There is an opinion that in order to be healthy, you must completely abandon the use of sugar or minimize it. However, it seems to us very inhumane, because chocolate, sweets, sweet cakes and favorite drinks bring moments of joy to our lives and improve our mood. Therefore, we decided to find out whether sugar is really an exclusively harmful ingredient and asked a doctor of an endocrinologist nutritionist, Ph.D. Natalia Ivanovna Fadeeva, help to understand this issue.
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Sugar is an absolutely safe product, if used correctly and in moderation. If we recall the school curriculum, then the sucrose molecule consists of two monosaccharides of glucose and fructose. Once in the body, sugar is finally broken down in the human body to these simple carbohydrates. Both glucose and fructose are included in a number of natural foods that people have been eating for many centuries. These are honey, fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals. Glucose is the main physiological source of energy for the full functioning of the whole body: the brain, muscles, lungs and other vital organs. Glucose provides relaxation and sedation, as it is able to increase the level of the hormone of joy, serotonin. That is why after a piece of chocolate, a glass of soda or sweet fruit, we feel a surge of strength and an improvement in mood.
The taste of sugar is understandable and pleasant to a person from infancy. The famous molecular biologist John Medina [1], who is the author of a number of popular science works on the physiology of the brain, writes that a person has a sweet tooth for love in his prenatal state. At about 7 months of gestation, the child has a change in swallowing behavior when her mother eats sugary foods [2]. And then, when the child already has a connection of taste buds with the corresponding parts of the brain, he perceives the sweet taste as pleasant.
At the stage of breastfeeding, the sweet taste of breast milk containing milk sugar - lactose, strengthens the human body's attitude to the sweet taste, as desirable, pleasant, calming and reducing anxiety.
A sweet taste makes you saturated with carbohydrates to maintain the necessary level of energy and strength. On average, the human body consists of proteins (19.6%), fats (14.7%), carbohydrates (1%), minerals (4.9%) and water (58.8%). He constantly spends his reserves on the replenishment of the expended energy, which is necessary for the normal functioning of internal organs, maintaining physical and mental activity [3].
More than 50% of this energy we get from carbohydrates. The need for carbohydrates in adults is 4-6 g per 1 kg of body weight, and with heavy physical work or active sports - 8 g per 1 kg. Of these, 80-90% (300-400g per day) should be complex starchy carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits and cereals), and the consumption of fast carbohydrates, mainly sugar contained in (juices, sweet soda, grapes, sweets, bananas, dried fruits, chocolate, honey) should not exceed 10-20% of the caloric content of the daily diet (about 50-100g per day). Fast carbohydrates are easily absorbed by the body and quickly replenish energy costs, especially with active physical exertion. Since this energy is necessary for the normal functioning of the body, regular consumption of a reasonable amount of sugar is not contraindicated in healthy people. The risk is only its excessive amount. The share of easily digestible carbohydrates (glucose, sucrose, lactose, etc.) in healthy people should not exceed 25% of the total amount of carbohydrates in the diet. Excessive intake of simple carbohydrates provokes an increase in blood sugar and, as a result, negatively affects the functioning of the pancreas. A healthy person who has no problems with carbohydrate metabolism or being overweight will not be harmed by moderate consumption of sugar-containing foods or drinks.
Thus, there is no need to exclude sugar from your diet, which means that you can safely treat yourself to chocolate or a glass of sweet soda like cola, thereby receiving a boost of energy and good mood throughout the day.
Remember that it is important to simply follow the sugar intake, and most importantly, to lead a healthy lifestyle and constantly take care of your diet, making it as balanced and complete as possible.
[1] D. Medina Rules of the brain. What you and your children should know about the brain
[2]
[3] Matyukhina Z.P. Fundamentals of the physiology of nutrition, microbiology, hygiene and sanitation. C.7
Material prepared with information support from TCCC.