Sugar And Nutrition Essay

Improved Essays
“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in a most delightful way, “ sand Mary Poppins. Well, of course it does! What better way to mask the bitter taste of medicine then lace it with sweetness.

However, the problem is the average person in the US consumes way more that the 50g of sugar per day recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). A 2014 study conducted by the WHO concluded that the average US citizen consumes more than 126 grams of sugar per day. A sugar laden diet can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. The problem is, the high sugar consumption by the average American isn’t due to eating sugar straight up—it’s the hidden sugars added to many processed foods and drinks.

The truth is, the human
…show more content…
There are natural occurring sugars such as molasses, honey, or corn syrup. These sugars are easy to identify. Most people don’t bother to look at the ingredient list on prepacked foods. Instead, a quick glance over the nutrition facts label is the most detective work many will do. The nutritional label will list the total sugar in a serving (both natural and processed). If you actually read the ingredient label on the back of many products, you will be shocked to see how many different types of sugar are added. For the most part, sugars end with the suffix “ose”. Here’s list of the most commonly listed …show more content…
In fruit, it indicates that they are nutritionally rich. However, in soft drinks and other “sweets” it’s just empty calories.

Dextrose – Sweetener made from corn starch and is chemically identical glucose or blood sugar. It is often used in baking products and in the medical industry to help raise blood sugar. Glucose –This is the most important simple sugar in human metabolism and it naturally occurring in whole food. When you eat, your body converts food into glucose in order to be oxidized in the body in the process called metabolism. When isolated from plants to be used as a sweetener, it’s no longer beneficial.

High Fructose Corn Syrup –This is an extremely refined and highly addictive liquid fructose from corn. It’s inexpensive and use in many products such as sodas and fruit drinks. There’s no nutritional value in it—just calories.

Lactose – This is milk sugar. Yes, milk has sugar in it. Its purpose it to provide nutrition to infant mammals. Many people are intolerant to lactose—it can cause gas, bloating, cramp, diarrhea and nausea after

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    However, since the article by Dr. Bray was posted, the scientific community sought to find the truth as to whether high fructose corn syrup could really be responsible for this dramatic spike in obesity. Dr. John White is a leading opponent of Brady's hypothesis linking HFCS with obesity. Since the HFCS-obesity hypothesis was introduced by Dr. Bray in 2004, as White (2008) put it: ... it quickly took on a life of its own. This once mundane ingredient [high fructose corn syrup] became vilified in scientific circles and then in the public arena when the hypothesis was translated as fact through leading nutrition journals, weekly and specialty magazines, national and local newspapers, and an endless number of television news programs.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of HFCS

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Therefore, they are our sugars, and complex carbohydrates include starches and fibers. HFCS is a simple carbohydrate, compared to fruits, milk, and sweeteners (brown sugar & honey). (Grodner, M., Escott-Stump, S., Dorner, S., 2016, p. 8). HFCS is a sweetener that all of our sodas and fruit-flavored drinks now contain. HFCS has been shown to be very similar to table sugar as well.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dear Aunt, Your concerns about high fructose corn syrup are completely understandable. There are so many conflicting statements and ideas on the subject; it is no wonder that such controversy surrounds it. In order to fully understand the effects that high fructose corn syrup has on the body, we should start with what HFCS really is. The sweeteners that we all know and love, such as table sugar and honey, are made up of two simple sugars: glucose and fructose.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There have been vigorous studies to determine the effects sugar really has on humans and the result is breathtaking. The Journal of the American Heart Association Internal Medicine had conducted a 15 year study recently which “concluded that people who consumed more than a quarter of their daily calories as sugar were more than twice as likely to die… including increased risk of depression” (Richards). Believe it or not, sugar can actually be quite addictive in certain scenarios, boosting the brain`s reward centers. However, it only applies to an unnatural intake of sugar daily and the chance of seeing any life threatening consequences are…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Overall, obesity is not the problem; sugar is, since it damages a person’s metabolism causing a variety of diseases. For this reason, the authors point out the authorities for saying that sugar contains “empty calories” when in reality it harms a body (Lustig, Schmidt, and Brindis…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    These days, the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year. That’s about 16 times as much as the people in the late 1800’s! Sugar is extremely addictive, can lead to several diseases, and is immensely unhealthy. According to brain scans, sugar is just as addictive as cocaine.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sugar has conquered America Over the years Americans have been consuming more and more sugar, and many people are concerned that sugar is conquering America. Today’s kids are eating about three times too much sugar than they should. Sugar is becoming an issue in today’s society as it is causing health risks to many people. ”This cupcake is trying to hurt you,” by Kristen Lewis and Lauren Tarshis better supports the idea that sugar and candy have conquered America. Too much sugar can lead to many health issues that’s why it has come to people’s attention as a concern in today’s society.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Low Carbohydrate Diets

