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caption60 Photography BauerSyndication. com. au / Dan Saelinger/ trunkarchive. com/ Snapper Media / Getty images gm0813sugp60 - 60 2013-06-14T09:47:43+10:00

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caption61 goodhealth. E ntire books, blogs and newspaper articles are dedicated to spreading the message that sugar is toxic and its over-consumption is responsible for obesity, diabetes and a host of other health problems. Australian authors such as David Gillespie and Sarah Wilson have tried to convince us of its inherent evil. But is something that tastes so good really so bad for us? Here, we uncover the facts. Why do we crave sugar? A: Thanks to our ape ancestors’ instinctive preference for ripe, juicy, energy-dense fruit, a sweet tooth is hardwired into humans. The first food we taste in life is breast milk, which is naturally sweetened by the sugar lactose. Of all the taste sensations – sweet, salty, sour, bitter – sweet has what scientists call the highest taste recognition. Our tongues lap it up. What’s more, we need sugar to stay alive. “Ultimately, nearly all the carbohydrates we consume end up as the sugar glucose, which is the preferred fuel for our brains, our nervous systems, our red blood cells, kidneys and muscles,” explains Dr Alan Barclay, head of research at the Australian Diabetes Council. Fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy all contain some naturally occurring form of sugar and provide the carbohydrates required for that vital glucose conversion, which raises our blood sugar levels and gives us energy. When our blood sugar levels get too high, the pancreas will release insulin to guide the glucose The truth Photography BauerSyndication. com. au / Dan Saelinger/ trunkarchive. com/ Snapper Media / Getty images into the cells and our blood sugar will go back down – if we’re not flooding our systems with more sugar than we need, that is. What happens when we eat too much sugar? A: Excessive sugar consumption can lead to high insulin levels, a depressed immune system, flora disruption in the gut, tooth decay and chronic inflammation associated with allergie

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caption62 The World Health Organisation recommends limiting added sugar consumption to around 12 to 15 teaspoons (60g to 75g) per day. According to a recent national nutrition survey, Australian adult consumption is close to that target. Here’s a sample of how much sugar is in some all-time favourites. What about the sugars in fruit and vegetables? A: While all plant foods contain such natural sugars as glucose, fructose and sucrose, they also offer a network of vital nutrients including fibre, vitamins, water, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes that make them an essential part of any healthy diet. The fibre in whole, natural foods also makes them more filling. Furthermore, the sugar content in a natural food is nowhere near as concentrated as it is in refined products, according to NSW-based naturopath Mim Beim. “Plus, fibre slows down the rate of absorption in the bloodstream,” she adds. “The body can then convert the cells into energy and you don’t have the big peak of blood sugar you’d get with refined sugar.” Is fructose bad for us? A: Many no-sugar advocates insist that fructose is a poison that gets stored in the liver, where it is converted into fat. But Barclay says this is simply untrue. “About five per cent of the fructose we consume is converted to fat in the liver,” he says. “The rest is converted to glucose – some is released into our blood and the rest is stored as glycogen.” Claims that excessive fructose consumption contributes to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are similarly inconclusive, Barclay says. Unfortunately, fructose’s bad rap has scared many people off fruit – and they’re missing out on an integral source of energy as a result. “We now eat less than one piece of fruit a day on average, when the recommended amount is at least two pieces a day,” says Barclay. Much of the recent hysteria about fructose has come from the US, Barclay says,

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caption63 FRUCTOSE (simple sugar or fruit sugar) Naturally found in honey, fruit and some vegetables. Concentrated forms of fructose are used as additives in beverages and processed foods. LACTOSE (milk sugar) Naturally found in milk and milk products. Lactose is digested in the body by an enzyme called lactase and then used for energy. SUCROSE (table sugar) a 50/50 combination of glucose and fructose derived from sugarcane, sugar beets and, less commonly, date palm, sorghum (a species of grass) and sugar maple. GLUCOSE (simple sugar or blood sugar) Found in plants but also produced in our bodies during digestion. Commercially manufactured glucose syrup is added to foods to enhance texture, volume and sweetness. KNOW YOUR SUGARS GME 1308_ 129352AD.p d f P a g e 1 6/12/2013, 9:22:19 AM gm0813sugp63 - 60 2013-06-14T09:47:43+10:00