Sugars
Sugars are energy macro-nutrients that provide 3.75kcal per 100g. From the chemical point of view, other synonyms of the term "sugars" are: carbohydrates, carbohydrates and carbohydrates.
Simple sugars: What are they?
As for the nutritional sphere, by inserting the adjective "simple" and / or "soluble", the term "sugar" becomes an indicator of all the available carbohydrates of the monosaccharide and / or disaccharide type, among which are:
- glucose
- fructose
- galactose
- sucrose
- lactose
- and maltose
In this article we will discuss the aforementioned category of energy nutrients, namely monosaccharides and disaccharides.
Natural Foods vs. Refined Sugar
The sugars naturally present in foods are the same as those that man separates and refines industrially to obtain the relative sweeteners; these are mainly sucrose, fructose, glucose and maltose.
Among natural foods and refined sugars, the level of purity, which is obviously much higher in industrial sugars, changes above all (but not only). At a first analysis, this feature might seem a favorable aspect; however, using an extremely concentrated sweet food and being able to add it at your own discretion has proved to be a counterproductive opportunity for human health.
The diet of the human being has become rich in highly processed foods, including also refined and extracted sugars. These, as we will see better later, if in excess have a terrible metabolic impact and predispose to the onset of obesity and diseases of the spare; for this, some define light table sugar (beetroot sucrose) as: " white poison ".
The sugars present in natural foods (not concentrated) have a much lower concentration; in fact, foods always contain a certain amount of other elements, including: water, proteins, lipids, mineral salts, vitamins, fibers, etc.
Natural Foods with Sugars
Below we will list (in descending order) the natural foods that contain the highest percentage of sugars:
- Honey: honey is the only food that, in a totally natural form, has a concentration of sugars (glucose, fructose, saccharose and oligosaccharides) similar to that of industrial sweeteners.
The same cannot be said of the maple syrup, the agave syrup and the honeydew syrup (disused), which always provide a heat treatment for the evaporation or hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates into sugars.
Honey is subjected exclusively to pasteurization, which does not significantly affect either the chemical nature of the sugars or the percentage of water; instead leads to some vitamin loss.
Honey contains about 80.3% of sugars.
- VI and VII group - Vegetables and Fruit Rich in Vit. A and C: in the common language the term "fruit" is associated with a single group of those that, in botany, are called "fruits". To make it short, even the eggplant, tomato, pepper and courgette are fruits, but everyone knows them as vegetables (therefore, to be used in savory recipes).
The differences between the commonly known fruit and the fruits that fall among the vegetables are mainly two: the raw sweetness and digestibility, both superior in the first group compared to the second.
The presence of sugars in foods of vegetable origin has the function of energy reserve for the plant or its progeny. This means that the greatest concentration of these nutrients is localized: in the root, in the bulb, in the tuber or in the fruits. NB. Some tubers contain complex and not simple sugars, such as potatoes (starch), but the principle is the same.
Other determining factors for the concentration of sugars in a plant-based food are the degree of ripeness and seasonality; ripe products (even more so if terminated on the plant) are always sweeter than unripe ones, as well as spring and summer products tend to be less sweet and richer in water than in autumn.
To get a clearer idea of the carbohydrate density of fruit and vegetables, below are some examples:
- some low-energy fruits such as lemon and grapefruit contain only 2.3 and 6.1% of sugars;
- others more sweet like khaki and mandarin reach 16 and 17.6%.
- Similarly, certain leafy vegetables such as green and red radicchio contain only 0.5 and 1.6% sugars; while others root or bulbous like carrot and onion reach 7.6 and 8.5%.
- Group II - Milk and Derivatives: milk, for example cow's milk, contains about 5% lactose (disaccharide composed of glucose and galactose). The various types of milk (goat, sheep, buffalo, donkey, mare, man, etc.) have slightly different concentrations which, if they are fundamental for a newborn, are almost irrelevant for an adult. What matters, however, is that the simple sugars of milk and derivatives do not have the same digestibility for all. In fact, to be digested, these require the presence of an enzyme called lactase, placed in the intestine; this sort of biological catalyst is lost in some people with age (or other factors).
Milk derivatives, which in any case cannot be called "natural foods" (understood as unprocessed), always contain a lower concentration of lactose, thanks to the lactic fermentation process.
Industrial sugars
The sugars of industrial derivation are products aimed at food sweetening. Among these, the most used molecules are: sucrose (table sugar), maltose, fructose and glucose.
Some are extracted with laborious processes and are reduced to crystals. Others undergo a less demanding process and, for the most part, are marketed in a form similar to the natural one (in general, treating them with heat to reduce the amount of water, increase their sweetness, aroma and darken their color).
A third category involves the dilution in water of crystallized sugars to form syrups.
