Recently, I received an interview from the media asking , " Are low-sugar, sugar-free foods really healthy and effective?" ”。
Although "sugar-free food" has been on fire for not a year or two, many people also understand the harm of sugar; but when it comes to "sugar" and "sugar-free food", there are still misunderstandings about the understanding of many basic concepts, so let's sort it out today.
Sugar in daily life generally refers to the most common "sucrose", white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar... It's all sucrose.
In the field of food nutrition, "sugar" generally refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides. Disaccharides are made by joining 2 monosaccharides.
Simple sugars include glucose, fructose, etc., and disaccharides include sucrose, lactose, maltose and the like. Sucrose = glucose + fructose.
▲ Brown sugar brown sugar, also sucrose. By Moe Rubenzahl/ wikimedia
They are "simple carbohydrates" and are characterized by their rapid absorption and can cause large fluctuations in blood sugar.
Generally refers to the monosaccharides and disaccharides contained in foods.
So, if you see a carton of pure milk labeled "Sugar 4.6g/100g", don't dismiss it – it's not sugared milk, it's the lactose that comes with the milk.
In some countries, such as the United States, the nutrition label will label Added Sugar added sugar, which refers to the additional monosaccharides and disaccharides, excluding the sugars that come with it.
The sugars in "sugar-free foods" are also the sum of monosaccharides and disaccharides, but do not include lactose.
For every 100g or 100ml of food, sugar ≤ 0.5g, which can be called "sugar-free".
According to the standard of sugar-free food to see supermarket snacks, it is estimated that more than 80% of snacks can not meet this requirement, so manufacturers have played word games.
Sucrose-free≠ sugar-free, added-free≠ sugar-free.
Without adding sucrose, honey, maple syrup, beet sugar, coconut sugar, juice...
No sugar is added, but the ingredients themselves may contain sugar, such as dried fruits and dairy products.
Fruits naturally contain fructose, glucose, sucrose and other sugars, even if there is no natural dried fruit marinated with sugar, the sugar column is not zero.
▲Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels
Sugar is only a part of carbohydrates, and starch, dietary fiber, and sugar alcohols are also carbohydrates.
▲ When buying some Imported Foods from Japan, you will see the word "sugar", which refers to the part of digestible carbohydrates.
Sugar alcohols are a hydrogenated form of carbohydrates, also carbohydrates, which also have calories and have a slight effect on blood sugar (with the exception of erythritol).
Dietary fiber and starch, belonging to the "polysaccharide".
Sweeteners , as the name suggests, provide a substance that sweetens.
In addition to sugar, there are many other substances that also provide sweetness, some of which are naturally found in food, and some of which are chemically synthesized.
Depending on whether or not calories are provided, they can be divided into nutritional sweeteners and non-nutritious sweeteners [3].
However, in some places, food legislation stipulates that sweeteners/sugar substitutes specifically refer to substances that provide sweetness other than sugars and sugar alcohols[2], which are mainly non-nutritive sweeteners;
In some countries, the legislation refers to substances other than sugar that can provide sweetness as "sweeteners", including sugar alcohols and non-nutritive sweeteners.
not necessarily.
The nutrients that raise blood sugar are not just sugar, but also starch. Unsweetened porridge, soft glutinous rice, fluffy white bread, the same is a high-sugar food.
Protein, fat, and dietary fiber do not raise blood sugar, but they affect the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and absorbed, resulting in the effect of "pulling down" GI (glycemic index).
The GI value of butter cookies is lower than that of white rice. However, eating such high-fat, high-calorie foods often is also detrimental to blood sugar control in the long run.
Therefore, in addition to whether to add sugar, it is also necessary to consider factors such as raw materials and processing methods. Even if there is no sugar, but there is a lot of fat, a lot of starch, and made into a very digestible form, such a sugar-free food diabetics should also be careful.
From a safety perspective, no problem.
At present, there are more than ten kinds of sweeteners used in China, and there are regulations on where they are allowed to be used and how much they are added.
Many other authorities, such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the European Food Safety Authority, also believe that approved sugar substitutes, if used fairly, will not cause harm to human health.
The maltitol used in the "low-sugar mooncake" that makes people diarrhea is also a sweetener widely used around the world, and can generally be used "according to the actual needs of production", without specific limits.
But sugar alcohols are not fully digested in the human body, and excessive sugar alcohol intake can lead to osmotic diarrhea.
Although it has been reported in the literature that an intake of more than 90 g/day causes diarrhea [1], diarrhea symptoms may also occur if this amount is not reached due to individual differences. (We also received mooncakes from Zhihu, and no friends reported diarrhea)
▲Western pears have more sorbitol content than other varieties of pears
In fact, sugar alcohol is also an ingredient naturally contained in many foods. For example, many fruits of the rosaceae family, such as pears and prunes, are rich in sorbitol.
Some people, especially those with a bad stomach, eat pears and prunes have a particularly good effect, in addition to fiber abundance, sorbitol also contributes.
Therefore, people with gastrointestinal problems should be careful when eating sugar-free foods, Pears and other foods with excellent intestinal strength. Keep an eye on the ingredient list to see what sugar substitutes are used.
In addition, China stipulates that food additives, including sweeteners, must not be added to infant food. Therefore, for children under 3 years old, it is not recommended to choose snacks with sweeteners.
The harm of eating sugar to health is multifaceted, not only calories and gain weight, but also the impact on teeth, blood lipids, blood sugar, uric acid, skin health and so on.
Therefore, the Health Commission is also implementing the "sugar reduction" action.
Many non-sugar sweeteners do not contain calories, do not raise blood sugar, and do not cause tooth decay, which is indeed better than sugar in this regard; but "sugar-free food" only avoids the problem of sugar, and does not solve the problem of other aspects of food, let alone solve the problem of other aspects of the diet.
Whether it is "healthy food" or "junk food", the impact on health can only be reflected in the case of long-term and large-scale eating, what is important is the amount and frequency of eating, and pay attention to the overall diet structure.
Resources
[1] Ruskoné-Fourmestraux, A., Attar, A., Chassard, D. et al. A digestive tolerance study of maltitol after occasional and regular consumption in healthy humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 26–30 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601516
[2]https://www.cfs.gov.hk/sc_chi/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_44_02.html
[3]https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/nutritive-and-nonnutritive-sweetener-resources
[4] GB2760 "National Standard for Food Safety" Standard for the Use of Food Additives
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