What to replace sugar with proper nutrition?

Sugar - one of the most necessary human food. They are directly involved in intracellular metabolic processes, being an energetic feed for organs and tissues. They also take a direct part in the stable work of the brain, making the nerve impulses fast and the connections between them strong. Such an influence undoubtedly affects the quality of attention, mental activity and memory.

However, in recent times, people have been trying to significantly limit sugar intake and the arguments they have brought to the side of denying this sweet product are obvious and not unfounded:

1. Sugar is able to intensively be deposited in the form of fatty tissues, thereby, contributing to weight gain.
2. By increasing the reactions associated with the intensive oxidation process of intracellular structures, sugar, thereby, is involved in the premature aging of cells and the rapid deterioration of the whole organism.
3. As a result of increased oxidation, the structure of skin, hair, and nails is noticeably deteriorating.
4. As a result of a large intake of sugars, the pancreas undergoes enormous stress associated with the production of insulin, which is important for further transportation into the blood and to the internal organs. As a result, iron wears out prematurely and stops producing insulin. The disease "diabetes mellitus" develops, which further leads to a chain of other diseases - renal failure, nonspecific hepatitis, polyps of the large and direct intestines, trophic ulcers and oncology. All these diseases are provoked by an excess of sugar in the blood.
5. Glucose is an excellent nutrient medium for the development of a large number of bacteria. An excellent example is the imbalance in the direction of a sharp increase in the number of natural bacteria of the oral cavity. By the way, the waste products of which, together with the remnants of food, launch a complex process of gradual destruction of dental tissues, called “caries” (from Latin Caries - rotting).
6. A large amount of glucose in the blood leads to a decrease in the digestibility of certain groups of vitamins, such as A, B, C, F, K, PP and several others, leading the body to the stage of artificial beriberi and the accumulation of pathologies associated with it.
7. The result of accelerated metabolism caused by a large accumulation of glucose in the blood is an increase in temperature and, as a result, in blood pressure. Irreducible sweet tooth suffer trophic diseases of the vascular walls, hypertension and heart disease.
8. An excess of glucose-containing products leads to dysfunction of the conduction of nerve fibers, which can result in: depression, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, or apathy and inability to concentrate on a specific matter. Formed psychological dependence on sweets.
9. In addition to psychological, an unstable chemical and biological dependence is also being formed.
10. An abnormal amount of glucose in the blood significantly delays the production of triiodothyronine, an immune hormone of the thyroid gland, which is responsible for producing a protective reaction against allergic and fungal components.The consequence of this is reduced immune function associated with herpetic manifestations and increases the risk of allergic reactions. This should take into account the reduced perception of vitamin C and, as a consequence, a high risk of frequent colds and the development of cancer tumors.

Understanding all possible health risks, a person puts a number of questions before himself, which are not always easy to solve.

1. Sugar, despite its obvious harm, at the same time remains a necessary product for most chemical reactions in the body.
2. Is it possible to replace sugar with a similar product with the same qualities, but fewer side effects?

How to replace sugar, following the rules of proper nutrition

Proper nutrition - is, above all, a balanced selection of essential nutrients: amino acids, minerals, vitamins and trace elements. The results of recent studies tend to favor the consumer in favor of natural products, since they contain the most suitable chemical groups that are more fully absorbed by the human body.

Today, the optimum amount of daily sugar for a healthy lifestyle is contained in:

• Fruits and dried fruits.
• Nuts
• Honey
• Bread
• Some vegetable crops (carrots, beets, turnips, zucchini, potatoes, etc.).
• Melon crops (watermelons, melons, pumpkins).
• Berries.
• Grasses.

Sugar right and wrong

Pharmacy and sales counters are full of various types of sugars and sweeteners, and each of them advertises itself as a useful irreplaceable product, and some, moreover, openly promise to process the wrong sugar into the right one. Is it really? In order to understand this question, it is necessary to disassemble each type of product separately.

Brown sugar
In fact, in its composition it differs from the classic white only in the fact that in the final stage of production, a certain amount of molasses is added to the already obtained classical look, which, in fact, gives the product a brown color.

Conclusion: This product is unlikely to be suitable as a sugar substitute, as, rather, it is a fortified variant.

What to replace brown sugar: maple syrup, sweeteners Stevia and Xylene, fruits, vegetables, berries, maple syrup, etc.

Simple, unrefined sugar
The product obtained as a result of sugar cane unfinished until the end of processing. The only advantage over ordinary sugar is a certain amount of vitamins, which are preserved due to incomplete processing. In fact, it is also fortified sugar.

What to replace unrefined sugar: stevia, xylene, fresh honey, maple syrup, nuts, fruits, berries, vegetables.

Honey
In this case, much depends on the quality of honey. Candied, which was unknown for how long on the counter, with the time it becomes the same sugar, only in liquid form.

The most useful is considered to be honey collected recently - the lower the age of the product, the more benefit it carries for a person. In the newly collected product, the share of natural sugar is negligible, since the majority of glucose is still included in the enzymatic substances. Later, these substances are destroyed by air, glucose adds additional molecules and turns into harmful compounds for the body,which ultimately provoke allergic reactions.

Maple syrup
It turns out from maple products. There are many different varieties, the composition of which depends on what product is selected for the preparation of the syrup.

