to safeguard your health.

It can be questioned whether milk and various other kinds of dairy products are considered processed, yet milk that has actually been pasteurized and homogenized still has natural sugar in the form of lactose.

With that stated, some milk items like yogurt and flavored milk can consist of added sugars in addition to the natural sugar.

Added

Refined white sugar (sucrose), brownish sugar, honey, and also syrups that are added to food are added sugar forms. These added sugars are simple carbs that give little nutritional worth and also can cause spikes in blood glucose levels.

The latest Dietary Standards suggest that added sugars need to make up less than 10% of your daily calories. However, children 9-18 years of age consume around 17% of their daily calories.

And, it has been found that sweetened drinks are the number one source of all those sweet calories.

Where does your added sugar come from?

RankFood groupProportion of average intake
1Soda/energy/sports drinks42.20%
2Grain-based desserts11.90%
3Fruit drinks8.50%
4Dairy desserts5.50%
5Candy5.00%
6Ready-to-eat cereals2.90%
7Sugars/honey4.10%
8Tea3.80%
9Yeast breads2.30%
10Syrups/toppings1.40%

How much sugar is fine?

It’s difficult to claim as sugar is not required nutrient in our diet plan. The Institute of Medicine, which sets Recommended Dietary Allowances, or RDAs, has not provided a formal number for sugar.

Nevertheless, the American Heart Organization recommends that men should take in no greater than 150 calories (9 teaspoons or 36 grams) of added sugar per day.

For females, the number is lower: 100 calories (6 teaspoons or 25 grams) each day.

Benefits of Sugar

High consumption of fruits, vegetables, and also whole grains have shown favorable results in reducing the risks of many chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, heart problem, as well as some cancers (2).

Energy Source

Glucose is the body’s main source of fuel, and it comes from the breakdown of sugar. The body insulin carries the sugar molecule to cells where it’s promptly metabolized and also converted to energy for immediate use.

Also, the body will keep several of the glucose as an energy reserve for later. The procedure is called glycogenesis. When we feel tired, single units of glucose serves as the primary source of energy.

Instant Mood Boost

It needs to come as no surprise that sugar makes us happy. The numerous genetics research study has uncovered that there are 2 sweet-receptor genes in the body.

It, even more, states that sugar triggers the pleasure center of our brain and also creates a rush of dopamine. This will generate an immediate, blissful feeling.

Thinking Skills

Chocolates help you enhance your thinking skills. Choose your chocolate wisely, mentioned all benefits are referred to dark chocolate, other available chocolate in the market may contain fat. Read about the health benefits and side effects of Chocolates.

Added Nutrients

When you pick natural sources of sugar they usually include healthy and balanced nutrients alongside their sweet counterparts.

Dairy items, fruits, and veggies all offer natural sugars along with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, healthy proteins, calcium, as well as hydration are also important.

You can indulge in all the natural sugary foods you want without producing harmful insulin spikes.

Why sugar is Bad for you?

Like the majority of things in life, as long as you eat sugar in small amounts it can in fact give some sweet advantages, particularly when you have a hectic routine. But do you know eating more sweets can be bad for your health?

Troubles happen when you consume excessive added sugar – that is, a sugar that food suppliers contribute to the products to raise flavor or expand service life. A diet plan abundant in sweets has both short – and also long-lasting impacts on your well-being (3).

Diabetes and Sugar

Lots of sweets include rapidly digested carbs such as sugar and refined flour. Sugary foods’ easily digestible nature permits your body to quickly absorb sugar after you eat, leading to a spike in your blood sugar levels, followed by sudden fall or crash.

Sugar contains calories, and due to the fact that if you have diabetes – after that having sugar will certainly enhance your blood sugar and your triglycerides, which is a dangerous element for cardiovascular disease. (Triglycerides are a kind of fat in the blood).

Sugar and stress

When we’re under stress, our bodies instantly kick into fight-or-flight mode, releasing big amounts of hormonal secretions. Surprisingly, the body has the very same chemical action when blood sugar is low.

After you consume a wonderful snack, stress hormonal agents start to compensate for the incident by elevating your blood sugar level. The result? Inexplicable stress and anxiety, impatience, and also shakiness – have this stress-reducing diet.

Immunity and sugar

The research studies have revealed that sugar can interfere with the way your body fights disease. Germs and yeast eat sugar, so excess sugar in the body triggers these organisms to build up and trigger infections.

Tooth decay

Your mouth functions as the residence to billions of microorganisms, including cavity-causing Streptococcus mutans. After you eat sugary foods, the germs start to adhere to your teeth, absorb the sugar, and also release lactic acid.

Over time, exposure to lactic acid starts to dissolve your tooth enamel, causing tooth decay or gum diseases. Learn how to keep healthy teeth and gums.

Sugar and aging

Various studies have revealed that, after sugar strikes your bloodstream, it attaches to proteins. The mix of these proteins with sugar creates the skin to shed elasticity and also causes early aging.

Effects on kids

When New york city City public colleges minimized the amount of sugar in their lunches and morning meals, their academic position increased to 15.7% (from 1.7%).

Additionally, the research study likewise eliminated synthetic colors, artificial flavor, and also the preservatives, revealing the relevance of natural active ingredients for children.

Obesity

Numerous sugary foods are calorie-dense foods – they provide a large amount of energy in a reasonably small serving.

Therefore, eating sugary foods can quickly result in eating a lot more calories per day than you lose, eventually causing weight gain or weight problems.

The added sugary foods have additionally been linked to metabolic changes that even more add to excessive weight.

To conclude

The holidays are the sweetest season, which can make controlling sugar intake difficult. Yes, sweets can be part of a healthy and balanced, lifelong consuming pattern.

However, to enjoy at the fullest, and that too for the least damage – you must consume them in small amounts. That indicates in percentages, or a couple of times a week.

You can consume sugary foods each day without influencing your weight or health, yet you have to be truly cautious regarding what you’re eating and how much of it.