Why sugar is called "white death" and why it is considered harmful. White Death: Why Excess Sugar and Salt in Food is Harmful A Brief Course in the Biology of Sugars

American biologists propose to equate sugar and sweeteners mixture based fructose and glucose to alcohol and, since the abuse of sweets causes most of the list of chronic diseases and syndromes that are associated with alcoholism

Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis from the University of California at San Francisco (USA) on the management of sugar and other sweet substances in overview article in the journal Nature. The authors of the article argue that the constant overeating of sweets causes the same Negative consequences as well as alcohol abuse. To prove their point, they compare sugar and alcohol according to four criteria that have previously been used to describe the harm of alcohol.

Sugar (Sucrose)

C 12 H 22 O 11, or beet sugar, cane sugar, in everyday life just sugar - a disaccharide from the group of oligosaccharides, consisting of two monosaccharides - α-glucose and β-fructose.

sucrose is a very common disaccharide in nature, it is found in many fruits, fruits and berries. The content of sucrose is especially high in sugar beet and sugar cane, which are used for the industrial production of edible sugar.

World production in 1990 - 110,000,000 tons

aspartame

aspartame- sweetener, sugar substitute ( food supplement E951 ). L-Aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl breaks down in the human body into methanol and two proteinogenic amino acids: aspartic and phenylalanine.

aspartame about 160-200 times sweeter than sugar, odorless, soluble in water. Although this sweetener, like carbohydrates and proteins, has a calorie content of 4 kcal / g, a small amount is needed to create a sweet taste. aspartame, so its contribution to the calorie content of food is not taken into account. Compared to sugar, the taste sensation of sweetness from aspartame appears more slowly and stays longer. When heated aspartame breaks down and is therefore unsuitable for sweetening heat-treated foods.

Consumption of foods containing amino acids phenylalanine is contraindicated in people with hereditary disease phenylketonuria, so in many countries, including Russia, products containing aspartame must have a warning " Contains a source of phenylalanine ».

In animals fed aspartame, there was a clear trend towards the development of different types of malignant diseases, including lymphomas, leukemias and multiple tumors various bodies. Scientists suggest that one of the metabolites is to blame aspartame- methanol, which in the process of metabolism turns into formaldehyde. According to the researchers, both are potential carcinogens.

In their analysis of the effects of phenylalanine, the authors detail the substance's ability to disrupt brain chemistry, including its ability to lower levels of key brain chemicals such as serotonin (which can adversely affect various areas including mood, behavior, sleep and appetite). The authors also point out that phenylalanine also has the ability to disrupt amino acid metabolism, nerve function, and hormonal balance in the body. They claim that aspartame capable of destroying nerve cells and this can in turn cause Alzheimer's disease.

There is an opinion that aspartame dangerous for diabetics. Retinopathy in diabetics can occur due to poisoning aspartame. aspartame contributes to the fact that the level of sugar in the blood becomes uncontrollable. At a conference of the American College of Physicians, there were reports, not supported by the facts, that the transition of a diabetic from saccharin to products containing aspartame, led, ultimately, to the development of coma.

Non-nutritive sugar substitute - aspartame in solution - stimulates appetite: “After taking aspartame, the subjects continued to feel a residual feeling of hunger, in contrast to the intake of glucose. This feeling is functional, it leads to increased food intake. A strong feeling of hunger can last up to an hour and a half after taking artificial sweeteners.

Cyclamate

Sodium cyclamate A sweetener, a petroleum-based synthetic substance used to impart a sweet taste. Sodium cyclamate is 30-50 times sweeter than sugar. Widely used for sweetening foods, drinks, medicines.

It is not absorbed by the body and is excreted in the urine. Safe daily dose- 10 mg per 1 kg of body weight.

Sodium cyclamate increases cancer risk according to studies Bladder in rats, but epidemiological data do not support a similar risk in humans.

Sodium cyclamate registered as food supplement E952 , is allowed in more than 55 countries (including the countries of the European Union). Sodium cyclamate was banned in the United States in 1969, the issue of lifting the ban is currently being considered.

