A spoonful of sugar may make the medicine go down, but it’s ironic that too much of it can leave you needing medicine! One of the most relevant of facts about sugar is that it is one of those little things that seem so innocuous, yet when combined with the fallibility of appetite and taste buds, has the propensity for great harm. Another fact of sugar is that our body needs it, but do you know why, and what harm could you be doing if you eliminate it altogether (if indeed that were possible).
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1. Teeth Friendly?
Many people believe that sugar will rot your teeth but this is not entirely correct. The facts about sugar itself is that it is not the material that directly causes tooth decay, it is the plaque caused by the bacteria that feed on the sugar that causes decay. Also, sugar is more likely to be simply swallowed, not hang around in the mouth and food stuffs that stick to the teeth are more likely to be responsible in allowing the bacteria to feed and cause tooth problems. This is not an excuse to eat more sugar though!
2. A Spoonful of Sugar
In an average can of cola there could be as much as 7 teaspoons or more of sugar and in the U.K. each person on average consumes approximately 700g of sugar every week, whilst in the US, figures report that the average consumption by ONE person is 100lbs a year. One of the undeniable facts about sugar is that it is in a great deal of food stuffs, some that you wouldn’t ordinarily consider sugar to be present. To carefully cut down on sugar you should read labels, and familiarize yourself with the sugar content as it may be higher than you think.Just for your interest, take a look at this picture of what is in our drinks
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3. Too Many Spoonfuls of Sugar
It is a fact of sugar that eating too much of it can mean that the fuel it helps generate doesn’t get used by the body, and so can lead to this excess energy being stored as fat on the body. This excess fat can be hazardous to health, and perpetual over consumption of sugar can lead to obesity and all the health problems associated.
4. Chose Crude over Refined
Here’s an interesting fact about sugar: In the past, brown sugar developed a bad reputation despite containing fewer calories due to people being informed that insects were living in it in the 1900s. This meant that people shied away from purchasing brown sugar in favor of refined white sugar as the rumors over the microbes appears to have been accepted as truth. Brown sugar, as well as being slightly less calorific, can also be tastier due to the presence of molasses.
5. Historical Sugar Fact
The earliest mention of sugar was in 8th Century BC where in a Chinese manuscript there are details that indicate that sugar cane came from India. Before the 18th Century A.D, sugar was scarce and considered something of a luxury, whereas in the modern world it is considered an absolute necessity. Interestingly, sugar used to come formed in loaves whereas it is much more widespread these days in granulated form. A loaf of sugar! Yet you never hear ‘best thing since sliced sugar’!
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6. Sugar but Not so Sweet
The over consumption of sugar can lead to suppression of the immune system. It is an odd fact about sugar that consumption of the sweet stuff can lead to a reduction in the ability of white blood cells to fight bacteria in the hours subsequent to sugar consumption.
7. Sugar Cravings
Sugar can stimulate the brain as it is a type of carbohydrate - carbs make your brain produce serotonin which affects many functions within the body. Sleep, learning, memory and mood are all affected by serotonin, so it is not difficult to see why we crave sugar and sweet things in order to produce this feel good chemical.
8. Check Those Food Labels
Another of the inescapable facts of sugar is that it is in a vast variety of foods, but food labels may seem confusing. Sugar is not always identified as such, and other added sugars aren’t always immediately recognizable - high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, syrup, glucose, fructose are all ‘food’ words for what is essentially sugar. This misunderstanding may lead to the consumption of more sugar than you intend as sugar is present in many things, many of which you may not imagine. For example, bread contains sugar to retain some of the moisture and to help in the browning process of the crust. Check labels to see how much sugar is in your foods.
Armed with these facts about sugar, you should be able to make good decisions about how much of it you eat. I’ve a sweet tooth and have to fight my cravings. How about you?
Top Image Source: mijinco.blog.shinobi.jp
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