Sugar Consumption at Home and its Impact on Health

 

We always hear people say, “If you eat a lot of sugar you will get diabetes" and others say, “I have diabetes and my doctor says I should not take in sugar.” Are these true or otherwise and how do persons in such conditions take these sayings? At the end of the article, you would get to know how true that is and know the vivid understanding of the consumption of sugar.

Every human being living across the world takes sugar because it is a mandatory requirement in our body. Sugar is a class of carbohydrates that tastes sweet. It is also a quick and easy fuel for the body to use. Without sugar, in the body, one cannot have energy because when there is no energy there is no strength and I mean strength to make the body function. Some types of sugar are lactose, glucose, fructose, and sucrose.

Sugar belongs to a class of nutrients called Carbohydrates. Carbohydrate is a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues, and including sugars, starch, and cellulose. They contain hydrogen and oxygen and has the same ratio as water. They can be broken down to release energy in the animal body. When sugar is consumed into the body, it is then converted into glucose molecules. These glucose moles are transported to cells to be used to provide energy for body function. The saying of “my doctor saying I shouldn’t take in sugar again is a myth because your body needs sugar to help function well. This a misleading statement.

According to the American Diabetes Association, people with diabetes can still have sweets, chocolate, or other sugary foods as long as they are eaten as part of a healthful meal plan or combined with exercise. They consider a healthful meal plan, have limited saturated fat, and contain moderate amounts of salt and sugar. They are mindful of the amount of sugar they take in, but they do not stop taking in sugar because the body needs it. Diabetes is a chronic condition that causes a person’s blood glucose levels to become too high. And usually, people with this chronic condition often need to carefully manage their diet. However, incorporating the occasional sweet treat into a healthy diet can still be okay.

There are two types of sugar which are the added sugar and the natural sugar. Added sugar is the sugar contained in the artificially prepared food products that we add to our diet. Examples of added sugar include brown sugar, white sugar, honey, cane sugar, candy, soft drinks, sweetener, etc. Natural sugar is the sugar that is contained in the natural foods we eat. Examples of natural sugar include cereals, fruits, vegetables, natural milk. The added sugar is what is commonly called bad sugar. However, natural sugar is good because it contains other nutrients such as phytochemicals, vitamins, a fiber that slow its intake into the body and enable the usage of it appropriately to maintain health.

 

RELEVANCE OF TAKING IN SUGAR.

Sugar is a nutrient and it is very essential for normal body function. When sugar is taken into the body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. This insulin then breakdown the sugar complexes into glucose and move the glucose to the cells where it is broken down to form energy and then the excess stored in the liver and muscles. This is why in our natural world almost every food we eat from fruits to cereals there is sugar in it. Therefore, you cannot be advised to stop taking in sugar because most of the foods we take in contain sugar. Ask for clarifications when you are being advised to stop taking in sugar. For instance, when you take in orange there is fructose in it, that is sugar and when you take in cow milk there is lactose and that is also sugar. People who consume high added sugar are at a higher risk of getting heart diseases and then getting diabetes. We should then be mindful of the added sugar we consume because they are bad sugar. The more we eat added sugar the higher the risk of getting these diseases mentioned above.

NEGATIVE IMPACT OF ADDED SUGAR ON HEALTH

Let’s look into the negative effects added sugar can give to our human body. Let’s start with the negative effects of added sugar to the human brain.

High added sugar consumption triggers the production of a hormone called dopamine (it is also known as happy or mood hormone). The happy state after tasting the added sugar stimulates you to increase your intake. This is why you probably tried stopping to take sugar and it is not working.

TEETH

With the negative effect of sugar on the teeth, high consumption of added sugar makes the mouth a breeding place for foreign bacteria or overgrowth of normal bacteria. This bacterium then feasts on the gum and supporting enamel causing teeth decay.

JOINTS

When there is excess consumption of added sugar, the glucose in the blood could cause inflammation at joints leading to pain. That’s why when you eat a heavy carbohydrate diet late at night you wake up with waist pain. And these persons are highly predisposed to rheumatoid arthritis at a later age and many of them these days.

You may ask, why does a heavy carbohydrate diet like yam or banku lead to waist pain?  When you eat these foods and immediately go to sleep either night or daytime, your body’s rate of usage of the glucose being taken into the system is slowed down so it remains in the bloodstream and moves through the joints causing the inflammations that lead to the pain. The sugar from the banku or yam and that of the added sugar is the same except that the one from the banku or natural foods has other agents such as vitamins, fiber, and phytochemicals that slow its assumption and enable the body to use it at its pace.

SKIN

When there is long and persistent excess sugar in the skin, it begins to bind to the protein in a complex glycated molecule. These molecules impair skin repair and cause faster aging than normal aging.

LIVER AND PANCREAS

High consumption of sugar leads to excess storage of fat in the liver leading to the damage of its cells. This causes liver failure and can cause death. The pancreas also is the source of insulin. The hormone is responsible for the breakdown of sugar in the body. So, when there is an excess of added sugar it releases more and could get damaged. When that is done it results in excess sugar in the blood causing type 2 Diabetes. One gets diabetes when there is an excess of added or bad sugar in the body and not sugar in general.

KIDNEY

This organ brings out excess substances through urine. Therefore, when there is continuous excess sugar in the blood, it could lead to loss of its function and failure.

SEXUAL HEALTH

This is a very important point to note. High sugar consumption slows down and weakens the sexual urge or erection. This is because an erection is dependent on blood circulation. So, when there is a lot of excess sugar in blood circulation, the genital area becomes impaired and slowed. This brings to the fact that soft drinks, artificial milk, etc are hampering fertility.

BODY WEIGHT

 Many people claim they want to lose bodyweight, so they buy soft drinks and abandon natural foods because they think soft drinks aids in reducing weight. This is wrong! The excess consumption of sugar into the body enables the conversion of excess glucose into fat stores in both the liver and muscles. These sugars also make the blood vessels become inflamed and thickened impacting blood circulation and thereby causing the heart to overwork. This brings to the beginning of heart disease and hypertension. Thus, the consumption of soft drinks can increase your weight more than eating natural bank and fufu. Note that, the consumption of natural foods contains 60% of sugar.

The recommendation worldwide is “if you cannot avoid taking added sugar, you can take not more than 200 calories of it a day and that is equivalent to 12 teaspoons a day. Cane sugar, brown sugar, dairy milk, bread spread, sweetener, margarine, and carbonated soft drinks like coke, Fanta, sprite, Pepsi contains excess added sugar.

Sugar is one of the silent and hidden cause of many health crises we face, and it affects the human body when we consume the bad sugar excessively. From now onward, let’s all focus more on the natural sugar than the added sugar to help us stay healthier and stronger.

 

By: Justina Amoah

[Source]: Carl Grant; THE READERS HUB