Sugar is one of the most important ingredients in creating mouth-watering delicacies. From cooking gourmets, preparing salads, baking cakes to creating wonderful desserts and pastries, sugar is indeed a must-have and would always have an important place in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, consuming a lot of food with this sweetener can only do more harm than good. Experts say too much sugar can cause negative effects on the body. Effects include an increase of glucose levels, increased risks of acquiring diseases such as heart disease, obesity, chromium deficiency, and diabetes, and worsen immune function.
Given all these reasons, governments worldwide are working hard on minimizing the use of sugar in products and the public's consumption of it. Authorities even debunked how companies were able to blindfold their customers from the truth and still able to blatantly sell their products no matter how bad its effects are. One of those ways is by sugar-coating the sweetener's name.
Some of the names commonly associated with sugar are barley malt, beet sugar, cane sugar, caster sugar, coconut sugar, coffee sugar, fructose, and fruit juice. More names used to refer to sugar include evaporated cane juice, glucose, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, muscovado, panela, rapadura, malt, lactose, turbinado, rice syrup, and treacle, as enumerated by Food Technology.
The American Heart Association (AHA) advises people not to consume more than 25 grams and 38 grams a day for women and men respectively. For kids, on the other hand, experts say their daily requirement depends on their age and calorie needs. But on average, children are required not to consume more than 12 to 25 grams a day.
But did you know that with the amount of sugar that most of the food in the market has, people are now consuming sugar more than they are required to do so. Statistics in America alone show how kids are now consuming 49 pounds or 24.5 kilos of sugar every year, even way more than how adults consume annually, as reported by Parents.
Because of this generation's addiction to sugar, we are indirectly creating an unsafe world not just for our household but also for our today's youth. To alter this growing problem, it is better to turn to more natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts instead of patronizing those cookies, cakes, colas, or pastries that we have been always fond to eat. Embracing such a lifestyle can help your body adjust to how you crave for such sweet stuff. Don't forget to encourage those who love to follow your examples as well.
