Remember this typical scene on TV? A girl has just ended a relationship
and the first thing she does is eat ice cream and watch romantic movies.
Sugar has been our partner since we were little; it has been the reward,
the prize and the consolation after a heartbreak. And we wonder: Why do we love it so much? Why
are we so drawn to candy or chocolate and not to other types of food?
Well, sugar consumption causes the brain to secrete substances that make
us feel better emotionally. There is
also the theory that eating sugar intermittently can change your behavior,
through addiction related hormones such as dopamine, creating dependency.
Let me tell you a little bit more about this character:
- · Sugar began its career in the year 500 BC, in India.
- · His first name was "Khanda" (does the word Candy sounds familiar?).
- · It became famous when it was crystallized in SXVIII.
- · His discovery changed the course of human history: new colonies were formed, increased slavery, migration and wars between countries.
In the last two decades sugar has stopped being so political and entered
into the health area. Consumption of sweetened
beverages increased by 135% between 1977 and 2001 and is considered one of the
causes of the world epidemic of overweight, which goes hand in hand with many
diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and cancer.
Currently 1 billion adults worldwide suffer
from excess weight ... This is equivalent to all the inhabitants of the
American continent!
Let's do a little calculation:
An average soda can (360ml) has 150Kcal and 40-50g of sugar which is
equivalent to 5 tablespoons of sugar, if these calories are added to the daily
diet ...
A can of soda a day can lead to weight gain of 6.75 kg in 1 year!
I once had a patient who was 10kg overweight. Since his job made it very difficult to
change his diet I began with the simplest strategy, I asked him to switch from
soda to water. In just two months he
lost about 8kg, he could not believe that something as "harmless" as
soda would increase his weight so easily.
But, unfortunately, we not only eat sugar when we add it to the coffee
or have a coke. It's amazing the amount
of foods developed by the food industry, which use sugar to flavor, texture or
color to food. Click here to learn where
it is hidden:
Sounds terrible doesn’t it? Let’s do something about it… this week try
to add only half of the sugar to your coffee, drink water instead of soda or
just read the labels of the products you buy.
The good news is that you don’t have to resign to a bitter life. In the next blog I will introduce a new
member of the family of sweeteners, which will help you lose weight in a
natural and safe way.
Before we go lets watch a sweet story...
References
Vasanti S Malik, Matthias B Schulze, and Frank B Hu Intake of
sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain:a systematic review Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:274–88.
Nicole
M. Avena, Pedro Rada,
and Bartley G. Hoebel, Evidence for
sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent,
excessive sugar intake, Neurosci
Biobehav Rev. 2008 ; 32(1): 20–39.
Nicole M. Avena,1,2
Pedro Rada,1 and Bartley G. Hoebel, Sugar and Fat Bingeing
Have Notable Differences in Addictive-like Behavior, J. Nutr. 139:623–628,
2009.
Erik E. J. G. Aller 1,†,*, Itziar Abete 2,†, Arne Astrup 3, J. Alfredo
Martinez 2 and
Marleen A. van Baak, Starches, Sugars and Obesity, Nutrients 2011, 3, 341-369
