Quality of Sugars and Sugar-Containing Foods

Abstract

Dietary sugars are mono-and disaccharides that are naturally present in fruits, vegetables, and natural syrups or are added to foods as refined sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup. Dietary sugars are absorbed in the bloodstream as glucose (indistinguishable from that released from starch), fructose, and galactose. Galactose is converted into glucose, and fructose is converted into glucose, lactate, and fatty acids in splanchnic organs. The main nutritional function of sugars is to provide usable energy to all cells in the human body. The efficiency of usable energy transfer is very high for glucose; lower for galactose, lactose, and sucrose; and lower still for fructose. High dietary sugar intake may be associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This is especially true for fructose and sucrose, which increase blood lipids and impair hepatic insulin sensitivity when consumed in high doses. The effects of sugar-containing foods vary according to food group: fruit and vegetable consumption significantly protects against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, while consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with an increased risk. The quality of sugar-containing foods should be assessed not only based on their sugar content, but also on their overall energy, dietary fiber, and micronutrient contents.

Analysis of Knowledge Level, Consumption Habits, Sugar and Calories Content in Ice Cream on the Nutritional Status of Depok Students

“…The intake of added sugar in ice cream is associated with the increased prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases. Sugar activates the brain reward pathway, leading to addiction and excessive consumption, thereby triggering weight gain 13 .…”

“…. The types of sugar in food are divided into two categories: natural sugars (natural syrups, honey, vegetables, fruits) that enhance nutritional value as they coexist with other nutrients in the food ingredients, and added sugars (syrups, processed sugars, and other caloric sweeteners) that contribute solely to an increase in calorie intake 12,13 . The recommended intake of added sugars is advised to be no more than 10% of the daily energy requirement.…”

Effect of Apple Juice Enrichment with Selected Plant Materials: Focus on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity

“…Given that excessive dietary sugar intake may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, it is, therefore, necessary to limit the daily consumption of food products containing particular quantities of total sugar content to within the healthy recommended sugar limits. Finally, the quality of foods should be assessed not only based on their sugar content, but also on their micronutrient and dietary fibre contents [65].…”