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Can sugar-free foods really be eaten as much as you want?

 Last Update: 2022-09-22
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Yuan: Can sugar-free foods really be eaten as much as you want

In recent years, "sugar-free" and "sugar control" have gradually become a way of life

In order to cater to the needs of consumers, some food manufacturers have launched "sugar-free" foods: sugar-free biscuits, sugar-free cakes, sugar-free milk teas, sugar-free colas and so on

These foods with their own "healthy" aura have greatly gained the love

"I've bought some sugar-free drinks that taste sweet

Many fat people have raised this question, although it is not known whether these drinks with the "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calorie" logo are really sugar-free, but there are relatively sugary drinks, and everyone thinks that occasionally drinking sugar-free drinks is not so heavy "guilt"

After sugar-free food entered the domestic market, it soon had a place, and its popularity was actually not difficult to understand

First, let's take a look at the concept

In fact, we usually say that sugar refers to white sugar, sucrose, glucose, maltose, fructose and so on

Not completely sugar-free

According to international practice, sugar-free food refers to sweet food that does not contain sugar, that is, does not contain sucrose and starch sugar (glucose, maltose and fructose), and requires the use of sugar substitutes containing sugar attributes

But in fact, experts do not recommend that sugar-controlled people eat sugar-free food, "China's "Prepackaged Food Nutrition Label Management Specification" clearly stipulates: sugar-free refers to the sugar content per 100g solid or 100ml liquid food is not higher than 0.

The key to sugar-free food is not to add sucrose

For example, sugar-free biscuits and sugar-free cakes are made of starch, and milk, eggs and a lot of grease

The taste can also be very sweet

Usually, sugar-free products will contain sugar alcohols, high-power sweeteners, oligosaccharides, etc.
, which have a sweet taste, but do not affect blood sugar, which can reduce the intake
of calories in the consumer.

(1) Sugar alcohols

Common sugar alcohols are xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, lactitol, etc.
, which are slightly less sweet than sucrose
.
Sugar alcohols produce lower calories than sucrose, between 2 and 3 kcal/g, so they are called nutritional sweeteners
.
Sugar alcohols are not affected by microorganisms in the oral cavity, so they do not cause caries; Sugar alcohols are not sugars, and are generally not controlled by insulin when metabolized, which has no effect on the rise in blood glucose values, so it is widely used in sugar-free foods
.

(2) High-power sweetener

It is 30 to 600 times sweeter
than sucrose.
In the case of the same sweetness, the calories it produces are negligible, so it is called a non-nutritive sweetener
.
High-power sweeteners have the advantages of high sweetness, low calories, less prone to caries, more than participating in metabolic processes, no impact on blood sugar, etc.
, widely used in food additives, especially can be applied to anti-caries food, as well as diabetics, obesity patients and other special consumer groups of food
.

Finally, it should be noted that although sugar alcohols and high-power sweeteners are "sugar substitutes", only foods prepared with sugar alcohols can be called "sugar-free foods"
.
Foods formulated solely with high-power sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame are generally referred to as non-calorie foods or low-calorie foods
.

Let's take Coke Zero as an example to talk about this conceptual problem
.

Ingredient list of a brand of Coke	Coke Zero ingredient list
Water, fructose syrup, white sugar, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, flavor)	Water, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate), flavouring

Ingredient list of a brand of Coke

Coke Zero ingredient list

Water, fructose syrup, white sugar, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, flavor)

Water, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate), flavouring

Ingredient list of a brand of Coke

Coke Zero ingredient list

Ingredient list of a brand of Coke

Coke Zero ingredient list

Water, fructose syrup, white sugar, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, flavor)

Water, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate), flavouring

Water, fructose syrup, white sugar, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, flavor)

Water, food additives (carbon dioxide, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate), flavouring

It can be seen that the difference between the two is that the fructose syrup and white sugar in Cola Zero are removed, and the sweetness is provided
by sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose.
Therefore, cola zero can be called a calorie-free beverage, but generally not called a sugar-free beverage
.

Whether sweeteners are safe for the human body

Experts pointed out that the principle of all sweeteners is to deceive the brain, sweets ingested into the signal will stimulate the brain, and the brain after receiving the sweet signal, but found that blood sugar did not rise, but will increase the desire for real sugar, appetite will also rise
.

Over time, the human body will even be less interested in naturally sweet fruits and vegetables, and more want to eat processed foods with heavier taste and more artificial sweeteners, forming a vicious
circle.
In addition, studies have found that long-term consumption of foods containing sweeteners can cause reduced glucose tolerance in mice, resulting in elevated blood sugar, and insulin resistance may occur in the long run, and even lead to diabetes and obesity
.

Replacing sucrose with a sweetener that contains almost no calories is indeed conducive to controlling energy intake and controlling weight to a certain extent, but its safety problems can still not be ignored
.
Replacing sucrose with a sweetener that contains almost no calories is indeed conducive to controlling energy intake and controlling weight to a certain extent, but its safety problems can still not be ignored
.

1) A large intake of sweeteners may cause changes in the structure and composition of the human intestinal flora, causing bloating or diarrhea
.

2) The satisfaction of eating decreases, and the amount of food may increase
.

3) Insulin secretion and blood glucose after 1h of eating sugar substitutes are lower than that of sucrose, but the level of insulin and blood glucose within 3h is comparable
.
The secretory stimulation effect of glycosider on GLP-1 is weaker than that of sucrose
.

4) Changing sugary drinks to sugar substitute drinks does not reduce the risk
of diabetes and other diseases.

