HOW MUCH SUGAR SHOULD WE TAKE

Sugar is believed to be one of the sweetest things that a person never quite taking.

  Sugar has become part of many everyday diets, For the last century sugar has been added to an increasing number of foods all over the world.

You be amaze that 50% of Gift giving to our love ones contain sugar e.g

Hey dear I brought you a gift

Oh dear what did you get me?

at this point you hear cupcake, ice cream, cake, chocolate etc.

And she will be like oh thank you dear I love you without thinking of what it will do to her body in the near future………

Even to take your love ones out to eat or take snacks they end up buying sugary things.

Am not saying it’s bad to buy gift or snacks for your loved ones but do it once in a while.

     DO YOU EVER THINK OF WHAT SUGAR DO TO HUMAN BODY WHEN IT IS TAKEN IN EXCESS?

What is sugar

Sugar is a carbohydrates found, naturally in most foods. It main nutritional value is providing energy.

However sugar is also added to lots of foods such as sweets, chocolates, cake, fizzy drinks and juice drinks etc.

The type we usually take or use is the white powdery table-top version that we add to TEA and sprinkled on top of cakes is known as SUCROSE and is found naturally in plants such as sugar cane.

Sugar occur in other plants and food stuffs to, for example LACTOSE in milk and FRUCTOSE in fruit.

Our body call on these compound as QUICK-RELEASE FUEL.  If the energy is not needed, it gets stored for later and is sometimes converted in to FAT.

How much sugar should we take?

Some scientists say for the majority of people with diet that is already rich in CALORIES, there is no need for any of the extra calories added sugar carries so do not take sugary things at that time.

It has no nutritional value for people who are not starving or unable to absorb food and can contribute to TOOTH DECAY.

So eating sugary-rich food can make a hefty contribution to the calories we consume.

The more calories we take in, the more likely we are to be OBESE. And obesity is linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers and other causes of death.

But it not calorific content of sugar that worries experts.

A growing number of scientists believe that the calories from sugar are not all treated by the body in same way.

One of the most consistent links appears to be between obesity and a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Sugar found in sugary drinks may be easier to digest and may not leave us feeling full, leaving us room to eat more.

Some researchers suggests FRUCTOSE may promote deposits of fat in the liver and other parts of the body.

And some scientists are worried that the chemistry behind the quick spikes in blood sugar we get from things such as fizzy drinks and cakes might in itself be linked to diseases such as diabetes.

The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) has issued guidelines suggesting that cutting the amount of sugar we eat from the recommended limited 10% of daily energy intake to 5% would be beneficial. That about 25g (around six tea spoons) for an adult of normal weight every day.

To put this in context a typical CAN of fizzy drink contains about nine tea spoons of sugar. The limited would apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar that is naturally present in honey, syrups, fruits juices and fruit concentrates.

Experts are concerned that this added sugar which is present in food we would not expect to find it in is harming our health.   

 Effect of sugar to our health

The processed varieties of sugar create this harmful effect of sugar in the body

1.     It increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

2.     It increases bad cholesterol and triglycerides

3.     Sugar interferes with immune function that is when we eat fructose, it goes to the liver and if liver glycogen is low, such as after a run, the fructose will be used to replenish it.

*  Sugar accelerates aging. It even contributes to that telltale sign of aging that is sagging skin and rankles.

* Sugar affect behavior and cognition in children.

*Sugar increases stress. When we are under stress our stress hormone level.

*  Sugar contribute to lepton resistance and then weight gain, craving, sleep trouble etc.

*  Most common and most basic damage it does is Tooth decay and gum disease.

*  Sugar causes blood glucose to spike and plummet: unstable blood sugar often leads to mood swings, fatigue, headaches and craving for more sugar.

*         Sugar create an addictive sugar response in the Brain.

Now that you know the negative impacts that refined sugar can have in your body and mind, you’ll want to be more careful about the foods you choose and want to eat.

Cutting down sugar.

This tips may help you cut down level of sugar you take:

·        Instead of sugary things like fizzzy drinks and juices drinks, go for water or unsweetened fruit juice.

·        Dilute fruit juice for children to further reduce the sugar.

·        If you take sugar in hot teas, drinks or add it to cereal, gradually reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether.

·        Choose TINS of fruit in juice rather than SYRUP

·        Choose whole grain breakfast cereals but not those coated with sugar or honey.

·        Most importantly check nutrition label to help you pick the food with less added sugar or go for the low sugar version.

I hope this helps you to reduce the amount of sugar you take in a day.

The maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

MEN: 150mcalories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).

WOMEN: 100calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

  For me I like sugar in fact I love it and I take it almost every day

The funny part is that I know it harmful and not healthy but I can stop taking it especially if its ICECREAM, CHOCOLATE, CAKES yummy but with this my write-up I hope to reduce my intake of sugar and hope you do the same.

Finally sugar does not fill you up instead encourage you to eat more cause you never get satisfy with it take note.
  CRD: HULAIRA TSADU