Sugar – sweet taste, bitter consequences

Added:2023-12-18

Social awareness about the adverse effects of a diet high in sugar on the human body is constantly growing. Unfortunately, the number of diseases and the increasingly younger population suffering from diseases caused by excessive consumption of simple sugars is also increasing. There is something primal about sweet meals (it is associated with the first taste of mother's milk) and something sensory - it is attractive, smells beautiful and looks tasty. Therefore, you need an extremely strong will and even greater awareness to free yourself from sweets for the sake of health. The following article highlights a multi-faceted approach to sugar as a very common ingredient in the daily diet of the general public, reflecting on the problem of its excessive consumption.

The order of nutrients consumed

Numerous theories emphasize or refute the importance of properly combining nutrients in one meal. There are various studies pointing to different conclusions such as:

It is best to eat dessert before the main course, at least 15-30 minutes
eat simple carbohydrates (all processed products with sweeteners, such as confectionery) at the end of a meal, which may alleviate fluctuations in glucose and insulin levels after a meal.
carbohydrates should be eaten separately so as not to combine them with protein and fat, due to the different time and method of digestion of individual macronutrients.

What is the digestion of macronutrients?

According to the principle of digestion of individual ingredients, it turns out that a "preparation" in a restaurant in the form of a green salad, instead of bread, can be very important. The fiber contained in vegetables causes carbohydrates to be digested more slowly, which means that after eating them, there is no sudden and strong release of glucose and, as a result, insulin. It is worth noting that sugar should not be combined with proteins and complex carbohydrates, as it may block the secretion of gastric juices. Simple carbohydrates eaten separately quickly pass through the stomach into the small intestine, where they are absorbed. However, when combined with other food ingredients, they stay in the stomach for some time. While stomach acids digest animal protein, the addition of sugar causes rapid fermentation. The ingredients are decomposed into carbon dioxide, acetic acid, alcohol and water. All these substances, except water, are poisons. In the proper digestion process, proteins are broken down into amino acids, which are used nutrients, while proteins mixed with sugar remain and rot.

Sweet but sugar-free

If white sugar is considered an ingredient that has a negative impact on the human body, a way to replace it should be found. There is a wide range of sweeteners available on the market, but are they really a healthy alternative? Let's pay attention to two of them:

Aspartame (E951) is 160 times sweeter than sugar and much lower in calories. It consists of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. The latter decomposes in the body, creating formaldehyde - a strong neurotoxin. The daily intake of this sweetener should not exceed approximately 8 mg, while a liter of drink sweetened with aspartame provides it in an amount of over 50 mg. Excess in the diet can cause headaches and dizziness, skin problems, fatigue, nausea, and even memory loss, anxiety attacks, depression and irritability.
glucose-fructose syrup , cheaply obtained from corn syrup. Unfortunately, its presence in the daily diet has a negative impact on the body because it causes visceral fat to accumulate on internal organs. In addition, it has one more shameful feature that may contribute to increased appetite and obesity - it impairs the action of leptin, the hormone responsible for the feeling of satiety. This may also explain why, after eating a sweet cake, we reach for another piece.

Alcohol fermentation syndrome (autobrewery)

The process of alcohol formation resulting from the combination is well known yeast and sugar. It is also common knowledge that yeast needs sugar to "work". The situation is very similar in the human body, where intestinal bacteria play a key role. Naturally, during the metabolism of many compounds in the intestines, trace amounts of ethanol are produced, but in too low a concentration to have a visible effect on human behavior. However, when the intestinal flora is disturbed and the overgrowth of fungi and yeasts in the body (mainly Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Saccharomyces boulardii ; Candida albicans; Candida kefyr ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Enterococcus faecium ), combined with a high-carbohydrate diet rich in simple sugars, we may encounter the syndrome intestinal fermentation (autobrewery). This rare condition manifests itself with symptoms of alcohol intoxication, despite the lack of alcohol consumption. The mentioned microorganisms use lactic acid fermentation pathways to produce ethyl alcohol, which is ultimately absorbed in the small intestine, which causes an increase in alcohol concentration in the blood, despite the lack of external administration.