Also, some people have bacteria in their intestines that can process sodium cyclamate with the formation of metabolites that are conditionally teratogenic, so it prohibited for pregnant women(especially in the first 2-3 weeks of pregnancy)

Saccharin

Ortho-sulfobenzoic acid imide, 2-sulfobenzoic acid imide, ortho-sulfobenzimide are colorless crystals of sweet taste, slightly soluble in water. Marketed "saccharin" is a crystalline hydrate sodium salt, which is 300-500 times sweeter than sugar. Saccharin is not absorbed by the body (it is excreted in the urine).

Saccharin used instead of sugar in diabetes, as well as a substitute for sugar. In the food industry, saccharin is registered as food additive E954 as a sweetener. Like other sweeteners, saccharin has no nutritional properties and is a typical xenobiotic.

Saccharin weakens the work of digestive enzymes and reveals bactericidal properties that are superior in strength to phenol and salicylic acid taken in the same doses.

Saccharin negatively affects the absorption of biotin, inhibiting the intestinal microflora, prevents its synthesis. Therefore, the systematic use of saccharin together with sugar is a risk factor. occurrence of hyperglycemia. Causal chain: (regular use of saccharin with sugar) → (impaired absorption of biotin + inhibition of synthesis) → (biotin-avitaminosis) → (decrease in the synthesis of glucokinase in the body) → (Hyperglycemia).

Saccharin approved by the Joint expert commission on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization and the Scientific Committee on food products European Union, allowed in more than 90 countries (including Russia). JECFA recommended allowable daily dose in the amount of 5 mg per 1 kg of human body weight. It is believed that if this dose is observed, the product does not pose a health hazard.

Current food use saccharin greatly reduced, although sweeteners are produced on saccharine (Sukrazit), and mixtures of sweeteners are used in drinks and some other products, since when used on its own it gives a not very pleasant metallic aftertaste.

Fructose

Aarabino-hexulose, levulose, fruit sugar - monosaccharide - ketohexose, only the D-isomer is present in living organisms - in free form in almost all sweet berries and fruits, as a monosaccharide unit it is part of sucrose and lactulose.

For centuries, the Guarani Indians in what is now Brazil and Paraguay have eaten certain types of stevia, especially Stevia rebaudiana which they called ka'a he'ê("sweet herb") as a sweetener for mate and other medicinal teas, to treat heartburn and other ailments.

AT recent times Stevia as a sweetener has received renewed attention due to the increased need for a low-carbohydrate, low-sugar diet. As a sweetener, it is widely used in Japan, and in the USA and Canada it is used as food supplement. medical research also showed good results stevia for the treatment of obesity and hypertension.

Extracts called steviosides steviosides) and rebaudiosides (eng. rebaudiosides), turned out to be 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose. Feeling sweet for stevia comes slower than regular sugar, but lasts longer. However, especially at high concentrations, it may have a bitter aftertaste or liquorice residue. does not significantly affect the amount of glucose in the blood and for this reason is indicated for diabetics and other carbohydrate diets.

40% of the total market stevia Japan accounts for more than anywhere else.

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a comprehensive assessment of recent experimental studies stevioside and steviol, carried out on animals and humans, and concluded that « steviosides and rebaudiosides A are non-genotoxic in laboratory conditions and on a living organism, the genotoxicity of steviol and some of its oxidative derivatives, expressed in laboratory conditions, was not found in natural conditions» . The report also found no evidence of carcinogenicity of the product. Further, the report indicated that « stevioside demonstrated evidence pharmacological effect in patients with hypertension or type 2 diabetes» and that further research should determine the appropriate dosage of the substance.

What do we have in the dry residue of harmless sweets? Fructose and .

Fructose I found it in the nearest store, but not yet ...

Tuppi cites the example of professional athletes who often consume a lot of sugar, but rarely have diseased heart. High level their fructose is simply converted into the energy they need in the process of training and competition.

Overall, there is very little evidence that added sugar is directly responsible for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer. Yes, a large amount of it is usually present in such patients. But clinical researches It has not yet been determined exactly what caused these diseases.

Is there an addiction to sugar? A review of research on the subject, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2017, gives an example: mice suffer when they are deprived of sugar, and the effect is similar to that experienced by drug addicts deprived of cocaine.

