Glucose, sucrose and fructose: the effect of free sugars

Whether you want it or not, you take it. If you don’t add sugar to tea or desserts, you can find it in energy bars, soft drinks, vegetable milks, jams, sauces… You can try to avoid it, but not all alternatives are recommended.

In the end, if you want to reduce the inconveniences of one and the other, you will have to modify your relationship with the sweet taste and eat only small amounts of the healthiest sweet foods.

Free sugars, a threat to your health

Not long ago sugar manufacturers called their product a food. essential for the brain. In those years, the naturist minority already warned that it was little less than a poison, but sugar was rampant.

The time has come to put things in their place. Just a few months ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the recommendation that free sugars should not provide more than 5% of daily calories; by free sugars we basically refer to glucose, sucrose and fructose (Do you have fructose intolerance?).

On a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 25 grams of sugar, that is, about 6 teaspoons of coffee. In Spain, the population average takes triple. The greatest contribution occurs with drinks: a can of soda provides no less than 40 grams, almost double the recommended amount.

Although fruits and vegetables may contain some of these sugars, according to the WHO sugars found naturally in fruits and vegetables –the so-called “intrinsic”– have not been associated with any negative effect. Therefore, it does not consider them as free sugars that must be limited.

let’s see then what are free sugars whose consumption should be limited:

Glucose

It is a simple sugar hits the market in the form of dextrose, which comes from potatoes, wheat or corn starch. Many sweet additives are glucose in different forms (glucose syrup, isoglucose…).

Saccharose

Is he white table sugar Composed of fructose and glucose, it is obtained from sugar beets or sugar cane.

For its refining, temperatures and substances such as lime, sulfur dioxide, phosphoric acid and other agents are used. There are no residues of these substances in the sugar, but this industry has a huge environmental impact in what affects air pollution, water consumption and waste dumped.

The most common ways to find isolated sucrose They are white or brown crystalline sugar (regular table sugar), candy (pearl, for decoration) and icing (finely ground).

Fructose

It does not reach the blood as quickly, but the body accumulates it in the liverin the form of glycogen, and can be transformed into adipose tissue.

Besides does not remove hungerwhich contributes to obtaining excess calories.

It is found forming part of the carbohydrates of fruits, although it can be separated and consumed as additive or fructose powder. It is also sold purified as an alternative to table sugar, because it sweetened the same for half the calories.

But it has been proven that the metabolism of fructose can alter the liver. There are studies that relate it to the insulin resistance (first stage of diabetes), high uric acid levels, fatty liver disorder and even with cancer.

Cancer cells are great consumers of glucose, and according to researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), fructose accelerates their multiplication. That’s why it is recommended that cancer patients avoid it.

In short, it is likely that the ills attributed to sucrose are due to its fructose content.

What happens in the body when you abuse free sugars

White table sugar is sucrose and nothing else: it does not have vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or fats. That is why it is said that it contributes empty calories. The body transforms sucrose into glucose, which is the main fuel for cells. So, where is the problem?

1. They favor the accumulation of fat

When sucrose enters the body pure, without other accompanying compounds, it behaves like tinder in a forest: it causes fires. To suffocate them, the pancreas acts as a firefighter and desperately produces insulin to reduce blood glucose levels and transfer it to the different organs, muscles and nerve cells, which thus obtain energy.

But if the contribution is continuous and exceeds the needs of the cells, ends up accumulating in the form of fat in the abdomenthe butt and the rest of the body.

2. They steal nutrients from you

The metabolism of sugar not only does not contribute anything interesting, but also subtracts: its assimilation or transformation into a reserve requires the participation of vitamins and minerals (vitamin B1, chromium, zinc, magnesium…) that cannot be used in other physiological processes.

3. They stress your liver

In addition, after the fire – the rapid rise in blood glucose – only ashes remain and cells throughout the body are once again hungry for glucose. That’s why the cells demand more fueland they do so faster than the stores in the liver (glycogen) can be converted back into useful sugar.

So the body becomes stressed and produces adrenaline, which “squeezes” the liver to get glucose out of it faster. This alters the functioning of the liver, whose main task is not this, but to purify toxic substances.