Probiotics supporting proper intestinal microflora:

OFFToxic, a combination of tansy and clove extracts and Narine bacterial metabolites, supports the cleansing of the body;
Detox over 20 freeze-dried ingredients supporting detoxification;
Matsun Lactobacterium mazuni "Karine" Str.2 a product that creates an unfavorable environment for the development of fungi and yeasts (including Candida);
Narum Fast probiotic with the Narine bacterium and a metabiotic that regulates intestinal function and destroys pathogenic microorganisms.

Sugar and fatty liver disease

Diet and lifestyle influence the condition of internal organs. To this day, there is still a misconception that fatty liver disease is caused by excess fat in the diet. Meanwhile, the liver uses the sugar fructose to produce fat. Too much refined sugar and corn syrup in your diet causes fat to accumulate, which can lead to liver damage. Fructose bypasses the control stage of the metabolic pathway typical for glucose, which allows for the stimulation of pathways leading to increased production of free fatty acids and triglycerides, all of which are deposited in the liver. A stressed liver is unable to regenerate itself. You can help it by cleansing this organ.

A complex problem with simple sugar

Sugar (glucose) is widely considered to be the main source of energy, so sugar cravings can be explained by its decrease. This is just one of the theses, because nowadays people are looking for various explanations for the increased appetite for sweets. Reducing excess sugar in the diet to an addiction seems to be too superficial a statement.

Why do we have an increased appetite for sweets?

from every direction we are bombarded with beautiful advertisements that stimulate the senses;
artificial enhancers and sweeteners impair the natural mechanisms responsible for the degree of satiety. Studies have been conducted in which, based on the analysis of the nutritional functioning of families and their children, it has been shown that the consumption of ultra-processed food is the main cause of excess sugar in the diet . ¹
contemporary , excessive consumerism and lifestyle - everything on the run and now;
hidden sugar in "zero" or "light" products , as an effective marketing trick that lulls consumers' vigilance and even misleads them;
sugar uses vitamins and microelements contained in the human body, so the craving for sweets may result from deficiencies in the diet;
sweet taste is emotionally charged , mother's milk is not only the first food, but also a ritual that satisfies the need for safety. The brain remembers positive experiences and wants to return to them. This mechanism may also explain why some people eat sweets when stressed;
The state of the intestinal bacterial flora also influences the appetite for sweets. It has been proven that microorganisms present in the digestive tract that need sugar to survive send signals demanding that they be provided with appropriate food.

Therefore, increased cravings for sweets are the result of many factors that are worth looking at individually.

The article highlights how the seemingly simple topic of sugar becomes a challenge in today's world. Awareness of its impact should not only concern parents or the general public, but should also include corporations that effectively promote advertising campaigns that influence the consumer's senses, but in reality only generate profit.

Sources:

¹ The degree of food processing influences sugar consumption in families with preschool children, Rahbika Ashraf, Alison M. Duncan, Gerarda Darlington, Andrea C. Buchholz, Jess Haines, David WL Ma, 2023
"Sugars and alcohols" Sławomir Kasperczyk, Alina Ostalowska
Dr. David Flores, Tecnológico de Monterrey; Dr. Martin Reimann, University of Arizona; Raquel Castaño, PhD and Alberto Lopez, PhD, Tecnológico de Monterrey; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, published online February 7, 2019
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Max Bayard ¹ , Jim Holt , Eileen's Neighborhoods
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zesp%C3%B3%C5%82_fermentacji_jelitowej
Sweet dilemmas. Characteristics of selected sugars and sweeteners , Aleksandra Kujałowicz
Sugar – is it worth replacing it with sweeteners? Aneta Koszowska, Anna Dittfeld, Justyna Nowak, Anna Brończyk-Puzoń, Katarzyna Gwizdek, Jacek Bucior, Barbara Zubelewicz-Szkodzińska

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