Healthy Times Newspaper - Your Local Health & Wellness Resource 17
Good Sugar - Bad Sugar
By Bryon Verhaeghe
The food in our diet contains fat, protein and
carbohydrates. All animal life needs carbohy-
drates for energy. A surplus of carbohydrates in
the diet is stored as fat. Most of our carbohy-
drates come from plants and range from: the
dense energy found in vegetable oils, medium
dense energy found in starch, and the fast
releasing energy we call sugar.
Plants bind water with carbon using the sun’s energy. When scientists noticed
that this molecule released water when heated, they called it "hydrated carbon".
Water is called hydro or hydrate and over time this became carbo-hydrate.
The dictionary defines organic as a hydrogen or nitrogen directly bonded to a
carbon. In this definition, water is not organic and all carbohydrates are. This
means that all sugar is organic by definition and so are growth hormones and
antibiotics. This is why some "organic food" labels also state that they are hor-
mone and antibiotic free.
Sugar is a sweet carbohydrate and we often include the name of the source: cane-
sugar, beet-sugar, date-sugar, grape-sugar, corn-sugar, etc. Honey contains more
sugar than other sweeteners. The fast releasing energy in sugar can make some
people feel excited, hyperactive and jittery, or even give them feelings of panic.
The word sugar has the same meaning as saccharide. The smallest sugar unit is
called a mono-saccharide and means “one sugar.” Table sugar is a di-saccharide
where "di" means two. A chain of sugars is a poly-saccharide or “many sugars.”
This is also known as a complex carbohydrate. Digestion of carbohydrates is a
process of releasing mono-saccharides from the food.
There are three mono-saccharides of importance to us, called glucose, fructose
and galactose. Glucose comes from the term glue as it tends to stick in our cells
and liver. It releases slowly to maintain blood sugar levels. Fructose was first
noticed in fruits and is high in crispy foods such as apples, pears and melons.
Fructose is many times sweeter than glucose. Galactose is the sugar found in milk
(glucose+galactose=lactose). Some of us have trouble digesting these milk sugars
and are lactose or dairy intolerant. We rely on friendly bacteria called aci-
dophilus for this digestion.
When digestion is finished the blood picks up the nutrients and first passes
through the liver where all fructose is removed. Excess fructose in the diet caus-
es fatty liver. If any fructose escapes the liver, it then causes problems in other
parts of the body. As a fast releasing energy it actually can burn our nerves and
be associated with the numbness and other symptoms of diabetes such as loss of
eyesight. The kidneys attempt to rid excess fructose from the blood and over
time the kidneys begin to fail.
Fructose is now associated with elevated levels of triglycerides and the bad LDL
cholesterol. Once this happens, we develop arterial plaque and high blood pres-
sure. Often, this process takes years of fructose consumption and previously was
called "old age." If the liver keeps up we do well, but when the liver overloads we
have extensive problems. Fructose consumption is much harder on our health
than previously thought.
Being healthy and following a good diet are personal choices. Here at Rebound
Health, we like people to take charge of their health and to understand how the
body works. We help with the diet changes and supplement selection. Getting
well and being at your best will lead you down a path of good life. One compo-
nent may be some simple diet changes.
Most people are surprised to learn that eating well tastes good.
References:
J Nutr. 2009 Apr 29. [Epub ahead of print] Dietary Fructose and Glucose
Differentially Affect Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis. Schaefer EJ, Gleason JA,
Dansinger ML. Lipid Metabolism Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human
Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Cardiovascular
Research Laboratory, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts
University, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111. PMID:
19403705 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
J Nutr. 2009 Apr 29. [Epub ahead of print] Fructose Consumption:
Considerations for Future Research on Its Effects on Adipose Distribution,
Lipid Metabolism, and Insulin Sensitivity in Humans. Stanhope KL, Havel PJ.
Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. PMID:
19403712 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
J Hepatol. 2008 Jun;48(6):993-9. Epub 2008 Mar 10. Fructose consumption as
a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Ouyang X, Cirillo P, Sautin Y,
McCall S, Bruchette JL, Diehl AM, Johnson RJ, Abdelmalek MF. Division of
Nephrology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. PMID: 18395287
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
For more information on how to take charge of your nutrition to live a healthier life,
visit www.reboundhealth.com or call 2544 4055.
Visit us at www.HealthyTimesNewspaper.com/HK (852) 2771 1920
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