Sugar is often referred to as white poison and is sometimes downright demonised. But does it really deserve this?
In this article, we will explore the question of how bad sugar really is, what effect sugar consumption has on our body and how a low-sugar, healthy breakfast or a healthy diet works.
Breakfast without added sugar from Verival
What does sugar do in our body?
Even though sugar is often demonised and portrayed as making us fat, sugar molecules are energy suppliers for our body. For example, our brain depends on a daily sugar intake to function properly.
Even though sugar is not necessarily bad and harmful, you should still be careful not to consume too much sugar. According to various studies, we in our part of the world tend to eat too much sugar .
On average, we eat 5 percentage points more sugar than we should. If you consume more sugar than you need over a long period of time, it can lead to various diseases.
Do you suffer from various symptoms such as tooth decay, ravenous appetite, constant thirst, bad skin, digestive problems and headaches? Then you should take a closer look at your sugar consumption. Find out more about the symptoms of excessive sugar consumption here.
The most well-known disease that can be traced back to excessive sugar consumption is type 2 diabetes. Other diseases that can be caused by excessive sugar consumption include overweight and obesity, cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancer.
The official WHO recommendations for daily sugar consumption are 25 g of sugar per day.
What exactly does sugar do in our body?
When we eat food, the sugar chains in our body are broken down into their component parts . This continues until only the simple sugars (monosaccharides) fructose and glucose remain. These then immediately enter our bloodstream and the absorption of glucose consequently raises the blood sugar level.
In order for the body to be able to transport the glucose into the cells, the body releases the hormone insulin. The simple sugar fructose, in contrast to glucose, is processed in the liver and has virtually no effect on the release of insulin.
If insulin levels are chronically elevated, i.e. if too much sugar is consumed over a long period of time, it can promote a wide range of chronic diseases. This is because elevated insulin levels have a pro-inflammatory effect.
Sugar makes you sleepy!
When you eat or drink something sweet, especially if it contains a lot of simple sugars, it causes your blood sugar level to rise rapidly. However, because simple sugars are processed very quickly by the body, blood sugar levels also drop rapidly again.
The bottom line: you get energy quickly, but then you fall into an energy hole even faster. This often leads to the feeling that you have to eat something that gives you energy again. Often, we then reach for snacks that contain a lot of sugar.
Balanced blood sugar levels can prevent us from falling into an afternoon low and being overcome by tiredness. You should therefore particularly reach for complex carbohydrates, which consist of multiple sugars.
Since the body needs more time to break down complex carbohydrates, blood sugar levels rise more slowly and not as sharply. What's more, complex carbohydrates keep you feeling full for longer.
Can you become addicted to sugar?
Studies have not yet been able to confirm a sugar addiction. However, scientists suspect at least a possible addictive potential of sugar. Experiments with rats have shown that they have developed a kind of sugar addiction.
So far, however, it has not been possible to confirm that these results can also be applied to humans and whether humans can also develop a sugar addiction. The answer to this question is therefore no. However, this is still no licence to simply consume as much sugar as you want.
Be careful with the combination of sugar and fat
It is not only our sweet tooth that can cause us to eat too much and no longer be able to do without sugar in the long term. The combination of sugar and fat also has an impact on our bodies.
When we combine sweet foods with fatty foods, this mixture activates our reward system in the brain and an increased dose of dopamine (the happiness hormone) is released.
So if you often combine sweet things with fatty foods, such as by eating chocolate, your body gets used to this dose over time and in the future you have to eat more chocolate for the same amount of dopamine to be released. This is because over time, less dopamine is released for the same amount of sugar and fat.
Hidden sugar traps
It is particularly important that you get an overview of how much sugar you actually consume. Processed products often contain more sugar than food you prepare yourself.
It is always worth taking a quick look at the nutrition table on the back of the product or on the packaging. It is best to always look at the nutritional information per 100g here, as the nutritional information in the portion information can sometimes be distorted.
Find out how you can reduce your sugar consumption and easily implement it in your everyday life.
Healthy organic breakfast without added sugar from Verival.
Opt for sugar alternatives instead of refined sugar.
If you want to reduce your sugar intake, you can start by removing refined sugar from your diet and replacing it with healthier sugar alternatives.
Although some sugar alternatives, such as honey, agave syrup, maple syrup or birch sugar, are not really much healthier, they are sweeter and have a stronger flavour than white sugar.
Therefore, you need less of these sugar substitutes than of normal sugar, and you can save at least some sugar and calories.
How to have a healthy breakfast without sugar
In principle, it is not that difficult to avoid sugar once you have identified the various sources of sugar. For many, it may seem difficult to avoid sugar at breakfast time.
Organic porridge from Verival – discover here
It's not at all difficult to start the day healthily without sugar. For example, you can start the day strengthened and fit with a healthy porridge that consists of complex carbohydrates.
The oats in porridge, in particular, keep you full for longer and ensure that your blood sugar level remains constant. You can find more tips for a healthy breakfast without sugar here.
You can read more about healthy breakfasts and nutrition in our guide to a healthy breakfast.
