Views: 33 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2024-03-08 Origin: Site
Recently, a hot topic was that a doctor explained that "diabetes is not usually produced by eating sugar", and pointed out that "sugar is an important nutrient needed by the human body, and not taking any sugar will cause health problems such as hypoglycemia, anemia and malnutrition".
In the current era of high attention to "anti sugar", "sugar reducing", and "sugar free/0 sugar foods", such a statement of "reversing public perception" has naturally attracted huge traffic.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with the judgment that "diabetes is not usually produced by eating sugar". However, the interpretation and deduction of dietary recommendations based on this judgment are quite misleading.
The key lies in the fact that "sugar", which is an important nutrient needed by the human body, and "sugar", which includes "reducing sugar" and "sugar free/0 sugar", although they are the same word, their meanings are not the same.
Sugar is an important nutrient needed by the human body, referring to the sugar that is digested and absorbed in the body, and can even be converted from other substances through gluconeogenesis. Specifically, eating rice and Mantou, digesting it into sugar in the stomach and absorbing it into the blood, is to obtain "sugar" for the body. Even if carbohydrates are completely avoided (such as those who follow a ketogenic diet), the body will convert other substances such as glycerol into sugar. For the body, it also gains "sugar". In daily life, the commonly referred to "sugar" refers to foods such as sucrose, glucose, maltose, brown sugar, rock sugar, syrup, and so on. They can also be a source of "sugar needed by the human body", but should not be an "important/primary source". The sugar needed by the human body should come from carbohydrates in the diet.
In textbooks, commonly referred to as "carbohydrates" (such as starch) are classified as "sugars". The difference between this "textbook definition" and the "habitual concept" in daily life has led to many times when experts/doctors talk to themselves and are misunderstood by the public.
Although it ends up being "sugar", the commonly referred to "sugar" has a fast absorption rate and a high glycemic index, which may affect insulin resistance and ultimately be detrimental to health. The "sugar reduction" and "sugar control" mentioned in the dietary guidelines refer to the "sugars" mentioned in daily language, rather than the "sugars" including carbohydrates.
The influencing factors of diabetes are complex. From current scientific evidence, genetics and obesity are the most important factors, and the direct correlation between sugar consumption is indeed not significant. However, sugar and high sugar foods often taste good but have a poor sense of fullness, causing people to unknowingly consume a large amount of calories and gain weight. The increase of insulin resistance (that is, the decrease of the sensitivity of the human body to insulin) and obesity are related to diabetes.
More importantly, the impact of sugar on health should not only consider "whether you will get diabetes", but also "all aspects". In addition to the impact on obesity mentioned earlier, there are also factors such as increasing the risk of dental caries, affecting uric acid metabolism, which can lead to gout attacks in patients, and being unfavorable for blood sugar and blood pressure control.
Sugar is not a poison, there is no need to quit. However, sugar in everyday language is not an important nutrient. Although diabetics cannot eat sugar (which will lead to a blood sugar surge and endanger life), non diabetics will not eat diabetes directly. More importantly, eating too much sugar can also have other adverse effects. As for "how much is more", the nutrition guide suggests that "adults should not consume more than 50 grams of free sugar per day, preferably within 25 grams" - this amount may sound reasonable, but in fact, a bottle of sugary beverage or a cup of milk tea can exceed it. In addition, many snacks, desserts, yogurt, and dishes contain considerable amounts of sugar, exceeding 50 grams, which is quite easy.
