Everybody in their lives has heard that sugar is bad for their health. You will see tens of advertisements over the TV or Newspaper talking about the ill effects of sugar. Experts emphasize on the fact that, out of all, sugar is one commodity, where we should control our consumption on a daily basis.
The fact is, do we over consume sugar in our day to day lives; YES... But is it safe to cut down sugar completely.... NO!
Types of Sugar:
Natural:
Natural Sugar can be found in all fruits i.e fresh, frozen, dried etc. and natural dairy
Products such as milk or yogurt. Natural sugar is complex carbohydrates and contains vitamins, minerals and fiber. Natural sugar lends nutrition and helps in controlling your blood sugar level.
Processed or Added:
Processed sugar includes beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, caramel, cane juice crystals etc. Processed sugar is a blend of simple sugars such as glucose or fructose, sucrose, maltose etc. This type of sugar has very minimal nutrition in it and can lead to irregular elevations in your blood sugar levels.
Benefits of Sugar
If you keep your intake within limits; sugar is very beneficial for you. Below are 5 of the major benefits you can relish by adding healthy amounts of sugar to your diet:
Instant dose of energy:
Sugar contains glucose that is the fundamental source of energy for your body. So whenever you need a bit of boost to your productivity, eat a bit of sugar. However the burst of energy is short lived and can help you for a little bit of time only. Your body instantly metabolizes sugar and breaks down the glucose part and uses it.
Helps your skin:
One of the major constituents of sugar is glycolic acid. Glycolic acid helps your skin in retaining oil in your skin for a healthy and young look. It also helps you in getting rid of freckles, scar etc from your skin.
Easy to digest:
Nowadays, many of us use different sweeteners instead of sugar. But people do not know that the sweeteners are highly processed and can lead to digestive complications. On the other hand, sugar contains only natural elements and can be easily metabolized by our body.
Helps in digesting Cocoa Flavanols:
Sugar helps your body to better digest cocoa flavanols, a kind of plant nutrient; found in foods and drinks like tea, apple, pear, wine etc. Few tests have proven the fact that cocoa flavanols can boost your intellectual or mental functions. Researchers believe that cocoa flavanols create new neuron connections in your brain and protects your brain cells from damage.
Added nutrients:
The food that has natural sugar in it also contains several other nutrients in the form of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. All the dairy products along with fruits has all sorts of nutrients needed by your body. You can enjoy the sweetness and also get all the other nutrients without creating any imbalance in your blood sugar levels.
Bottom Line:
Eating sugar is not the problem, but what you eat and how much you eat is the problem.