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Natural sugars are in foods such as fruit, grains and vegetables. These natural sugars not only provide energy, but they protect the body against diseases. In lecture, we discussed and observed pictures of fructose, being a hexose monosaccharide. On the other hand, refined sugars are normally processed food products such as sugar cane (Cancercenter). It is typically found as the disaccharide sucrose, which is a combination of glucose and fructose.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction Debates concerning the health effects of artificial sweeteners are relevant not only for scientists and dieticians, but also for diabetics and individuals who are trying to lose weight. According to the American Diabetes Association (2014), aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet); acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One); neotame; sucralose (Splenda); saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low, Sweet Twin, Sugar Twin); and advantame are six alternatives to natural sugar that are commonly added to foods and incorporated into store-bought foods. Rebaudioside A (Stevia) is a natural sweetener that is also quite common (para. 3, 5). The benefits of artificial sweeteners include their concentrated flavor and their low calorie content.…

    • 1366 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction: The first artificial sweetener was discovered in 1879 when scientist Constantin Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins was preforming experiments on coal tar derivatives when he inadvertently discovered saccharin.1 A few years after its discovery, saccharin was mainly being marketed towards people with diabetes.1 Around the 1940’s, when there was a sugar shortage due to World War II and being thin was becoming a desired body type artificial sweeteners started to be consumed by the general public.1 This trend has continued into modern times, and has even increased. In 2003, 15% of Americans consumed Non-nutritive sweeteners compared to just 3% in 1965.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is unhealthy food that you need to avoid on a daily basis for many reasons These foods will make you gain weight and other unhealthy food will make you increase your risk of disease. Today I will talk about food that would damage your body and decrease your health: Added Sugars and Syrups Refined Grains Low-fat or Fat-free Food Trans Fats Highly Processed Food Added Sugar and Syrup Unhealthy FoodSugar and syrup are the responsible for the obesity and metabolic diseases epidemics worldwide, such as diabetes and heart disease. Refined sugar has a lot of calories with no essential nutrients, these calories do not fill you up and keep you satiated.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Eating healthy allows students to have the energy to perform well in school and sports. Foods that contain a lot of nutrients and vitamins offer a long digestion time, giving you a slower and stable release of energy (Straight Health). The longer the digestion will take, the longer your energy will last. Principals often call during the week standardized testing to say to get plenty of rest and eat a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast can actually help students with testing because a meal containing complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, etc. can prevent a drop in blood sugar and allow students to last throughout the day (Healthier).…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She states “when it comes to sugar the average adult consumes 23 teaspoons a day.” That is 11 teaspoons over the daily limit for an average adult. In Sugar Surprise, Mansfield explains that excessive sugar intake can lead to obesity and other health issues and this can pose as a major concern in adults and children. In the “Sugar Overload: Corporate Profits vs. Public Health”, Serge Ahmed a researcher in Southern France, states “that a child consumes an average of 100 grams per day of sugar.” These are staggering results, considering the daily intake of a child is 12 grams a day.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Sugar in any form is the most craved for food in the modern world. It seems totally impossible to live without it and it is the most delicious form of food as well. You can never be done with a bite of chocolate doughnuts or Christmas cookies or strawberry shortcake or chocolate fudge brownie. But did you know that by giving in to your sugar cravings you are ruining your health?…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Carbohydrates Essay

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for living beings; its consumption is vital to our existence. The Carbohydrates play various roles in our body; the main ones are the nutrition and energy supply. The body will use every trick to keep the fed cells, as the glucose supply cannot stop. Foods rich in carbohydrates, such as breads, cereals, rice and pasta, are an important form of energy for the body and, therefore, are very important to a healthy diet. However, when consumed in excess, carbohydrates increase the amount of body fat, because excess carbohydrate is stored in the body as fat, thus, it is important not to overdo the intake of such foods.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays