Today, are you "sugar-free"?
"Sugar-free" is a trendy lifestyle for many people nowadays. It refers to a lifestyle of avoiding or minimizing sugar intake to stay away from obesity and diabetes. However, does our body really need to be sugar-free? Or is it just a misguided lifestyle?
Sugar-free ≠ "Cutting off" from sugar
Is it necessary for a healthy person to deliberately cut off from sugar and tempting sweets? The answer is no. In fact, people don't need to deliberately cut off from sugar; instead, they should focus on a balanced nutrition, primarily plant-based foods with animal-based foods as a supplement, and control the total daily calorie intake based on their individual physical condition and activity level. Foods containing sugar, such as sweets and candies, are generally best eaten in moderation. Try to eat fruits with low sugar content, such as apples, tomatoes, watermelon, and star fruit. Drink at least two glasses of milk daily to get enough calcium, but don't drink milk as water to avoid high blood sugar. Low-calorie sweeteners like xylitol, maltitol, and fructose are often not easily absorbed in the digestive tract or do not produce glucose, so they do not cause blood sugar spikes and can be consumed in moderation.
Appropriate sugar intake can supplement nutrition. A healthy person can consume 0.5 grams of sugar per kilogram of body weight per day, which means a person weighing 60 kg should control their daily sugar intake to within 30 grams. To quantify it, a large spoonful of jam contains about 15 grams of sugar, one can of cola contains about 37 grams of sugar, three small pieces of chocolate contain about 9 grams of sugar, and one ice cream bar contains about 10 grams of sugar.
Blood Sugar < Sugar + Calories
The practice of many people who exclusively choose sugar-free foods, such as chewing sugar-free gum, drinking sugar-free cola, and eating sugar-free pastries, is not necessarily reliable. Because sugar-free foods only guarantee that no granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, maltose, etc., have been added, but many foods themselves contain sugar, as well as a large amount of high-calorie components such as starch and fat. For example, the main component of many grain foods is carbohydrates, which ultimately breaks down into glucose in the human body. Also, foods like lotus root starch, milk, yogurt, ice cream, and milk powder contain sugar and will inevitably have calories, which will also affect blood sugar levels.