Your health: Sweets

Dear students,

In this post, I've put different articles from the Internet. Please, read everything carefully, think about it, and try to answer the questions:

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "sugar"? 
Could you live without sugar or do you have a sweet tooth?
 What do you use sugar for? 
Is sugar good or bad for our bodies? Is sugar addictive? 
How many sugar cubes can you eat in one go?
Is sugar really dangerous? 
Do you need to limit the sugar in your food? 

Please, write at least one paragraph about everything you have learned from this post and the article by Dr. Majit Ali. Write about different kinds of sweets - what is good about them and what is bad. You can write your paragraph after this post in the Comments section.

Irena,  

As you remember, in March we read an article from Easy English News by Dr. Majid Ali. It was about water. In the May issue of the same newspaper, there was another interesting article by the same author. This time it was about sweets. I hope you all read it and remembered useful information given by an integrative physician and the author of hundreds of research articles and many books. If you lived in New York City, you could listen to Dr. Ali on WBAI (99.5 FM).

So, we have learned that there are some naturally man-made and chemically-made sweets.

Chemically-made sweets such as aspartame, saccharine and sucrose (Splenda) have no calories, but make us hungry for more foods. High-fructose corn syrup is a man-made sweetener because it is processed and sweeter than cane sugar.

The fructose in "high-fructose" syrups and foods is not well metabolized by the body. So, Dr. Ali recommends sweetening with Stevia, which is naturally sweet leaf with almost no calories, but Stevia is 10 to 15 times as sweet as sugar, so you have to be careful. Stevia does not make you hungry for more sweets. So, now we are going to talk some more about sweets - any kind of desserts, sugar, man-made sweeteners, chemically-made sweets and others.

A common misconception suggests that eating sugar is harmful or at least a weakness. Many well-educated people worry about sugar, candy, and desserts. For purposes of discussion, sweets can be defined as any food where sucrose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup, honey, or other sugars are listed as the first ingredient on the packaging. Sweets are not bad. The body needs sugar to function. The brain needs glucose to think. Sweets just need to be eaten in moderation.

Many people are born with a "sweet tooth." Most adults also naturally seek and enjoy sweets. Giving candy as a gift for holidays and birthdays is a common symbol of affection. Even some members of the animal kingdom show a craving for sweets.

Sugar is naturally present in most foods except meat. The recommended daily allowance of calories from carbohydrates (sugar and starches) is 55 percent. Of this, no more than 10 percent should come from refined sugar (sucrose). 

Lactose is the type of sugar found in milk. 

Fructose is the sugar in fruits.

Maltose is the sugar in grain products.  

Sucrose, the sugar refined from sugar cane and sugar beets, has no greater adverse effect on body function than any of the other sugars.

Xylitol: A low calorie natural sweetener made from birch bark. Xylitol is not only safe, natural sweetener without the bad side effects of sugar and artificial substitutes, it's also good for your teeth, stabilises insulin and hormone levels and promotes good health. Xylitol is widely distributed throughout nature in small amounts. Some of the best sources are fruits, berries, mushrooms, lettuce, and corncobs. One cup of raspberries contains less than one gram of xylitol.

Stevia: Used worldwide as a no-calorie herbal sweetener, Stevia is a South American herb that is 30 times sweeter than sugar. With hundreds of studies showing Stevia is a safe alternative.

Is there any sense behind the statement, 'Sugar is to be avoided'?

Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of 146 reasons on 'how sugar is ruining your health' in her book Lick the Sugar Habit. Here are some of them: Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean) Sugar feeds cancer Sugar increases cholesterol Sugar can weaken eyesight Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein Sugar causes food allergies Sugar contributes to diabetes Sugar can contribute to eczema in children Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease Sugar can impair the structure of DNA Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases) Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of yeast infections Sugar contributes to osteoporosis.

  

There is another concern about overuse of sugar and sweets. Here is some information about it.

 

What does sugar have to do with anti-aging and wrinkles? Research has shown that sugar affects our skin as well as our body.

