White Sugar is a staple in many homes for cooking and baking as well as a standard ingredient in many of the foods we consume. Refined sugar, as it is also called, is not only added to sweets, it is it also added in many of the foods people eat daily. You may be surprised to learn that refined sugar is included in bread, ketchup, mayonnaise, peanut butter and other foods that we do not consider to be sweets. Since it’s in so many foods, you may wonder how bad it can really be. We eat it every day.
The White Sugar Villain
There is controversy surrounding exactly how bad sugar is on the body. There is research for and against the sweetener. Some claim sugar has a number of negative effects on the body. Among the charges against sugar are that it causes obesity and diabetes, is addictive, makes kids hyper and it suppresses the immune system. It has also been suggested that it is a contributing factor in cancer, osteoporosis, eczema and a host of other medical problems and conditions. You need to find a reliable source to weigh the facts before blaming sugar for all these medical conditions.
So, does sugar cause all these ill effects on the body? Sugar is most definitely a contributing factor in obesity. Sugar does not cause diabetes; the precise cause of diabetes is unclear, but there are a number of factors, including genetics that interfere with the normal production and utilization of insulin. While it is true that sugar can suppress immune function because the “bad bacteria” like to eat sugar, studies have not proven sugar to be addictive. It is true that eating sugar does release dopamine in tests with rats, but there is no evidence that it is addictive in humans. Research published in the Journal of the America Medical Association, failed to find a link between foods containing sugar and the behavior or cognitive performance of children.
The Sugar Controversy
A healthy diet is important to a person’s overall health and well being, so reducing your intake of processed foods and eating more whole foods is beneficial, with some sugar now and then. Get in the habit of reading the labels on any processed foods you buy, like cereal or energy bars. If sugar is among the top three ingredients, you are looking at a product that has high sugar content. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your intake of sugar to no more than six teaspoons a day if you are a woman and nine teaspoons if you’re a man. If you are worried about your health or the health of your family, the best thing to do is reduce processed foods and monitor your sugar intake.Even the medical profession and the researchers don’t agree. While one source will tell you that sugar does not pose health risks, another will give you a long list of health reasons to stop eating sugar and detoxify the body. While the experts continue to debate exactly how bad sugar is for the body, the best thing for people to do is consume sugar in moderation. There is little question that white sugar does not have much in the way of nutrient value; it is what nutritionists call empty calories.
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