Still eating these things? Be careful of excessive sugar intake! ​

Sugar is an indispensable part of our daily diet. However, excessive intake of sugar may lead to obesity, tooth decay, and even the risk of inducing diseases such as diabetes, which seriously affects physical health. Many people who are in the stage of weight loss and weight control pay great attention to the intake of sugar and carbohydrates. However, why do some people work hard to control the intake of sugary foods but still fail to lose weight? Can "0 sugar 0 calorie" beverages really be "drunk"? Today, let Xiaonong take you to find out.

01

Sugar is everywhere

Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are known as the three essential nutrients for the human body.
Sugars, also known as carbohydrates, can provide and store calories for the human body. In nutrition, carbohydrates are generally divided into four categories: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Glucose and fructose are monosaccharides, while sucrose, white sugar and sugar cubes are disaccharides. Oligosaccharides include oligofructose and oligolactose, which are helpful to the human digestive system. Starch is a type of polysaccharide and often appears in various staple foods that people eat, such as rice, noodles, steamed bread and potatoes. Dietary fiber is also a polysaccharide and can be found in vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and nuts. Question

How to quickly determine the carbohydrate content in food?

Generally speaking, staple foods and legumes contain higher levels of carbohydrates. Next are some sweet fruits and root vegetables, which also contain relatively higher levels of carbohydrates. Green leafy vegetables and animal foods contain relatively lower levels of carbohydrates.

answer

In addition to regular meals, our favorite drinks and snacks generally have a high carbohydrate content. Sugar is the basic raw material for biscuits and pastries, which can enhance the taste and keep them soft and crispy. Therefore, biscuits contain a lot of sugar, up to 20% .

The sugar content in beverages is also astonishing. A 330 ml can of Coca-Cola contains about 35 grams of sugar, and lactic acid bacteria beverages can be said to be a deeply hidden "sugar assassin", with an average sugar content of more than 15 grams per 100 ml.

If you eat a lot of high-sugar foods and don't brush your teeth and rinse your mouth in time, it may provide a good culture medium for bacteria in the mouth. Bacteria accelerate their proliferation and metabolism, produce acidic substances , and then induce tooth decay . In addition, many of these added sugars cannot be completely absorbed by the human body and may be converted into fat and stored in the body, causing obesity, which may also lead to impaired glucose tolerance and induce diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

02

The “Sweet Trap” in the Ingredient List

As more and more consumers realize the harm of sugar and begin to agree with the healthy concept of low sugar, less sugar or even no sugar, many brands have launched "0 sugar, 0 calories" beverages to attract consumers to buy. In fact, the so-called "0 sugar, 0 calories" beverages do not really have 0 sugar content and 0 energy. my country's "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Pre-packaged Foods" clearly stipulates that when the energy in a food is less than 17 kJ/100 g (solid) or 100 ml (liquid), the energy column on the food label can be marked as 0.

When the sugar content is less than 0.5 g/100 g (solid) or 0.5 g/100 ml (liquid), the sugar content column on the food label can be marked as 0. By adding sugar substitutes, that is, sweeteners, to "0 sugar 0 calorie" beverages, people can taste the sweetness.

So the question is, can we eat foods with added sugar substitutes without worry?
According to relevant research, because the sweetness of sweeteners is higher than that of real sugar, the brain will receive strong stimulation signals, which will interfere with the body's hormone system that maintains normal blood sugar levels and make people more likely to feel hungry. Long-term intake of sweeteners will trigger the compensatory mechanism of the neuronal system, which will increase the desire and appetite for sweets, easily lead to obesity, and even increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Another negative effect is gastrointestinal discomfort, especially sugar alcohols. Excessive intake of sugar alcohols will increase the digestive burden of the gastrointestinal tract and destroy intestinal microorganisms, thereby inducing symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, and even diarrhea . Whether it is sugar or sugar substitutes, it is not recommended to consume large amounts for a long time.

03

Can I still eat staple foods healthily and happily?

At present, the most common staple food is refined grains. During grain processing, the rice yield is about 64%, and the average flour yield of wheat flour is about 75%. After these grains are refined, only the endosperm is retained, resulting in a serious loss of B vitamins and dietary fiber. In order to ensure balanced nutrition, small farmers are not recommended to consume a single variety of refined grains for a long time. The advantage of coarse grains is that insoluble cellulose is retained during processing, which is beneficial to the functioning of the human digestive system and delays the absorption of glucose and other substances after meals.

The red bean varieties selected by Ren Guixing's team, a researcher at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, after being processed using special physical processes such as extrusion and puffing, can help slow down the rate at which starch in the human body is broken down into glucose, thereby slowing down the absorption of glucose in the intestines and lowering blood sugar levels.

The research and development team also found that adding low-glycemic index grains such as quinoa, black wheat, black mung beans, and chickpeas to food can have a good nutritional effect of lowering blood sugar and reducing fat.

Therefore, the combination of coarse and fine grains can help people take in a balanced diet. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) recommends that people should eat 50 to 100 grams of coarse grains per day, or one-third of their staple food.

Having said so much,

Have you learned how to eat staple foods in a healthy way?