1. It can be maple sap, which gives the liquid a noble brown color. This variety is considered the most useful.
2. The second option is maple nectar. This sort of wedge syrup, in addition to its dietary properties, also has medicinal ones. It is often used to treat stagnant bronchitis.
3. And finally, the third, canned form - is obtained from a decoction of maple components with some added sugar. Needless to say, this product will be less useful compared to the others, since many nutrients, having fallen into temperature processing, have collapsed, and adding sugar adds one more minus. This syrup is mainly produced for further culinary products.

Maple syrup contains a large amount of tannins and vitamin F, which play an important role in improving the structure of skin, hair, nails, as well as improves the digestive processes in the body, preventing constipation.

Fructose
In fact, the usual refined sugar.It consists of glucose and fructose, which means that this product is one of its components. However, many nutritionists strongly advise replacing a regular product with fructose. Is it correct? If we turn to the metabolic processes for the absorption of sugar, then it looks like this: sugar, as mentioned earlier, is broken down into two components: glucose and fructose. Glucose penetrates the blood immediately and is completely absorbed by the cells, if its quantity is not too high. In order to metabolize fructose, a certain liver enzyme is needed, which is produced only if the liver is healthy and not overloaded. Part of the fructose is absorbed by the body, and part is deposited by cells and tissues in the form of fat deposits. Thanks to the same mechanism, bears accumulate subcutaneous fat for hibernation and feeding of cubs. In humans, this fat is deposited for an indefinitely long period, and is very hard to waste, because the body is difficult to part with strategic reserves.

However, fructose is essential for the synthesis of essential enzymes and hormones,and completely leaving the body without this product is impractical. It is important to understand that up to 1 kg of fresh fruit is used to get 2 grams of fructose. A person uses fructose as a sweetener, at least in the amount of 5 to 10 grams, which equates to about 5 kilograms of fruit eating at the same time. The level of glut in this case is obvious.

How to replace fructose: eating raw fruits, berries and vegetables, maple syrup, honey.

Stevia
A sweetener of pharmacological production, the composition of which is based on natural ingredients. The main source of raw materials is the plant of the same name, which grows in Latin American countries, where it was first discovered. The main feature of stevia is that it is a sweetener, which consists of glucose molecules adapted for human absorption, the very ones that are fully absorbed by it without putting it into tissue.

Xylene
Low calorie sugar substitute. Its composition is synthesized based on the previously known Stevia and, in fact, is its counterpart.

Vanilla sugar
A less high-calorie type of product, based on uneven combinations of glucose and fructose in favor of the first, as well as useful aphrodisiacs of vanilla plants. It is less high-calorie than ordinary sugar, and is used mainly in cooking products that are not subjected to heat treatment (creams, cold teas). It is not recommended to add to baking, as in the process of roasting it loses its properties and releases a number of substances that under the action of free radicals easily turn into carcinogenic constituents. A large amount of vanilla sugar can spoil the dish, giving it a bitter taste.

Despite some of the advantages of vanilla sugar over the usual, all the same it should be noted that it refers to the products of average caloric content, since the level of fructose is higher than optimal for humans.

How to replace vanilla sugar: nuts, fresh honey, raw fruits, vegetables and berries, maple syrup, useful sweeteners.

Coconut sugar
The product is quite unconventional for the consumer, but it is worth noting that in its composition it is much more useful than any other sugar to thosewhich contains the smallest amount of fructose and a large amount of vitamins of group C and PP, which play a role in the formation of immunity and prevent the action of free radicals in the body. Among other things, coconut sugar is not subject to destruction during heat treatment and has no taste.

Birch syrup
A product based on birch sap. It has an average calorie content, which arises mainly due to the high concentration of adapted fructose in its composition. This syrup in small doses has a good therapeutic effect, mainly due to the high concentration of vitamins of group B. A special place in the composition is occupied by B12, which has an effect on vascular tone. The composition is also rich in the presence of a number of rare trace elements: manganese, titanium, silver, barium. In low dosage is indicated for people suffering from diabetes, as it has a low glycemic index.

Should I replace sugar in food

By and large, this is impossible to do, since various sugars are part of most nutritious foods.However, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is important to limit excessive sugar intake:

1. Reduce the consumption of carbohydrates: muffins, confectionery, sweets, reducing the consumption of sugar-containing beverages.
2. The increase in the true caloric content of foods due to an increase in dairy, meat and some legume foods.
3. Reduce the addition of sugar to cooked meals and drinks.
4. Consume kombucha drinks, as they contribute to the best absorption of fructose in the body.

Should sugar be replaced during pregnancy and lactation?

1. Sugar is important not only for the nutrition of the mother, but also for the proper formation of the organs and tissues of the fetus - any deficiency during pregnancy can significantly affect the health of the future person.
2. Some substitutes, including natural (maple and birch syrups, coconut sugar, honey),can cause adverse allergic reactions not only in the mother, but also in the child. That, undoubtedly, will negatively affect his health. Therefore, it is important in this period, as in the subsequent period of lactation, to adhere to the classic familiar foods.

Not for nothing since ancient times in Russia was the popular proverb "Everything is good, that in moderation." Excessive consumption of sugar and its deficiency equally harm the human body, and it is important not to forget about it, making up your daily diet.

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