Americans eat too much sugar. Many of us grew up eating cookies and cakes. Sweets are part of celebrations and gatherings. But sugar effects not only our bodies, but also our skin.

So What?

Did you know that the average American consumes 31 teaspoons of added sugar each day? This is the same as 465 calories. Many foods, such as carbohydrates and fruits, convert to sugar in our bodies but additional sugar puts an even greater strain on our bodies.

Research has shown that sugar in our bloodstream can attach to proteins. That combination then damages other proteins nearby. This process results in what is called advanced glycation end products, or AGE's. Since collagen is the protein that keeps our skin firm and elastic, too much sugar damages those proteins and our skin begins to show the effects. We are soon faced with more wrinkles and dull skin.

But proteins are considered the basic building blocks of life. They are not just found in our skin. Enzymes are proteins and so are antibodies. In fact, proteins make up most of our body's tissues. AGE's build up over time. A lifetime of eating sugar is aging most of us much more rapidly than we can imagine.

Anti-aging Tip - Watch for hidden sugars and eat as little added sugar as possible.

One of the aging reasons is high fructose corn syrup. Refuse to use products with this ingredient. It is very damaging to your health. Of course AGE's are produced by other factors as well. You can read more about them in the book, Ageless Face, Ageless Mind by Dr. Nicholas Perricone.

The good news is that skin damaged by sugar can be repaired.

• First, stop eating so much sugar. This includes processed sweets and sodas.
• And don't substitute artificial sweeteners. Many have been shown to have an adverse effect on the body. Others may seem safe, but new studies are beginning to question their safety.
• Instead use Stevia. Stevia is an herb that sweetens. You can purchase it at any health food store.
• Use skin care with anti-aging properties to repair the collagen and elastin in your skin.

Sugar affects our skin. If you want to look younger and be healthier make an effort to decrease your sugar intake.

Okay, we all know that cakes, pies, cookies, candy, etc. have a lot of sugar. But there are many foods that contain sugar that we might not expect. Take time to read the labels. The product contains sugar if the label lists:

• Corn syrup
• Barley malt
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Ingredients that end in "-ose" like Dextrose, Maltose and Fructose

 

Low Blood Sugar 

What is it? Hypoglycemia just means that you have low blood sugar. The body needs sugar to give you energy. When there is not enough sugar in your body, you may feel "not quite right."  The Symptoms Typical symptoms include sweating, nervousness, inability to concentrate, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, headache, irritability, hunger, abdominal pain, sudden drowsiness, confusion, and tingling or numbness of the mouth, hands or body. Severe hypoglycemia can result in convulsions and unconsciousness (coma). If you have a combination of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor about being tested for hypoglycemia. Of course, other conditions could cause you to have some of the same symptoms, so it is possible that you are not suffering from low blood sugar.  The Causes Hypoglycemia is itself a symptom, not a disease. Doctors will often diagnose hypoglycemia without determining the source of the problem. Hypoglycemia most often occurs in people who are taking insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs. In some rare cases, hypoglycemia can result from liver or kidney disease, drug reactions, too much alcohol, or malnutrition. Hormonal imbalances may also cause hypoglycemia. No matter what the cause, it is important that the diagnosis of hypoglycemia not be an end in and of itself. Rather, the root cause must be determined so you can receive proper treatment.  Treatment The long-term treatment for hypoglycemia will depend on the underlying cause. However, there are some immediate treatments that one should use to avoid the worsening of the symptoms. It would seem that if your body was just missing sugar, then if you ate something sweet, your body would be happy. However, small, frequent (like six times a day) meals of complex carbohydrates will work much better than sugars. Sweets are a quick fix, if you feel the previously mentioned symptoms coming on. If the symptoms continue and you do not eat anything, fainting can result. What goes up quickly also drops again quickly, so sugars should not be relied on, except in an emergency. Small, frequent, carbohydrate-rich meals are your best defense against low blood sugar levels and its consequences. If symptoms are severe and do not improve even after you have eaten something, go to the nearest emergency room, preferably with an escort.