To eat or not to eat? That’s the question for dieters, and it concerns the most favorite of all products – sugar. Most diets prohibit products containing it. However, in recent times, arguments that such restrictions are harmful to mental activity have become more common, while 2 tea spoons of sand per day in tea and a couple of 50-kcal candies will not add excess fat to the body. So who is right? Let’s see.
Harm
For figure
When it gets into the stomach, sugar decomposes into its components, one of which is glucose. It gets absorbed into the blood. Then about ¼ of it is saved in the liver in the form of glycogen, and the rest ¾ goes for building fat cells. The latter is helped by insulin that the pancreas starts producing as soon as sugar gets into the blood.
The scheme of weight gain is as follows: the more glucose in the blood, the higher the insulin level and, therefore, the more fat is formed. In the long run, it leads to obesity which, in its turn, helps develop diabetes, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. All these diseases are so closely connected that in medicine they are called by one term – metabolic syndrome.
Being in the digestive tract, sugar also manages to “disturb”; it slows down secretion of gastric juice which affects the work of the digestive tract. All the food that is there at that moment is difficult to digest, and a solid part of it will also be sent to the fat reserve.
Nutritionists also prohibit sugar because it slows down metabolic processes, and this contradicts the very purpose of losing weight – boosting metabolism. We have discussed metabolism and its role in weight loss in a separate article.
For health
Sugar can be consumed without harm to health if it is not too much. However, besides those spoons we put in tea, we also actively eat candies, milk chocolate, ice cream and other harmful sweets that contain too much of it. And that’s where the serious problems start:
- it often causes an allergy;
- skin condition gets worse: chronic diseases are exacerbated, more wrinkles appear, and its elasticity decreases;
- some kind of dependence on sweets is formed;
- cavities appear;
- immunity decreases;
- heart muscle weakens;
- liver gets overloaded and damaged;
- free radicals are formed (according to some information, they trigger the formation of cancer cells);
- uric acid level goes up which threatens the heart and kidneys;
- risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia increases;
- bones get weak and brittle;
- aging process accelerates.
Busting the myth. Those who love sweets persuade themselves that they need it for normal brain function. In reality, in order to maintain intellectual abilities at the proper level, glucose is needed, and it is contained in more healthy products – honey, fruits and dried fruits.
How to substitute
Honey instead of sugar
When asked whether it is possible to substitute honey for sugar, nutritionists say yes. Despite the fact that this beekeeping product is caloric (329 kcal) and has a quite high glycemic index (from 50 to 70 units depending on the variety), it is still much more healthy:
- it improves digestion instead of worsening it;
- it boosts metabolism instead of slowing it down;
- it is easily absorbed;
- it has no such a harmful impact on the body – on the contrary, it is used to treat many diseases and improves the work of almost all organs.
Obviously, when losing weight honey is better than sugar. At the same time, those who like sweets should not forget about its calorie content and glycemic index. If you want it to help you in the fight against kilograms – eat no more than 50 gr per day and only in the first half of the day.
For more information on how to use honey for weight loss, follow the link.
Sweeteners
Natural sugar substitutes
- Xylitol/xylitol/food additive E967
What it is made of: cotton and sunflower husks, corn cobs, hardwood. Sweetness level: medium. Calories: 367 kcal. Daily rate: 30 gr.
- Sorbitol/glucitol/E420
What it is made of: glucose, starch. Sweetness level: low. Calories: 354 kcal. Daily rate: 30 gr.
- Molasses (blackstrap molasses)
What it is made of: waste product after processing sugar beets. Sweetness level: high, but it has a certain flavor that not everybody likes. Calories: 290 kcal. Daily rate: 50 gr.
- Stevia/E960
According to nutritionists, it is the best sugar substitute. What it is made of: plant of the same name from South America (also called “honey grass”). Sweetness level: very high, with a small note of bitterness. Calories: 0.21 kcal. Daily rate: 0.5 gr per 1 kg of weight.
- Sucralose/E955
The most popular sugar substitute. What it is made of: granulated sugar. Sweetness level: very high. Calories: 268 kcal. Daily rate: 1.1 mg per 1 kg of weight. It is expensive.
There are also such sugar substitutes as agave syrup, Jerusalem artichoke and other natural products that can be used for losing weight.
Synthetic substitutes
- Saccharin/E954
Calories: 0 kcal. Consumption rate: 0.25 mg per 1 kg of weight per day.
- Cyclamate/E952
Calories: 0 kcal. Consumption rate: 7 mg per 1 kg of weight per day.
- Aspartame/E951
Calories: 400 kcal. Consumption rate: 40 mg per 1 kg of weight per day. Disadvantage – it is unstable to heat and decomposes under high temperatures.
Fructose
Fructose that is sold in healthy food departments is an ambiguous product for nutritionists. Some recommend using it for weight loss. For example, it is allowed in the Montignac diet as a product with low glycemic index. Others warn that it contains no less calories than sugar, it is twice as sweet and contributes to creation of fat reserves in the same way.
Our task is to find out whether fructose can substitute sugar and what are the differences between them.
Cane sugar
We usually consume either beet or cane sugar. They are very similar between themselves both in their look and in their nutritional properties. But that is only if they are refined.