5) Sugar substitute foods during pregnancy are associated
with high BMI in newborns and 1-year-old children.
The risk ratio of obesity in people who drank sugar substitute soda was 1.
59, and the risk ratio of those who drank sugary soda was 1.
18
.

“

A study published in Cell Metabolism in March showed that although neither the consumption of sweeteners (sucralose) nor carbohydrates alone caused impaired insulin sensitivity, the combination of sweeteners and carbohydrates was able to significantly reduce the insulin sensitivity of subjects over a period of 7 days, suggesting that the combination of sugar substitutes and carbohydrates may send double the calorie signal to the brain, changing the brain and body's response to sugar over time and thus affecting health
.
It can be seen that sugar substitutes are not a perfect substitute for traditional sugars
.

So, for ordinary consumers, how should they choose such products in their daily lives?

So, for ordinary consumers, how should they choose such products in their daily lives? So, for ordinary consumers, how should they choose such products in their daily lives?

1.
Choose sugar-free food
produced by regular manufacturers.

1.
Choose sugar-free food
produced by regular manufacturers.
Choose sugar-free foods
produced by regular manufacturers.

2.
Look at the ingredient list
.
When choosing such products, we must pay attention to the content indicated on the food label, the ingredient list on the food label is the raw material composition of a product, all the ingredients of the product are clearly marked, including the name and quantitative information, and the higher the order, the higher the content, which can be said to be clear at a glance
.
Give priority to natural sugar substitutes and functional oligosaccharide foods with added sugar alcohols, and try to choose as few products as possible that contain sweeteners such as "saccharin", "cyclamate" and "stevia"
.
2.
Look at the ingredient list
.
Look at the ingredient list
.
When choosing such products, we must pay attention to the content indicated on the food label, the ingredient list on the food label is the raw material composition of a product, all the ingredients of the product are clearly marked, including the name and quantitative information, and the higher the order, the higher the content, which can be said to be clear at a glance
.
Give priority to natural sugar substitutes and functional oligosaccharide foods with added sugar alcohols, and try to choose as few products as possible that contain sweeteners such as "saccharin", "cyclamate" and "stevia"
.

3.
When choosing, it is not only necessary to see whether there is sucrose content, but also to consider whether the food itself contains sugar
.
As mentioned earlier, sugar-free pastries are made of starch, and starch is essentially sugar, which can be broken down into glucose
in the human body.
When choosing, it is not only necessary to see whether there is sucrose content, but also to consider whether the food itself contains sugar
.
When choosing, it is not only necessary to see whether there is sucrose content, but also to consider whether the food itself contains sugar
.

4.
Although some foods are marked with "no sucrose", the ingredient list is marked with white sugar or glucose
.
In fact, sucrose and white sugar are the same thing, but the names are different
.
There are also labels such as "dextrin", "maltose", "starch syrup", "corn syrup", etc.
, all of which are sugars
.
Everyone should pay attention to screening and not be misled
by the word game of the merchant.

4.
Although some foods are marked with "no sucrose", the ingredient list is marked with white sugar or glucose
.
Although some foods are marked "sucrose-free", the ingredient list is marked with white sugar or glucose
.
Although some foods are marked "sucrose-free", the ingredient list is marked with white sugar or glucose
.
In fact, sucrose and white sugar are the same thing, but the names are different
.
There are also labels such as "dextrin", "maltose", "starch syrup", "corn syrup", etc.
, all of which are sugars
.
Everyone should pay attention to screening and not be misled
by the word game of the merchant.

Tips

In life, we will encounter a variety of sugars, mainly including the following 4 types
.

Monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, galactose, etc.
, which can be directly digested and absorbed by the body, and the rate of blood sugar rise is particularly fast
.
Common foods containing monosaccharides are honey, milk, beets, etc
.

Monosaccharides Monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, galactose, etc.
, which can be directly digested and absorbed by the body, and the rate of blood sugar rise is particularly fast
.
Common foods containing monosaccharides are honey, milk, beets, etc
.

Disaccharides include sucrose, maltose, lactose, etc.
, which need to be decomposed into simple sugars in the human body and then absorbed by the body, and the rate of blood sugar rise is slightly slower
than that of simple sugars.
Common foods containing disaccharides are white sugar, brown sugar, milk sugar, pastries, wheat, glutinous rice and so on
.

Polysaccharides are polymeric sugar polymer carbohydrates composed of more than 10 monosaccharides, such as starch, cellulose, etc
.
Common polysaccharide foods include cereals, potatoes, rice, noodles and so on
.

Polysaccharides Polysaccharides are polymeric sugar polymer carbohydrates composed of more than 10 monosaccharides, such as starch, cellulose, etc
.
Common polysaccharide foods include cereals, potatoes, rice, noodles and so on
.

Oligosaccharides, also known as "oligosaccharides", include common oligosaccharides and functional oligosaccharides
.
Common foods containing oligosaccharides include garlic, onions, soybeans and so on
.

Sugar-free food does not have a strict sense of "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calorie", but for diabetes, high blood sugar or weight loss and other sugar control people occasionally used to relieve hunger is no big problem, but pay attention to the right amount, do not take "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calorie" as an excuse for you to eat and drink, the best drink is boiled water, healthy and thirst-quenching
.

Source Public Health Magazine

Supervisor: Propaganda Department of zhejiang provincial party committee of the Communist Party of China

Organizer: Information Office of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province

Organizer: Zhejiang Provincial External Communication Center

Zhejiang Cultural Industry Promotion Association

Operation: Editorial Department of Zhejiang Xing magazine

Responsible Editor:

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