The topic of this article is sugar. Is it bad for you, is it good? We have all heard mixed reviews about sugar. Many people are afraid of eating too much of it. But what is the real truth about sugar?
What is sugar?
Before we answer the question of if sugar is good or bad for you, we have to know what sugar is in the first place.
Many people think that sugar refers to the small sweet grains that are put into the coffee we drink. It makes up around 90% of the factory-made marshmallows we find atop cakes and in mugs of hot chocolate.
While this is right, many are unaware that sugar occurs in nature as well. Many fruits contain sugar. Fruits are universally known to be healthy, so what’s the deal? If fruits contain sugar, is it good for you or not?
Types of sugar
The trick to knowing if sugar is good for you or not is looking at the types of sugar. It is important to note that sugar is composed of molecules that share a similar structure. There are many groups of sugars, such as glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, sucrose and other forms of sugar.
Sucrose is also known as table sugar, this is probably the most common form of sugar that people are aware of. Sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose.
To state an example of sugars that occur in fruits, let us analyze the sugars that are in a banana. Bananas are made up of multiple types of sugars. It has 24% fructose, 24.5% glucose and 0.5% maltose.
When is sugar unhealthy?
Sugar only becomes unhealthy when it is ingested in large amounts. The sugars that occur in fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed food is healthy because the mount falls within the recommended amount of sugar intake for people.
There is a much larger amount of sugar in processed food. Food that is processed is made to be more tasty and flavorful rather than their natural counterparts. This is what makes this type of food particularly unhealthy. Sugars are part of the carbohydrate food group. Although carbohydrates are needed in a healthy diet, if a person has too much of them, it can also have an adverse effect on the person’s health.
Carbohydrates, sugars included – when they are more complex – become more difficult to digest and be broken down by the body if they are more complex. This is when sugars become unhealthy. If they are ingested in portions that are too much for the body to handle, they can cause many different types of health issues.
How to stay healthy
It may seem difficult to stay healthy. There are so many processed foods available and the convenience of fast food is something that many of us find difficult to pass up. It can be really hard to totally avoid processed sugar, so how do people stay healthy?
The key to staying healthy is a healthy diet. Everything falls only second to a good diet. If you are confused about what sugar0rich food you should avoid and what you can enjoy, it is a good idea to visit a doctor.
Doctors will be able to advise you on the proper diet you should take in order to stay healthy. They will also be able to tell you which sugars are alright to consume, and which ones you should avoid eating large amounts of. They will also be able to asses your health is and be able to tell you which diet will work best for you.
Having a health insurance policy will also help you manage the costs of doctor’s visits and consultations. You will have fewer health concerns if you have the proper health care insurance in place.