They are extracted from various types of plant substrate, respectively:
- Crystallized sugars: sucrose from sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris - saccharifera ), sucrose from cane ( Saccharum officinarum ), fructose from grapes ( Vitis vinifera ), barley malt ( Hordeom vulgare ), rice malt ( Oryza sativa ), malt of maize ( Zea mays ), wheat malt ( Triticum ) etc.
- Sugars similar to the natural form: maple syrup ( Acer saccharum ), agave syrup (genus Agave and Tequilana or American or Salmian species), grape syrup and "molasses" ( Vitis vinifera ), honeydew (disused - waste) of insects belonging to the Order of Rincoti and Sottordine Omotteri ), sugar beet molasses ( Beta vulgaris - saccharifera ), cane molasses ( Saccharum officinarum )
- Syrups: maize syrup or glucose syrup ( Zea mays ), malt syrup or rice glucose ( Oryza sativa ), malt syrup or barley glucose ( Hordeom vulgare ), malt syrup or wheat glucose ( Triticum ) etc.
Excess Sugar
Many readers will wonder why the scientific community has focused on the content of simple sugars in the Western diet.
The answer is rather complex, as soluble glucides can be as harmful as they are harmless, depending on their concentration in the diet.
It must be admitted that, by totally eliminating those added in the recipes and the discretionary ones (added to the finished dish or in the drinks), the root problem would be solved; however, for reasons of personal taste and eating habits, this intervention is difficult to apply.
Simple sugars are still part of the human diet, which is why it is very important to clarify what their recommended ration is and, if in excess, what damage could be inflicted on the healthy organism.
The harmfulness of sugars intervenes on two fronts:
- Cariogenic potential on teeth: all carbohydrates increase the risk of caries and more than all soluble ones.
- Bad metabolic impact: the added sugars are always excess energy nutrients. This means that their presence is not necessary for the body and that, consequently, if the diet is adequate, the metabolic tendency is to convert them into fatty acids, increase triglyceridemia and deposit them in adipose tissue or in the liver.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that soluble sugars almost always have a very high glycemic and insulin index, which is why they exert a more than significant anabolic action.
Insulin is a hormone that promotes the storage rather than the demolition of the substrates, and the adipose one is no exception; in other words, with equal calories taken with the diet, high levels of insulin promote conversion to fatty acids and storage in adipose tissue.
As anticipated, significant amounts of simple sugars tend to excessively increase blood sugar and triglyceridemia, especially considering that very rarely the diet is adjusted (lightened) in view of the addition of additional sweet foods / drinks. The chronic alteration of these parameters tends to upset the hormonal and metabolic balances, making them chronic and triggering pathological mechanisms.
Not surprisingly, the excess of soluble sugars in the diet correlates to the onset of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and increased cardiovascular risk due to atherosclerosis.
Having said this: "How many simple sugars should you take with your diet?"
Even this answer is not the simplest. First of all, it is necessary to distinguish the contribution of soluble carbohydrates naturally present in food compared to that of processed foods and the discretionary quota.
How many in the diet?
A diet of about 2, 000kcal per day, containing 250ml of whole milk, 120g of low-fat yogurt, 400g of fresh fruit (apples and oranges), 400g of vegetables (lettuce and zucchini), devoid of any food with added sugar (such as jam, cakes, sweets, sweetened drinks, etc.), contains about 77g of soluble sugars, equivalent to 14.4% of total calories. The total of soluble glycides is composed of: fructose, lactose and maltose (residue from the cooking of foods containing starch).
Adding sweet foods at the end of meals, adding some drinks instead of water and estimating 7g of sugar (1 sachet) for 2 coffees / teas per day, the increase is 100%, reaching more or less 140g total, or the 29% compared to daily energy.
In this regard, the research institutes have established a maximum limit of simple carbohydrates equal to 10-12% of the total calories for the adult and to 15-16% for the child.
Looking at the above example, it is quite clear how restrictive the parameter is; in fact, assuming the recommended rations of fruit, vegetables and milk, the limit is already largely exceeded.
In reality, this threshold should not be "taken too literally", as it is estimated leaving a small space for refined sugars to the detriment of fruit and vegetables; by totally eliminating the added sugars, percentages of slightly higher carbohydrates (like the one in the example) may also be acceptable.
Concluding
Foods that contain simple sugars on a natural level are foods that provide certain nutrients that are very important for the body, for example: fiber, vitamins A, C and group B, mineral salts (potassium, calcium, etc.) and sometimes even high biological value proteins.
These foods cannot be eliminated or reduced to a minimum in the diet, which is why the only healthy and reasonable intervention consists in the absolute moderation of the sweetened foods and drinks, and of the discretionary sugar.