4. Your response to sugar loses effectiveness

On the other hand, cells get used to high levels of insulin and it loses effectiveness. As a consequence of these processes, the consumption of sugar may be in the origin of diseases such as obesity and diabetesand, indirectly, cardiovascular disorders, cancer and immune and emotional disorders.

A problem of excesses and addiction

The problem is that too much sugar is consumed. The experts give an evolutionary explanation: sweet, for the body, is the taste of energy, that of glucose that each cell craves.

The body is biologically programmed to seek sweet tastes. And it is that the pleasure that it causes the sweet taste is inscribed in the genes.

Some authors even point out its addictive capacity: in the brain is associated with a stimulation of serotonin production, the feel-good hormone. That is why the industry uses it to (irresponsibly) increase the attractiveness of its products: it is added without limits to drinks, cookies, sauces, prepared dishes…

The body does not need free sugars, although it can tolerate them in a minimal dose that can be used for to flavor desserts and preparations which are consumed in moderate amounts.

Beware of hidden sugar

Keep in mind that, in addition to the sugar that you serve directly in any of its isolated forms, free sugars can also be found in food where you are not expected.

So, when shopping, look for the word “sugar” in the ingredients list. Remember that the ones that top the list are the most abundant ingredients.

He nutrition facts chart It also offers clues: avoid products – breakfast cereals, juices, nectars, smoothies and other drinks – that contain more than 14 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product.

But we must go further. Free sugars are camouflaged behind dozens of names, such as glucose syrup, molasses, maltodextrins, invert sugar, malts… So up to 60 different denominations. You should pay attention to the labels.

What about synthetic alternatives? No, thanks

If free sugars have so many drawbacks, wouldn’t it be appropriate to turn to sweeteners? Certainly not synthetic sweeteners like saccharin (E954), the aspartame (E951) or the acesulfame (E950).

Although they do not provide calories, they are associated with various health problems and also do not help lose weight. Well on the contrary. They are used in animal husbandry to promote fattening, which must mean something…

In fact, there are several theories to explain this phenomenon. One holds that the body is fooled: the sweet taste – which the body associates with the arrival of glucose – stimulates the production of insulin, which is followed by a increased hunger.

Another hypothesis that is handled is that sweeteners alter the composition of the intestinal microbiota –the microbes that make up the flora of the intestine– favoring populations related to weight gain.

On the other hand, about saccharin, aspartame or acesulfame, the least bad thing that can be said is that there are no studies that demonstrate their complete innocuousness, but there is research that links these chemical sweeteners with alterations around genes and various physical and mental ailments.

Best option are the naturally-derived sweeteners such as sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol, isomalt, erythritol, and steviosides. Most have fewer calories than sugar, are metabolized more slowly, and are not known to have significant health risks, although they are not free from the common objection made to sweeteners: they are used to give the body free cat.

In small doses, xylitol, erythritol and the steviosides reasonable alternatives can be considered if they are not associated with synthetic sweeteners.

How to reduce the consumption of sugars

Nutritionists agree on the need to reduce the consumption of free sugars. In part, it is something that can be achieved by reducing the consumption of table sugar and replacing it with healthier natural alternatives.

But we have within our reach with a little will a more interesting strategy: it is about reduce the importance we have attached to the sweet taste traditionally in the diet. Since childhood we have been taught to overestimate it. It has been the taste of joy and reward, but we have seen that as the years go by it can become a punishment…

In traditional oriental cultures, a healthy diet is one that maintains the balance between the different flavors that we can perceive, since each one is related to an energetic system of the organism. That is why it is convenient to learn to enjoy the other flavors and aromas that each of the foods has. If we do it like this, we can continue enjoying the sweet flavor in its proper measure.

Give priority to complex carbohydrates

Finally, we must not forget that cells need glucose, but that burning sugar is not the right source. Foods rich in complex or slow-absorbing carbohydrates are like solid, quality wood: burns slowly and cleanly.

That is, they are gradually transformed into glucose and do not require the body to use insulin extinguishersbecause minerals, vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids, and especially fiber, reduce the speed of combustion.

Or to put it another way: the organism obtains the nutrients it needs to function, since glucose is not the only thing that cells need.

Foods rich in complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains, legumes, and whole fruits) provide energy that doesn’t run out quickly and help keep appetite under control.

That is why there is a consensus between…