Sugar in the diet

This subpage on sugar constitutes the fourth part of the theory for Biotech Academy’s material on the Body and the Diet.

Colloquially, the word “sugar” is used in many contexts. You’ve probably heard of icing sugar, sugar cubes and regular sugar. But you may have also once said that you were about to go sugar cold? Or met someone with the disease diabetes?

It can be difficult to figure out what exactly you mean when talking about sugar. In this article, you’ll learn what sugar is on a chemical level, what it does to your body, what the term “empty calories” covers, and why one of the dietary guidelines is about eating less sugar.

Chemically speaking

When you talk about sugar on a chemical level, it’s about different sugars. Remember that carbohydrates can be different sizes? Monosaccharides and disaccharides, which belong to the smallest of their kind, are the most common sugars.

Glucose (grape sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar) belong to the monosaccharides. Of the disaccharides, lactose (milk sugar) and sucrose (cane sugar) are the most used.

Added sugar

When you eat a chocolate bar or drink a soft drink, it is added sugar, which can be glucose or sucrose, for example. This means that the food does not have a natural content of sugar.

When a food, such as a soft drink, contains “empty calories”, it means that it provides nothing but fat and sugar to your body. This gives the body a lot of energy, and if the body receives more energy than it consumes, it can lead to excess weight. Being overweight can be the cause of a number of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Three Danish trials examined the effect of “empty calories”. The researchers found that the more “empty calories” a person ate, the fewer they ate fish, fruits and vegetables, and whole grain products.

Therefore, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recommends that the diet should contain a maximum of 10% added sugar. This corresponds to 45-55 grams of sugar daily for a child of 6-18 years. In one week, children aged 11-15 years may consume a maximum of the following:

A 1/2 liter cola
1 handful of popcorn
1 small handful of Matador Mix
2 small soda ice creams
6 pieces of chocolate
1 piece of cake

Question:
Try to think back to your past week. Did you eat more or less than the recommended amount of sugar?

BMI

Knowing the weight and height of a person, it is possible to calculate whether the person is in the class of overweight or underweight. The so-called Body Mass Index, BMI, is calculated. It provides a measure of the ratio of a person’s height and weight. However, it is important to mention that it does not take into account bone mass and muscle composition. For example, a bodybuilder weighs a lot because of muscle mass, and the person will therefore have a high BMI. According to the formula, this means that you are overweight, but in reality it is the muscles that are to blame for the high number. For calculating BMI, weight must be inserted into the unit kg and the height in the unit meter. The formula for BMI is:

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It is therefore important to consider other factors when determining whether a person is in the “overweight” category. The waist circumference is a good marker to assess whether the person is overweight or not. The table shows the risk of developing type-2 diabetes based on BMI and waist circumference.

		Risk of developing diabetes-2
Classification	BMI	Waist circumference	Waist circumference
		Men $leq$ 102 cm Women: $leq$ 88 cm	Men > 102 cm Women: > 88 cm
Underweight	< 18.5	Nobody	Nobody
Normal weight	18.5 – 24.9	Nobody	Increased
Overweight	$GEQ$ 25
Moderately obese	25 – 29.9	Increased	High
Severely overweight	$GEQ$ 30	High	Very high

Source: Feller S, Boeing H, Pischon T. Body mass index, waist circumference, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: implications for routine clinical practice. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2010; 107(26):470–476. DOI:10.3238/arztebl.2010.0470

Caries

Another major problem with high sugar intake is tooth enamel. When bacteria get sugar from food, they settle on tooth enamel and convert the sugars into acid. The acid is the cause of tooth decay. Since soda has the same effect as acid, enamel does not tolerate large volumes. Cola also contains phosphoric acid to take the sweet taste. This acid is also not good for teeth and can contribute to caries.

Hidden sugar

Sugar can also be found in foods where consumers do not expect to find them. For example, rye bread or breakfast cereals. The sugar content of rye bread should be a maximum of 5 grams per 100 grams. In breakfast cereals 10 grams per 100 grams. In addition to providing a great taste, sugar is also added for other reasons. A caramel basically consists of sugar, and when sugar gets sufficiently hot, it caramelizes. It is precisely this effect that bread makers use. Due to the caramelizing effect, the bread keeps its shape, and the sugar also gives a crispy crust. When baking your own bread, you can avoid getting hidden sugar.

Bacteria and molds belong to the microorganisms. They live best when they are in an aqueous environment. Food manufacturers want to avoid microorganisms in their products, which is why they add sugar. Namely, it acts as a preservative. This means that it can lower the water activity in the food, and in this way you can avoid the microorganisms multiplying. Jams, juices and ketchup are examples where sugar is added as a preservative.

Natural sugar

When you start reading about the myths on the next tab, you will find out if there is a difference in sugar content between sweets and dried fruit. In the overview about carbohydrates, you could read that fructose belongs to the monosaccharides. Fructose is a sugar found in fruits and vegetables, among other things. Red peppers, bananas and grapes have a sweet taste, and this is due to their natural fructose content. In addition, fruits and vegetables also contain vitamins, fiber, and minerals that your body needs.

Sweeteners

Based on the knowledge that exists about sugar and the negative consequences it can have, it has become popular to go new ways. Today, there are sweeteners that are used as an alternative to sugar. An example of a sweetener is stevia. It is a natural sweetener that comes from a plant. It contains sweetener compounds that are up to 450 times sweeter than sugar.

In 1981, aspartame was approved as an additive. It is an artificial sweetener, which consists of two amino acids, phenylalanine and asparagic acid. It is used, among other things, in diet soda.
It is not without worries that aspartame and stevia are used, as it is not yet known whether stevia has any long-term effects that can be harmful to the body.
With current knowledge, sweeteners are not labelled as dangerous as long as the daily recommended intake is adhered to.