Introduction: Children often eat candy during holidays or exciting occasions. The atmosphere is cheerful, adults don't impose as many restrictions as usual, and the children get excited—all due to the environment.
1. Eating sugar causes diabetes
The causes of diabetes are very complex and have not yet been definitively concluded. Genetics, obesity, aging, or lifestyle can all be factors. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder where the body cannot properly metabolize carbohydrates.
It's because you have diabetes that you need to control the carbohydrates in your diet. The key is the total amount of carbohydrates, not the source. Sugar is just one type of carbohydrate.
2. Sugar is the root cause of obesity
Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than you burn, leading to excess fat. Eating more sugar and exercising less is the key to weight gain. It's not just sugar; eating more oil, meat, rice, etc., can also make you fat.
3. Children become hyperactive after eating sugar
Children often eat candy during holidays or exciting occasions. The atmosphere is cheerful, adults don't impose as many restrictions as usual, and the children get excited—all due to the environment.
4. Salty taste means low sugar content
Not necessarily. Snacks like potato chips, despite their salty taste, are not only high in salt but also high in sugar.
The high salt content makes the food very salty, so a large amount of sugar is added to mask the salty flavor, allowing people to eat more and more.
5. Artificial sweeteners are unsafe
Artificial sweeteners are sweet but contain no calories. Among them, saccharin is the most widely used, cheapest, and sweetest artificial sweetener in the world (200-700 times sweeter than regular sucrose). Animal studies found that large amounts of saccharin could cause cancer. Therefore, saccharin was banned for nearly 20 years. The ban was lifted in 1991, allowing saccharin to be added to beverages and foods.
This is because subsequent studies found no correlation between saccharin consumption and cancer in people who consume high amounts (such as diabetics). Most importantly, the high doses used in animal studies are difficult for the average person to achieve in daily life. While other artificial sweeteners may raise concerns about cancer, there is currently no scientific evidence to prove that sugar causes cancer or memory loss.
6. Not sweet means low sugar content
In fact, people perceive sugar with impurities to be sweeter, so brown sugar (78-86% sucrose) is sweeter than refined white sugar (99% sucrose).
7. Fructose is a good sugar
The sweetness of fructose is 1.17 times that of sucrose. Common 55% fructose syrup on the market (half fructose, half sucrose) can increase sweetness to 1.28 times.
Therefore, to achieve the same level of sweetness, less fructose is needed than regular sucrose, which reduces calories. However, fructose significantly increases triglycerides and uric acid more than other sugars. Besides diabetics, people with high blood lipids and gout must use it with caution.
8. Low-calorie oligosaccharides can be eaten with confidence
Compared to regular sugar, oligosaccharides have a more complex structure, consisting of several monosaccharides linked together, which the human body cannot break down and absorb. Therefore, each gram of oligosaccharide produces only 0-2.5 kcal, half that of regular sugar. Its sweetness is 20-70% of sucrose, comparable to maltose.
Only bacteria in the large intestine can use it for fermentation, changing the intestinal environment and helping good bacteria grow, which is why some yogurts add oligosaccharides. However, individual tolerance varies, and some people may experience diarrhea after consuming them. If trying for the first time, it is recommended to start with 5g (about 1 teaspoon).
9. A low-sugar diet for rapid weight loss
A type of popular weight-loss book on the market emphasizes that refined sugars and starchy foods are the main culprits for body fat accumulation. It advises staying away from them and turning to steaks and salads, claiming that people can burn fat and lose weight quickly in a short time.
However, a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet leads to weight loss due to water and protein loss. A diet that is high in fat and nutritionally unbalanced can lead to long-term risks such as diarrhea and fluid imbalance.
10. Addiction to sugar
Addiction means feeling unwell without it. For example, smokers become irritable and have difficulty concentrating when they don't smoke. However, when people don't eat sugar, their bodies do not experience any discomfort, and they can continue their daily lives.