Sugar (and Spice) May not be all things Nice –
Let’s not Sugar Coat it!
Sugar, has now become the “other” white powder and is associated with systemic inflammation tooth decay, increases in diabetes both in adults and children. It contributes to Metabolic Syndrome X and obesity. To add to the problem, in an attempt to substitute with other alternatives a large number of people are turning to sugar substitutes which have been shown to contribute to cancer. On average Americans consume a staggering 130 lbs. of sugar yearly. Sugar is found in nearly every food and manufactures of processed foods often sneak in sugar substitutes using names such as malt, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, maltodextrin to name a few.
What is it: a sweet crystalline substance obtained from various plants, especially sugar cane and sugar beet, consisting essentially of sucrose, and used as a sweetener in food and drink. It’s a short chain, water soluble carbohydrate.
Where is it Found:
- White Sugar – Calories 16 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium, potassium, protein, 2g of Carbs all Sugar with no trace vitamins or elements. How is it manufactured? From Sugar cane which is then shredded mixed with water and sometimes a saturated syrup then its crushed between rollers redissolved with chemicals, char filtered and evaporated further then boiled and crystalized removing its color and rendering it right. Sugar, especially highly processed sugar is used in processed foods, candies, cereals etc. While we need glucose for energy any excess gets converted to fat by the liver.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar. Calories 17 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium 2 mg, potassium 16mg, protein, 43g of Carbs all Sugar with no trace vitamins or elements. Basically same refining process except that residual molasses is left behind
- Coconut Sugar Mahava – Calories 15 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium, with trace magnesium, zinc and iron, potassium, 0g of Carbs all Sugar with no trace vitamins or elements. This product is Non-GMO, Organic, its sustainable and unrefined but the bottom line is it is essentially still a sugar.
- Honey – Calories 20 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium, potassium, protein, 17g of Carbs but because it is sweeter than sugar the theory is that people use less. It contains small trace amounts of vitamins and minerals and there is only one processing tip and that is heating the honey which cuts out 3 refining steps of sugar.
- Agave Calories 20 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium, potassium, protein, 2g of Carbs all Sugar with no trace vitamins or elements. Agave comes from the Agave plant and most Agave in the US comes from the Blue Agave Plant BUT it is as highly processed as high fructose corn syrup, is extremely sweet and at the end of the day while it is a “fructose” its still a sugar and if in excess in the body it does get converted to fat.
- Stevia – Calories 20 in a Tsp, 0 g of fat, cholesterol. Sodium, potassium, protein, 2g of Carbs all Sugar with no trace vitamins or elements. Stevia comes from the Stevia Plant and its active compound steviol glycosides are sweeter than sugar are calorie free and are effective for those on calorie/carbohydrate controlled diets as steviol does not increase blood glucose levels but beware for most commercially prepared stevia products there are 40 steps in the process using chemicals such as methanol, acetone, ethanol and isopropanol. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens. Most brands also use erythritol which is generally obtained from fermented genetically modified corn.
- Aspartame & Saccharin & Sucralose – Sugar Substitutes – Used as substitutes to sucrose to sweeten foods and drinks. Usually zero calorie with no nutritional properties but with links to cancer (with the exception of sucralose) in lab animals prompting FDA warnings that these products are harmful to your health. I usually do not recommend these products to any patients as a substitute.
Sugar is a sugar is a sugar! In excess it will convert to fat by the liver and be deposited and stored. Advice use the least processed sugar possible in the smallest amount necessary and always stick with “natural” products and not the sugar substitutes!
For more confidential help or if you have a topic you would like discussed – you can call me at 561-866-1211. Thanks Dolores
Synergy Health and Wellness Dolores@synergyhealthandwellness.net