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 both, you will have to modify your relationship with the sweet taste and consume only small amounts of the healthiest sweet foods.

Free sugars, a threat to your health

Not long ago sugar manufacturers claimed that their product was a must-have for the brain. In those years the naturist minority already warned that it was little less than a poison, but sugar was at ease.

The time has come to put things in their place. Just a few months ago the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the recommendation that free sugars should not contribute 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, it equates to about 25 grams of sugar, or about 6 teaspoons of coffee. In Spain, the average of the population takes three times. The greatest contribution occurs with beverages: 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 the 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 should be limited.

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

Glucose

It is a simple sugar that reaches 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

It is white table sugar. Composed of fructose and glucose, it is obtained from sugar beet 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 sugar, but this industry has a huge environmental impact in terms of air pollution, water consumption and waste dumped.

The most common ways to find sucrose isolated are white or brown crystalline sugar (normal table sugar), cande (pearl, for garnish), and icing (finely ground).

Fructose

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

In addition, it does not remove hunger, which contributes to obtaining excess calories.

It is found as part of the carbohydrates of fruits, although it can be separated and consumed as an additive or powdered fructose. 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 fructose metabolism can disrupt the liver. There are studies that link it to insulin resistance (first stage of diabetes), high uric acid levels, fatty liver disorder and even cancer.

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

In summary, 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 has no vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or fats. That is why it is said to provide empty calories. The body turns 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 lower blood glucose levels and transfer it to the various organs, muscles and nerve cells, which thus obtain energy.

But if the supply is continuous and exceeds the needs of the cells, it ends up accumulating in the form of fat in the abdomen, buttocks and the rest of the body.

2. They rob you of nutrients

The metabolism of sugar not only does not contribute anything interesting, but also remains: its assimilation or transformation into a precise reserve of 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 ash remains and cells throughout the body are starved for glucose again. That is why the cells demand more fuel, and they do so faster than the stores in the liver (glycogen) can be converted back into useful sugar.

Then 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 becomes less effective.

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

A problem of excesses and addiction

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

The body is biologically programmed to look for sweet tastes. And it is that the pleasure caused by the sweet taste is inscribed in the genes.

Some authors even point out its addictive capacity: in the brain it is associated with a stimulus in the production of serotonin, the well-being hormone. That is why the industry uses it to increase (irresponsibly) 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 to flavor desserts and preparations that are consumed in moderate quantities.

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 foods where it is not expected.

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

The Nutrition Facts chart also offers clues: Avoid products – breakfast cereals, juices, nectars, smoothies, and other beverages – 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 names. It is convenient to be attentive 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), aspartame (E951) or acesulfame (E950).

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

There are in fact several theories to explain this phenomenon. One argues that the body is deceived: the sweet taste – which the body associates with the arrival of glucose – stimulates the production of insulin, which is followed by 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 safety, but there is research that links these chemical sweeteners with alterations around the genes and different physical and mental complaints.

Better options are 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 major health risks, although they are not without the common objection to sweeteners: they are used to give the body a go-ahead.

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

How to reduce sugar intake

Nutritionists agree on the need to reduce the consumption of free sugars. In part, this can be done by cutting back on 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 to reduce the importance that we have traditionally attached to the sweet taste in the diet. Since we were children we have been taught to overvalue it. It has been the taste of joy and the 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 energy system in the body. 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 to enjoy the sweet taste in its proper measure.

Give priority to complex carbohydrates

Finally, it must not be forgotten that cells need glucose, but that incendiary sugar is not the right source. Foods rich in complex or slow-absorbing carbohydrates are like solid, quality wood: they burn slowly and cleanly.

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

Or in other words: the body 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 does not deplete in a short time and help keep your appetite under control.

That is why there is a consensus among nutritionists that complex carbohydrates should provide around 65% of daily calories in the framework of a balanced diet.

Choose low-glycemic foods

Nutritionists distinguish between “tinder foods” and “hardwood foods” using the glycemic index, which measures the rate of absorption of sugars. Pure glucose has an index of 100. Table sugar 60 and chickpeas, 36.

But it is not a question of completely avoiding foods with the highest levels because, in practice, the assimilation of sugar depends mainly on the quantity and combination of foods.