Read the article about SUGAR and choose the best answers.
THE GREAT SUGAR DEBATE
Have you ever been told that sugar is bad for you, that you eat too many sweets, that sugar is bad for your teeth and had for your health? Well lots of people say that sort of thing.
Sugar has been squarely placed alongside the "baddless" on the food spectrum and fanatics have even called for it to be abolished from our diets. Do such calls disregard reality and even encourage neurosis? Let's look more closely into this topic and see whether sugar is really bad for us or not.
Of course, too much sugar can be bad for you - so can too much whole wheat bread,or honey, or hops(as in beer). A wise old Greek said a thousand years ago, "Everything is poisonous yet nothing is poisonous. The dose alone determines the poison. "And that is the point about sugar. Like everything else, moderation is the watchword and a balanced diet the key to good health.
There is no difference between sugar in the sugar bowl and that in orange or apple juice. The refining process does not change the properties of sugar, it merely separates sugar from the other ingredients and impurities which are present in sources such as sugar cane Juice and beet juice.
Refined sugar is not damaging because it is pure, or "white" as compared to "brown" sugar, molasses or honey. The main difference between refined sugar and, for example, maple syrup, is one of flavour The body cannot discriminate between sources of sucrose. Regardless of the form in which sugar appears, the biochemical processes of metabolism remain the same.
The popular fear is that "empty" calorie foods might be consumed to the exclusion of other foods which contribute additional valuable nutrients to the diet. in fact, sugar in its pure form is seldom eaten alone and is usually consumed in combination with foods which contain multiple nutrients.
A study of nutrient intakes in the United States showed that consumption of key vitamins and minerals has not decreased in the present century, and that the amounts of sugar and confectionery consumed are about the same as they were 50 years ago.
Furthermore there is no evidence that habitually high- compared to low- consumers of sugar in a community suffer demonsrably from deficiencies of major nutrients.
Nor is refined sugar responsible for certain diseases, as many fanatics have suggested. There is no scientific proof that sugar causes cancer or diabetes. Sugar is one of the things that contribute to dental decay, but sugar naturally present in figs can contribute to tooth decay just as cane sugar in sticky sweets can.
You can eat sugar and still have healthy teeth as long as you care for your teeth property and don't eat too many snacks between meals.
The alleged connection between heart attacks and a habitually high intake of sugar has yet to be proved. In the West Indies, sugar intake is high but the cardiac arrest rate low.
The French and Scottish have the same sugar intake, yet heart attacks in the former are more frequent than in the latter. This points to factors other than sugar in the case of heart disease.
To advocate a diet entirely free of refined sugar is to ignore the realities of the world we live in.
Sugar is an important natural preservative in most processed foods: tinned meats, pickles, many breads, potato crisps, baked beans...the list is endless. The ideal diet is a low fat, high fibre one; there is a place for sugar within that framework. But, as with everything, in moderation.
Finally, life can't be all serious diet
Can anything replace the luxury of a gift that says, 'You're wonderful' ?
(Note: Some people disagree with some of the above conclusions about sugar