We all love sweet-tasting foods. They soothe our palate and encourage us to eat.
However, these sweet things can have dangerous implications later on in life.
There are two kinds of sugars:
- Naturally occurring sugars
- Added sugars
Naturally occurring sugars are those found in fruits and foods. They occur naturally, not by any human effort.
Naturally occurring sugars are the best type of sugars to consume. They’re very nutritious. Unless there is an underlying illness, you can never go wrong with this type of sugar.
Added sugars are sugars that are chemically synthesized, processed or produced and added to foods such as beverages and cereals.
Examples of added sugar include; white sugar, brown sugar, cane juice, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit nectars, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose.
The disadvantages of added sugar are numerous. They add no nutritional value to your diet and cause health complications when taken in excess.
Almost every beverage you buy in the market has a generous amount of added sugars. We consume these beverages on the go, then we come home to meals made with these sugars.
Every celebration is laced with these sugars: cakes, ice cream, pastries, drinks and so on. We consume these foods in generous amounts in the name of celebration.
After years of living out this dietary pattern, the following results:
- Weight gain
- Obesity
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
These diseases may give rise to more diseases. Diabetes can lead to ulcers of the foot, delay in tissue repair and so on. When these diseases are not checked effectively, death results.
Due to these issues, the intake of added sugars should be minimal. The truth of the matter is that these beverage companies and bakeries do not care about your dietary needs.
They aim to make money and stay in business even if to the detriment of your health, hence, the need to look out for yourself.
To reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain and tooth decay, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to below 10 energy per cent at all stages of life.
In addition, WHO considers a further reduction of free sugar intake to below 5 energy per cent to be a reasonable long-term health policy goal.
So in essence, added sugar intake should be reduced to the barest minimum to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
