Actually, I've been trying to be conscious of limiting my intake of refined sugar for the past few years.
Even when I lived in Taiwan for 13 years, the number of times I visited a juice stand on my own could be counted on one hand. As for bubble tea, I can only remember buying it and drinking it two or three times.
What is White Sugar?
The scientific name for white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of half glucose and half fructose .
Glucose is a monosaccharide. When you eat carbohydrates, they are broken down in your body and become glucose, so they are the same ingredient. It is known that cancer cells grow using glucose as a source of nutrition. Therefore, in traditional cancer treatments, it is common knowledge that you should first stop eating sugar.
The dangers of fructose
Fructose is fruit sugar, which is actually more dangerous than glucose.
This is because only liver cells can break down fructose . Glucose is the source of energy for all cells in the body, but only the liver can process fructose. So if you eat too much sugar, it puts a lot of strain on your liver .
When the liver breaks down fructose, it produces neutral fats, which accumulate in the liver. If the liver cannot process the excess, the neutral fats enter the bloodstream and cause fats to accumulate in the walls of arteries, which can lead to arteriosclerosis .
The breakdown of fructose also produces free radicals , molecules that cause oxidation in the body and accelerate aging .
Unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin well, so even if you consume a lot of it, you don't feel full, which can lead to the risk of overeating. Fruit is a prime example of fructose. So don't blindly believe that fruit is good for you. Macrobiotics says that you should avoid fruit as much as possible.
The role of white sugar
But refined sugar also has its place.
It has the effect of improving the taste and flavor of food. Like salt, it also acts as a preservative, so if you mix sugar and salt in the right ratio, it will transform your food into something delicious that is neither too sweet nor too salty while still maintaining its preservative and antiseptic properties.
In this way, even if you don't eat sweet treats, refined sugar is lurking in all kinds of dishes without you realizing it. This is especially typical when eating out. If the food is not tasty, customers will not return, so the amount of refined sugar used will inevitably increase.
Sugar Addiction
Sometimes you just want to eat something sweet, don't you? When you eat sugar, the pleasure center in your brain is stimulated and a substance called endorphin is secreted. Endorphin is also known as a brain drug and is thought to bring about a feeling of euphoria.
Our brains remember this and tell us to "eat something sweet and feel good," so we end up overeating even when we're not hungry. Recent research has also shown that sugar is addictive.
The Problems with White Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners
The worst kind of sugar is highly refined white sugar. It is so refined that it is more like a drug than a food. In addition, synthetic sweeteners such as isoglucose and high fructose corn syrup, which are more like the worst drugs these days, are also highly addictive.
The 7 main harmful effects of sugar
If I were to list all the harmful effects of sugar, it would fill a book, so I will just summarize the seven most important ones:
・Raises blood sugar levels・Weakens the immune system・Losses calcium from the body・Losses vitamins and minerals from the body・Damage to the liver・Prone to arteriosclerosis・Prone to myocardial infarction
Here are three things that I am particularly concerned about:
① Blood sugar fluctuations
Of these, the harm of sugar that particularly concerns me is that white sugar is highly refined, so it is quickly absorbed and blood sugar levels rise rapidly. The reason why a diet that does not cause a sudden rise in blood sugar levels is recommended is because blood sugar levels will rise rapidly if insulin secretion does not keep up. Once the amount of insulin increases, it does not decrease immediately, so this time you will experience hypoglycemia. Then your body will again be unable to function unless you take in sugar. Once you become addicted, you will be caught in a negative loop.
② Vitamin and calcium deficiency
When refined sugar enters the body, the body breaks it down into glucose using vitamins and calcium. Therefore, if you consume too much sugar, you will lack vitamin B and become more prone to fatigue.
Furthermore, sugar makes the blood acidic, which requires calcium to neutralize the acid, further increasing calcium deficiency.
Hypoglycemia and calcium deficiency can lead to irritability. Recently, there are more and more children who lose their temper easily. This may be due to the development of communication devices, the overflow of information, the fast pace of life, and the stressful living environment, but I think that excessive intake of refined sugar may also be related to this.
3) Weakened immunity and tooth decay
I am worried about unstable blood sugar levels and calcium deficiency, but what I hate most is a weakened immune system, which makes you more susceptible to all kinds of illnesses.
Another problem, although not included in the list of seven, is being susceptible to tooth decay .
Summary – Alternatives to refined sugar
So, refined sugar is clearly an unhealthy food.
I honestly think it's best to avoid using it regularly in cooking.
At first I was worried that there would be various problems if I got rid of sugar in the kitchen, but there were no problems at all.
Carefully made, real mirin or sake can be used as a substitute, and I have also found that if you make delicious stock , you don't need any sweeteners at all.
Why don't you try eliminating refined sugar and sweeteners from your diet?
Fructose also has various problems, so I would like to talk about that again sometime.
Healthy, additive-free foods from Kokako Shoten
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