However, that study has been widely criticized for misinterpreting the results. One of the main points of criticism: the animals were given sugar for only two hours a day. If they are allowed to eat it when they want (that is, exactly as we ourselves do), then the mice do not demonstrate any sugar dependence.

However, studies have shown that there are other ways sugar affects our brains. Matthew Paise, a scientist at the Swinburne Center for Psychopharmacology, tested the association between sugary drink consumption and MRI markers of brain health.

Those who drank these drinks and fruit juices more frequently showed decreased memory function and smaller brains. Those who consumed two sugary drinks a day had brains that looked two years older than those who did not drink them at all. However, he only measured consumption of fruit drinks, according to Paise, so he's not sure if sugar on its own has such an impact on brain health.

“People who drink more fruit juices or sugary drinks may have other unhealthy food components in their diet or bad habits. Let's say they may never exercise their body," Paise emphasizes.

One recent study found that sugar can even help improve the memory and well-being of aging adults. The scientists gave the participants a drink containing a small amount of glucose and asked them to complete various memory tasks. Other participants were given a drink with an artificial sweetener.

The results showed that sugar consumption improves the motivation of older people to complete complex tasks, and they do not feel the difficulty of the challenge. Raising their blood sugar levels increases their satisfaction with what they are doing. Younger adults also showed an increase in energy levels after drinking a glucose drink, but this did not affect their memory or mood.

Sweet mortal sin

Although in current recommendations Doctors advise that added sugar should not make up more than 5% of our daily calorie intake, nutritionist Renee McGregor says it's important to understand that a healthy, balanced diet is different for everyone.

"I work with athletes who need more sugar during intense workouts because it's easy to digest," she says.

For the rest of the people, it is true that added sugar is not needed as part of our diet. But a number of experts warn against talking about it as a poison. McGregor, among whose patients there are also those who suffer from orthorexia nervosa (an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating), says that it is wrong to divide products into bad and good.

By making sugar taboo, you can make it even more attractive.

“Once you're told you shouldn't eat something, you'll want to eat it,” she emphasizes. - Therefore, I never say that some product should never be eaten. I'm just pointing out that this product has no nutritional value. But sometimes products have other values.”

James Madison University Associate Professor Alan Levinowitz studies the relationship between religion and science. He says he exists simple reason why we consider sugar to be evil: throughout history, it has been common for mankind to blame all the sins on those things that are very difficult to refuse (for example, sexual pleasures). Today we do it with sugar to somehow curb our appetite.

“Sweet tastes very good, so we are forced to consider the consumption of sugar as a mortal sin. When we perceive the world in black and white, in terms of “either good or bad,” it is impossible to come to terms with the fact that there are moderately harmful things. That's what happened with sugar,” says Levinowitz.

According to him, if you approach food with such extreme standards and look in simple process supply some kind of morality, then you can fall into a deep and constant anxiety about everything we eat. The process of deciding what to eat can be overwhelming.

Removing sugar from the diet altogether can be counterproductive, as it means that it will need to be replaced with something - perhaps something even more nutritious. If we are carried away by the debate about the dangers of sugar, we run the risk of putting foods with added sugar (for example, sugary drinks) and completely healthy foods containing sugar (for example, fruits) in one basket.

This happened to 28-year-old Swede Tina Grundin, who, as she admits, believed that any sugar was harmful. Because of this, she followed a high-protein, high-fat vegan diet, which she says led to an undiagnosed eating disorder.

“When I started to vomit after eating, I realized that I couldn’t do this anymore. I grew up wary of sugar in all its forms,” she admits. - But then I realized that there is a huge difference between added sugar and carbohydrates. And I switched to a diet rich in fructose and starch, with natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains.”

“And from the very first day, it was as if some kind of veil had fallen from my eyes. Finally, I began to provide my cells with the energy contained in glucose.

Scientists are still arguing about how different types sugars affect our health. But the irony of the situation is that we will get better if we think less about it.

“We over-complicate everything related to nutrition, because everyone strives for perfection, everyone wants to appear perfect and successful. But it doesn’t happen either,” says McGregor.

