People Often Eat Sugar Substitutes, But Will They Get Diabetes?

Nowadays, the concept of sugar restriction and sugar control is recognized by more and more consumers. Excessive sugar intake can lead to various metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Excessive blood sugar can cause direct damage to blood vessels and nerves. A high-sugar diet is a high-risk factor for many cancers. As a result, sugar-containing substitutes that have a taste similar to natural sugar but are not absorbed by the human body and do not enter the blood circulation.

Sugar-containing substitutes labeled "zero sugar" and "zero calories" are highly sought after. However, is the beauty of being able to enjoy the sweet stimulus delivered from the tip of the tongue to the brain without worrying about the additional energy burden really exists? Let us first see the truth about "sugar-free".

1. "Sugar-free" or "sucrose-free"?

In order to cater to the new consumption concept, many businesses will use fructose instead of adding sucrose in the production process, and directly label sugar-containing products that are "sucrose-free" as "sugar-free".

These so-called "sugar-free" beverages/ There are usually fructose or fructose syrup (Fructose) in the list of food ingredients. Both fructose and sucrose are free sugars. Free sugar refers to the sugar contained in processed foods and beverages, honey and fruit juice, and its main form also includes glucose.

Therefore, there is no essential difference between fructose and sucrose. Consumers must carefully check the ingredients in the ingredient list when purchasing "sugar-free" beverages/foods.

2. What is sugar substitute

Sugar substitutes are not sugars, but sweet additives, which mainly include three categories: The first category is artificial sugar substitutes, which are sweet additives derived from laboratories and usually contain low calories or no calories. Including saccharin, ASPARTAME, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, neotame, etc.

The second category is sugar alcohols, which are derived from natural dietary fiber in fruits and vegetables. The sweetness is twice that of sucrose but the calories are only Generally half of sugar, and slow absorption. Including xylitol, sorbitol, Erythritol, mannitol and isomalt, among which erythritol only contains less than 1 calorie per gram; the third category is natural sugar substitutes, which are derived from The sweetening additives extracted from natural plants mainly include stevia, mogroside, glycyrrhizin, inulin, syrup, trehalose, date sugar, etc.

At present, my country has approved more than 20 artificial sugar substitutes such as saccharin, sweetener, xylitol, sorbitol, sucralose, aspartame and neotame as Food Additives.

3. The hazards of frequent consumption of sugar substitutes

In fact, sugar substitute food is not equal to healthy food. Regular consumption of sugar substitute food may disturb the metabolic system in the body. Sweeteners are low in calories and cannot completely offset the hunger in the brain, which can cause energy compensation behaviors, stimulate people to overeating, and increase blood sugar.

Therefore, eating foods containing sugar substitutes requires special attention, mastering the degree, and avoiding regular and long-term consumption, especially foods with artificial sugar substitutes as the main sweetening additive, and should be eaten less.

Regular consumption of sugar substitutes can cause three hazards.

The first is to disturb the balance of intestinal flora: sugar substitutes can inhibit the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal flora, leading to an increase in the number of pathogenic bacteria. Studies have shown that after the human body consumes a sweetener equivalent to 1.2 liters of sugar substitute beverages every day for two consecutive weeks, the level of beneficial bifidobacteria, lactic acid bacteria and Bacteroides in the intestinal flora has decreased significantly, as much as The number of 11 pathogens has increased, and new pathogens have even appeared; the second is the increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Studies have found that healthy people with normal weight and normal metabolic system take non-calorie artificial sugar substitutes. Blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin were significantly increased.

A large sample cohort study of nearly 200,000 people from Harvard University showed that the risk of diabetes was increased by 19% for people who drink beverages containing artificial sugar substitutes every day, which was higher than the risk of diabetes for people who drank sugary beverages.

The results of another study on teenagers showed that teenagers who drank soda drinks with a "sugar-free" label (no added sucrose) but containing artificial sugar substitutes had a 58% increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes, which was higher than that of sugary drinks. Young people with drinks;

The third is the increased risk of obesity. When the body consumes a large amount of sugar substitutes, the body secretes excessive insulin after sensing the sweet signal. Long-term stimulation leads to a decrease in insulin receptor sensitivity, a decrease in fat decomposition and an increase in synthesis, leading to obesity or metabolic synthesis Levy and so on.