SUGARS AND THE BODY EPISODE: ONE

                                                              SUGARS AND THE BODY

    EPISODE: ONE

 

Think about the foods you most enjoy eating. Chances are they contain some form of sugar. It could be the sugars in peaches fresh from the orchard, or the sugars contributing to the prized taste of your favorite ice cream.

 

Indeed, most people enjoy the sweet taste of sugars. But the taste is only one of the important roles sugars plays in food. For example, sugars help preserve jams, cereals, cakes, candies, cookies, and drinks. Sugars also help produce the tender, moist texture of cakes and the golden-brown, crispy essence of many cookies.

 

As part of a balanced plan for healthy eating, you can enjoy sugars in moderation. There are many questions about sugars and their role in a healthful diet and they are answered below.

 

🔷 What are sugars?

Sugars are carbohydrates, which serve as the main energy source for the body. There are many types of sugars. They occur both naturally and as ingredients in many foods.

The most familiar sugar is sucrose. It is made of two simple sugars, fructose, and glucose. Fruits and vegetables naturally contain fructose and glucose. Other sugars used in foods include invert sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose (milk sugar), and other syrups. During digestion, all of these sugars except lactose break down into fructose and glucose. Lactose breaks down into glucose and galactose.

 

🔷 Why are sugars added to foods?

Sugars play important roles in foods. They add taste, texture, and color to baked goods. They provide energy for the yeast used in baking bread. They add body to yogurt. They help balance acidity in tomato sauces and salad dressings.

Certain sugars also play special roles in foods. Invert sugar helps keep sucrose from crystallizing in candies. Corn syrup is used in some foods because it is less sweet than sucrose.

 

🔷 How does the body use sugars?

Sugars are a source of energy for the body. During intense physical activity, they are the main energy source.

There are no nutritional differences among sugars. The body uses all types in the same way. During digestion, sugars such as sucrose and lactose and other carbohydrates such as starches break down into simple (or single) sugars. Simple sugars then travel through the bloodstream to body cells. There they provide energy and help form proteins, or are stored for future use.

The brain and red blood cells can only use glucose for energy. During pregnancy, glucose also helps form cells and produce milk. The body can make its own glucose or get it from foods.

BANARASI MISTHAN BHANDAR