Few of us can imagine life without sugar. A spoonful of sweet sand in morning coffee, a pinch of powdered sugar on a bun, a couple of pieces of refined sugar for evening tea - sweetening dishes and drinks has long and firmly entered our everyday life, so even the very idea of ​​eliminating sugar from consumption seems amazing.

Is it possible to not eat sugar at all? It turns out that many experts who care about our health have accumulated a whole list of accusations against sugar, and they call, if not for the absolute rejection of its consumption, then at least for a significant reduction in the content in the daily menu. Why is sugar bad? And why is he dangerous?

Harm of sugar: a word to chemists

From the point of view of a chemist, the sugar we are used to is called sucrose and is a disaccharide, that is, a carbohydrate whose molecules consist of two parts - glucose and fructose. In nature, glucose and fructose are often found in fruits and berries, these monosaccharides are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and are easily absorbed by the body. But sucrose, getting into the intestines, must first be broken down into glucose and fructose before the body can absorb it.

The more sucrose enters the intestine, the slower it breaks down and the more often undigested carbohydrates remain, preventing normal operation organism.

The harm of sugar: a word to doctors

Endocrinologists are the loudest talk about the dangers of sugar for human health. According to their observations, undigested and incompletely split sucrose molecules enter the bloodstream and irritate the pancreas. It is this gland that produces the hormone insulin, which regulates the absorption of carbohydrates and their distribution to the liver, muscles, and fat reserves. Frequent irritation of the pancreas by sucrose leads to a violation metabolism and failures in the work of many organs and systems.

From the point of view of cardiologists, an increased concentration of sucrose in the blood disrupts the permeability of the walls of the arteries, provokes thrombosis, the deposition of cholesterol plaques and the rapid development of atherosclerosis.

According to neurologists, sucrose, splitting in the intestine, reduces the ability of intestinal microorganisms to produce B vitamins. But it is these vitamins that have a huge impact on the work nervous system human and increase the body's defenses.

Gastroenterologists blame sucrose for disrupting intestinal metabolism and causing chronic constipation.

Dentists also have many complaints about sugar, since sucrose has a high ability to combine with calcium molecules, preventing it from penetrating through cell membranes. As a result, it breaks calcium metabolism, tooth enamel is weakened and destroyed, and we are increasingly turning to doctors with problems dental caries.

Harm of sugar: a word to nutritionists

Nutritionists are sounding the alarm - the love of sugar-based sweets turns around very quickly overweight, especially after 30 years, when organs and tissues are more and more slowly wasting calories entering the body. But excess weight- it's not only aesthetic problem, but also an excessive load on the heart, blood vessels, joints, which is fraught with the occurrence of varicose veins, arthrosis and heart failure.

In addition, nutritionists remind that sugar and confectionery, to which it is added, belong to the so-called fast carbohydrates, which are energetically processed by the body and instantly increase blood glucose levels, creating a feeling of satiety and a burst of energy. However, very soon this level of glucose begins to drop rapidly, and we again feel hungry, trying to seize it with a new portion of sugar-containing foods. At the same time, excess reserves of carbohydrates are created, which are transferred by the body to the reserve, and we complain about weight gain.

The harm of sugar: a word to cosmetologists

Excessive intake of sucrose disrupts the synthesis in the body of riboflavin, folic and pantothenic acid, other vitamins and minerals, due to which the hair becomes dull and brittle, nails exfoliate, and the skin on the face peels off and loses elasticity.

According to cosmetologists, excessive consumption of carbohydrates, in particular sucrose, increases the secretion of sebum, provoking exacerbation of seborrhea, dermatitis and acne.

The harm of sugar: the final word of the prosecution

The biggest claims about harmfulness are made to refined white sugar. According to scientists, in the process of processing and cleaning beet raw materials, from which we then get a sweet snow-white product, dozens of the most valuable chemical and biological active elements are lost, which could greatly facilitate the absorption of sucrose, and instead we get only excess calories and an excessive load on organism.

Scientists are much more supportive of brown sugar, which owes its color to the unrefined remains of valuable minerals, organic acids and pectins. Although brown sugar is also quite high in calories, its absorption is easier, and therefore it does not greatly affect the appearance overweight.

