One of the most intense senses of the four is TASTE, and eating something sweet is often very pleasurable to us. The main ingredient in “sweet” tasting foods is sugar which is also considered a nutrient.
Sugar is a crystal-like substance that is mainly derived from sugar cane and sugar beets. After the refining process, where the raw sugar is dissolved in hot water, then put through a re-crystallization and filtration process… it becomes pure sugar. There are many kinds of sugar on the market, of which granulated white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar and liquid sugar are the most common.
What do we use sugar for:
- As sweetener in coffee, tea, pastry, candy, drinks and many more products
- As means to change the texture of a dish
- As a preservative in jams and other canned goods.
What does sugar actually do for your body?
- It’s a source of energy
- It has a role in the structure of your DNA
- It plays a role in the communication between cells
- It provides stability for connective tissue that holds our body together.
- It also has protective properties.
Of course for everything good, there is also a downside.
The damage that excessive sugar intake can cause is greater than most people imagine. To name a few: obesity, diabetes and dental problems. So although sugar is an essential nutrient for our bodies, we must be careful not to consume too much of it. Especially in todays world where manufacturers put sugar into nearly all of our food choices, even in the ones of which we do not expect to find it.
Now the big question: what can we do about it? Well like so many other answers to health problems, the answer is: EAT RESPONSIBLY! Choose your products with care check how much sugar it contains on the packaging and maybe limit yourself to one cookie…not two. Avoid the obvious and known sugar saturated products because your body has already gotten enough sugar from your regular meals.
But the basic rule remains: Use common sense and eat responsibly!