We all know that sugar is a condiment, eating desserts can make people feel better, so a variety of sugar-rich drinks, snacks are widely loved by young people, and even some people eat sugar addiction. With the development of the economy and the advancement of medicine, people gradually realized that consuming too much sugar will bring various negative effects to the body, the most common of which is to cause obesity, type 2 diabetes, acne and so on.
In recent years, the concept of sugar substitute has gradually become popular, and products such as sugar-free cola, zero-calorie soda, and sugar-free cake are mainly sugar-free and low-fat, suitable for people who want to maintain their body.
So what exactly is sugar substitute?
The reason why we drink and eat food is sweet is generally to add sugar substances such as white sugar, sucrose, glucose, etc., but these substances are very high in calories. Sugar substitute is a sweet additive, it is not sugar in the true sense, only sweet, the calories are very low, and it will not cause blood sugar to rise, originally developed for diabetics, and later with the publicity of the business, it is gradually sought after by the public.
Sugar substitute is a general term for a class of sweeteners, and its types are very diverse, and not all foods add sugar substitutes are the same. According to the amount of calories provided by sugar substitutes, they can be divided into two categories: nutritional sugar substitutes (which can provide calories) and non-nutritional sugar substitutes (which cannot provide calories).
Xylitol
This is a more familiar type of sugar generation, xylitol chewing gum is added to this substance, is a type of sugar substitute extracted from crops such as corn cobs and bagasse.
2. Mannitol, sorbitol
Generally will be added to candy, jam and other foods, in addition to some drugs outside the bread has a layer of icing, so that the taste of the drug is not so bitter, icing is also added to these two kinds of sugar substitutes.
1. Synthetic sugar substitutes
There are aspartame, cyclamate, sweetener, sucralose, saccharin, etc., which can often be seen in the food ingredient list, because of its high sweetness, cheap price, easy to buy, so it is very favored by food processing manufacturers.
2. Natural sugar substitute
There are stevia, monk fruit glycosides, licorice, etc., generally with the name of the plant, is extracted from the plant sugar substitute, relatively healthy, basically will not raise blood sugar.
Although the calorie substitute is relatively low, it is not completely harmless to health, and may bring some potential health risks to the body.
1. If you can't lose weight, you may gain weight
Many people believe that as long as they do not eat sweets, reducing calorie intake will definitely be thin, so low-calorie sugar substitute foods have become popular. However, a growing body of research suggests that eating sweeteners is associated with higher body weight, that is, people who eat more sugar substitutes are fatter than those who don't.
Because I eat sugar substitute food, I am psychologically comforted and feel that I will not gain weight, so I will unconsciously ingest more food. Cakes, biscuits, drinks and other foods, even if sugar substitutes are used, still have a lot of carbohydrates and fats, and they will gain weight after eating. Therefore, it is unreliable to lose weight by eating sugar substitute foods.
2. Destroy the gastrointestinal microbial environment
Sugar substitute food does not contain fructose, glucose and other components, the gastrointestinal flora loses its source of nutrition, while other bacteria that do not need sugar can grow rapidly, resulting in diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems.
3. Affects insulin secretion
Sugar substitute is sweeter than the general sugar, after the sugar substitute enters the human body, the body will perceive the sweetness of the sugar substitute, thereby secreting insulin to stabilize blood sugar, but because the sugar substitute is not glucose, insulin can not work properly, over time, it will cause the body to become sluggish for insulin secretion signals, more likely to lead to obesity.
4. Other unknown effects
For example, osteoporosis, headache, palpitations, vision loss, hyperlipidemia, etc., although there is no sufficient evidence that there is a definite link between these diseases and sugar generation, many of them only stay in the animal experiment stage, but it has triggered people to think about sugar generation.
In short, for sugar substitutes, it is no problem to eat a little when you are occasionally hungry, but if you treat it as "healthy food", "weight loss saints", eat a lot, and even replace the daily diet, it will not be worth the loss, and you must not rely too much on sugar substitute foods.