AT different countries(Japan, Russia, India) experiments are being carried out to enrich white refined sugar with extracts of echinacea, Schisandra chinensis and others medicinal plants. However, the so-called "yellow sugar" has not yet received wide distribution.

What kind of sugar to choose and how much to eat - everyone decides individually. Calls to completely cut sugar consumption and return to the diet of our ancestors, who received carbohydrates from honey and processed fruits, do not seem too realistic. Probably the easiest way to reduce the harmful effects of sugar is to consume it in moderation.

Salt is white death, and sugar is sweet. So says endocrinologist, MD, author of several books on the problem of obesity, and popular lectures ("Sugar: the bitter truth", "Fat chance: fructose 2.0") Robert Lustig (Robert Lustig). In his opinion, manufacturers add sugar to all products, even "healthy" ones, which can lead to disaster. Why? Dr. Lustig's answer is under the cut. Sugar leads to obesity 13% of the calories consumed by the average American every day are sugar. 22 teaspoons per day (if you add up all the sucrose consumed during the day through food). At a rate of 6 for women and 9 for men. But blaming the food industry for your extra pounds is stupid. According to Lustig, the person chooses how to dress the salad - sweet sauce or olive oil. Sugar fools our brain Sucrose consists of two monosaccharides - glucose and fructose. The latter increases the body's resistance to the hunger hormone (leptin). Usually a person loses control over his appetite when eating high-calorie foods. But studies have shown that fructose also deceives our brain. Leptin regulates the body's energy metabolism and tells the brain: "I'm full." Fructose prevents leptin from reaching the brain and creates a feeling of unsatisfaction. Sugar - the catalyst for aging According to Dr. Lustig, sugar makes a significant contribution to the aging process, since fructose, which makes up 50% of the sucrose molecule, releases oxygen radicals, which, in turn, accelerate the rate of growth and death of cells, and also contribute to the development chronic diseases (diabetes 2 types, cardiovascular and other diseases). At the same time, Lustig warns that sugar, and with it old age, “hides”, sometimes, in unexpected products. For example, ketchup and tomato paste. Sugar - "rusts" our body When sugar interacts with proteins, the so-called Maillard reaction occurs in the body. At normal conditions the rate of this reaction is so slow that its products have time to leave. However, the higher the blood sugar level, the faster the reaction rate. Accumulating, the reaction products lead to numerous disturbances in the body. In particular, the accumulation of some late products of the Maillard reaction provokes age-related changes in tissues. Literally - they "rust". According to Lustig, the habit of indulging in something sweet supports and accelerates this process. Sugar leads to accumulation of fat in the liver Hepatic steatosis is a metabolic disorder in which fat accumulates in the liver cells. One of the main causes of steatosis is an unbalanced diet. When you consume too much sugar, your liver can't process it. The pancreas tries to come to the rescue and starts producing additional insulin. This is the so-called non-alcoholic steatosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who consume 1,000 extra calories a day from sweets only 2% of the time have excess weight, but in 27% of cases they have an accumulation of fat in the liver. Sugar is the "drug" Dopamine is the "hormone of desire". It is an important part of the “reward system” of the brain. Dopamine causes a feeling of pleasure when we have sex or eat delicious food. Psychologically, dopamine is our motivator. If a person’s production of this hormone is disrupted, he doesn’t want anything, he doesn’t get satisfaction from anything. Sugar promotes the production of dopamine. At the same time, the body gradually sits down on a sweet “needle” and requires ever larger doses, otherwise pleasure does not occur. Sugar is an arterial killer Endothelium is the cells lining the inner surface of blood and lymphatic vessels, as well as heart cavities. The endothelium performs a number of important functions: control of blood clotting, regulation blood pressure other. The endothelium is susceptible to chemical damage, which in turn can be caused by sugar. Rather, it contains glucose. It "sticks" to the walls of blood vessels, oxidizing and destroying the endothelium. According to Lustig, sugar is found even in meat bought in the store in a semi-cooked form. To keep himself healthy and warn himself against excessive consumption of sugar, he recommends: do not buy processed foods; read labels carefully; eat natural (Organic) products; buy yogurts with a sugar content of no more than 10 grams (for example, Greek); replace lemonade with natural juices. How much sugar do you consume per day?