Contents:
- Medical Video: Sugar...it's not so sweet | Calgary Avansino | TEDxMoorgate
- What types of sugar are often consumed?
- Types of natural sweeteners
- 1. Glucose
- 2. Fructose
- 3. Galactose
- 4. Lactose
- 5. Maltosa
- 6. Sucrose (sugar)
- Types of artificial sweeteners
- 1. Saccharin
- 2. Aspartame
- 3. Asesulfame K
- 4. Sukralose
- 5. Neotame
Medical Video: Sugar...it's not so sweet | Calgary Avansino | TEDxMoorgate
In everyday life we may not be separated from sugar consumption. In fact, almost every food or drink you eat every day contains sugar and. Maybe you feel confused if you read the nutritional value or basic ingredients of any food or drink that you will consume and see there are ingredients such as, fructose, glucose, galactose, maltose, sucrose, aspartame, saccharin, and so on. Do all sweetness come from sugar? What distinguishes the content from ordinary sugar?
What types of sugar are often consumed?
Not all sweeteners are the same and come from the same 'sugar' type. Sweeteners are actually divided into two major groups, namely, natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. Natural sweeteners are usually obtained from natural ingredients and have calorie content, while artificial sweeteners are sweeteners which are processed products and do not have calories.
Types of natural sweeteners
Natural sweeteners or what we commonly call sugar, are simple types of carbohydrates which are further divided into monosaccharides, disaccharides, and oligosaccharides.
1. Glucose
Glucose is the main source of energy needed by the body to move and is the only type of sugar that functions as energy in brain cells. Glucose will be directly used by the body for metabolic needs, but for other forms of sweetener it will be digested first and converted to glucose, only after that it is used for energy sources. Glucose is a content of sucrose and high fructose corn syrup. In one teaspoon of glucose contains as many as 16 calories. Glucose is known to have an effect on blood sugar levels.
2. Fructose
This sweetener is known as a fruit sweetener, because its content is high in fruits and honey. Fructose is good for people with diabetes mellitus because it does not cause an increase in blood sugar. However, consumption of high amounts of fructose can cause storage of fat in the body to increase, which can increase the risk of degenerative diseases. This type of sweetener will be metabolized by the liver to be converted into glucose.
3. Galactose
Galactose is often found in milk and various other dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, and so on. Galactose also has lower sweetness levels than glucose. So if you use this type of sweetener, quite a lot of it is needed to cause sweetness, but this can cause adverse effects on health.
4. Lactose
Lactose is known as a sweetener in milk and consists of galactose and glucose. Lactose is a form of simple carbohydrate type disaccharide. Lactose has a less sweet taste and is more difficult to digest in the body, therefore lactose is rarely used as an addition to packaged food or beverage products.
5. Maltosa
Maltose is a disaccharide from simple carbohydrates, which is formed from two glucose molecules. Maltose is also often called malt sugar, which is usually found in seral, pasta, potatoes, some alcoholic beverage products, and various other packaged food products.
6. Sucrose (sugar)
Sugar that we often use, for spices or additives in tea or coffee is a sweetener of sucrose. Sucrose is a simple carbohydrate formed from glucose and fructose. Sucrose can be found naturally in various types of fruits and vegetables, but most sucrose is formed from 80% sugar cane and 20% sugar beet. Sucrose comes in various forms, namely in the form of sand, powder, and even rock sugars. One teaspoon of sucrose contains 17 calories and consumption of sucrose is very limited for people with diabetes mellitus.
Types of artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are currently used as an alternative sugar for diabetics. In addition, because artificial sweeteners do not contain calories or zero calories at all, artificial sweeteners are often called healthier. But this still has to be proven further by doing more research. The following are various types of artificial sweeteners on the market:
1. Saccharin
Saccharin is an artificial sweetener that was first discovered and has been around for 100 years. Saccharin has a sweetness of 300 to 400 times sweeter than ordinary sugar and will cause a bitter taste after consumption. But some recent research has found that saccharin is dangerous for health. Saccharin is thought to increase the risk of getting cancer because it contains carcinogens. Saccharin is still allowed to be consumed with a limit of 12 mg per 29 ml in a drink and 30 mg per food package. For pregnant women and nursing mothers, you should not consume foods or drinks that contain saccharin.
2. Aspartame
This type of sweetener has a sweetness 200 times higher than sugar and has as many as 4 calories per gram. These sweeteners have been allowed to be consumed since 1981 and have become a mixture of packaged foods or beverages. More than 200 studies have proven that aspartame has no adverse health effects. However, aspartame has a disadvantage, namely the sweetness will disappear if exposed to high temperatures for a long time. Therefore, aspartame is more widely used for cold foods, such as ice cream, cold drinks, yogurt, and so on.
3. Asesulfame K
Just like aspartame, this artificial sweetener has a flavor 200 times sweeter than sugar but does not cause a bitter taste after consumption. Asesulfame K is not digested by the body because it has no calories at all. In addition, these artificial sweeteners are resistant to high temperature heating so they are resistant to cooking. Asesulfame K is also good for diabetics because it is proven not to affect blood sugar levels. At least, in the world there are 1000 more products that use asesulfame K.
4. Sukralose
Sukralosa has a higher sweetness of 600 compared to sugar. This sweetener is also not through the digestive process in the body, so it is often used for additional products designed to lose weight. Sukralose can also be used when cooking with high temperatures and will not eliminate the sweetness. Sukralose is often used for syrup, desserts, drinks and cake products.
5. Neotame
Neotame is a newly discovered artificial sweetener. This artificial sweetener is permitted to be consumed by the FDA in 2002. The sweetness level of neotame is 8000 times sweeter than ordinary sugar and 40 times sweeter than aspartame, so using only a small amount of food has caused sweetness in food or drink . Neotame is allowed to be consumed as much as 2 mg per kg of body weight. This sweetener is also proven not to cause an increase in blood sugar levels.
But still consumption of sweet foods or drinks must remain limited, even though these products use artificial sweeteners which are considered safe for consumption and do not have calories. Too much sweet food can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease, hypertension, and even osteoporosis. WHO recommends consuming sugar only 10% of the total calories needed in one day. Therefore, it is better to limit your sweet foods and do regular exercise to avoid getting degenerative diseases.
READ ALSO
- Food and Beverages with High Sugar
- 8 Symptoms That Show You Too Much Sugar Consumption
- Diabetes Special Sugar: Can It Really Reduce Blood Sugar?
