Sugar can carry both benefits and harm to the body. Unfortunately, there are more minuses from its use. For those who monitor their health, but love sweets, now there is a large selection of sweeteners. The main thing is to choose safe sweeteners.
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White sugar, which we use in everyday life, almost 100% consists of sucrose, which is a disaccharide formed from 2 molecules - glucose and fructose.
What is their benefit?
Glucose is the main source of energy for our body and a source of nutrition for the brain. It is found mainly in fruits, berries and fruits, and is also part of the polysaccharides contained in cereals and vegetables. When glucose is used in its pure form, it is instantly absorbed into the blood, filling our body with energy, causing a sharp surge in insulin in the blood, which contributes to the formation of the “hormone of joy” - serotonin. The splitting of polysaccharides occurs in the body slowly, allowing you to gradually absorb the released energy without storing it in the form of fat. Therefore, it is preferable not to choose sugar as the source of glucose, but complex carbohydrates from cereals and vegetables.
Fructose is also an energy source, however, it has a low glycemic index, unlike pure glucose, and therefore does not increase sharply the level of sugar in a person’s blood when it is consumed. In addition, it is almost 2 times sweeter than sugar and can be added less without losing sweets, but significantly reducing the calorie content of drinks and dishes.
To summarize the benefits of sugar for the body, we can say that there are only 2 of them: getting energy and pleasure due to the production of serotonin. But, as already mentioned, these advantages can be obtained from other sources, more useful than sugar.
What other benefits can white sugar have? Sugar is an excellent preservative. But do not forget that at the same time he does not lose his minuses. Fructose and sorbitol (a natural sugar substitute, with a low calorie content and glycemic index) will cope with the conservation process. Sugar is used for the preparation of various finished products, bakery and culinary products. Here again, there are more useful substitutions - natural, as well as safe sweeteners.
What is the harm of sugar?
Refined white sugar is more harmful than brown, cane sugar. Both have a number of significant disadvantages, but in unrefined sugar there is molasses, which contains a number of vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, the price of such sugar is quite high, in addition, there are a huge number of fakes on the Russian market - dyes are added to plain white sand.
Consider the main disadvantages of sugar:
- weakened immunity;
- negative effects on the cardiovascular system;
- promoting skin aging;
- can lead to obesity (because it is very high in calories);
- increases the risk of developing diabetes (because it has a high glycemic index);
- decrease in stocks of vitamins of group B;
- harmful to teeth and gums, as it creates an environment for the reproduction of microbes, which in turn destroy tooth enamel.
Modern types of sweeteners
In order to avoid harm from granulated sugar, but at the same time eat “sweet”, you can turn to modern and safe sweeteners. Stevia, sucralose, erythritol, agave syrup, tominambur syrup, maltitol, isomalt, etc. For daily nutrition, you should pay attention to stevia. It is a natural sweetener with zero glycemic index and calorie content. In stores, stevia is presented in 3 forms: in tablets, in powder and in liquid form. The latter is particularly convenient in that it dissolves quickly even in cold water. Most often, stevia has a peculiar aftertaste, so you should look for such manufacturers who have achieved the usual sweet taste without bitterness. If stevia is still felt, it is better to pay attention to sucralose. Today it is one of the most modern and safe sweeteners. Sucralose is made from sugar and has a taste similar to it, while it does not participate in carbohydrate metabolism and is completely excreted from the body within 24 hours.
To create confectionery products, it is worth paying attention to maltitol and isomalt. Both sweeteners have low GI, resistance to high temperatures, protect teeth from caries, and their calorie content is two times lower than that of sugar. Isomalt is mainly used to create caramel, maltitol - to add volume to baking, as well as to create chocolate.
In addition to the above sweeteners, coconut sugar is starting to gain popularity. This is an organic product that does not undergo processing. It contains only 70-80% sucrose and has a lower glycemic index.