Sugar added to food has several main functions: providing sweetness, preservation, increasing aroma, and presenting attractive colors. Taking sucrose, the most common form of ordinary sugar, as an example, it produces about 400 kcal of heat per hundred grams; Fructose also produces 306 kilocalories per hundred grams, and these are absorbed by the body through digestion. Excessive intake can increase the bodys burden. For the sake of health, people have started to embrace sugar substitutes (sweeteners). Bao Bin, associate professor of the School of Food of Shanghai Ocean University, said: "Sugar substitutes can be divided into artificial sugar substitutes and natural sugar substitutes. The artificial sugar substitutes include acesulfame, aspartame, sucralose, etc. The natural sugar substitutes include xylitol, erythritol, stevioside, and grosvenoside." The common chemical name of aspartame is aspartyl phenylalanine methyl ester, which is condensed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and its sweetness is about 200 times that of sucrose.
According to Ma Li, Director of the Nutrition Department of Yueyang Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, solid or liquid foods with a sugar content of no more than 0.5 grams per 100 grams or 100 milliliters can be called sugar free foods. Since it is labeled zero sugar, where does the resulting sweetness come from? Zero calorie or low calorie sugar substitutes, most of which do not participate in body metabolism, mainly bind to the sweet taste receptors of the taste buds and transmit signals to the brain, producing a sweet taste, "explained Bao Bin。
In fact, the research and application of sugar substitutes began very early abroad. In the past two years, Chinas sugar substitute market has made rapid progress, becoming the worlds largest sugar substitute consumption market in 2018。
However, is sugar substitute really 100% healthy? The debate has always existed. Under laboratory conditions, scientists found that aspartame is hydrolyzed in human body, and its product methanol has the risk of blindness and cancer. In mouse experiments, it was found that excessive intake of sucralose increases the risk of leukemia. If a certain food is harmful, then it must talk about dosage and time. "Mary said," The sugar substitutes that currently appear in foods such as sugar free beverages belong to food additives. According to dosage standards, they are relatively safe in terms of toxicity. However, the impact of sugar substitutes on the human body still needs further research。
Both experts pointed out that according to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016)", sugar is not required in a balanced diet. If consumed, it is recommended not to exceed 50 grams per day, and it is best to control it below about 25 grams. Excessive intake of regular sugar can increase the risk of dental caries and obesity, and it can also be addictive, "Mary said." For children and adolescents, sugary drinks are the main source of sugar intake, and it is recommended to avoid or consume less sugary drinks
For sugary drinks, Mary suggests that if you previously liked to drink sugary drinks, you can use them as a transition. If you dont have the habit of drinking sugary drinks in your daily life, dont deliberately drink them because you think they have low calories. Drinking more plain water or tea will be healthier
Source: China Food News Network
