SUGAR. A SOURCE OF PLEASURE OR A CRAFTS ARTIST TO UNDERSTAND HEALTH AND BEAUTY? AMONG SCIENTISTS AND DIETOLOGISTS THIS QUESTION HAS ALREADY BEEN RHETORIC, AND THE RESPONSE TO IT IS UNIQUE: THE WHITE POWDER IS QUICKLY RECOGNIZED AS A DRUG. THE BITTER TRUTH ON A SWEET LIFE IS CONFIRMED BY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES. ONE TROUBLE: NOT ALL CONSUMERS WANT TO HEAR IT.
WHITE POWDER
Scientifically proven: excessive sugar intake causes a number of serious health problems. The risk of developing cardiovascular (heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis) and autoimmune diseases (allergies, psoriasis), certain types of cancer, diabetes mellitus is increased, visual impairment, psychological disorders and overweight are observed. Yes, it is sugar, not fats, often the culprit in obese forms. Since "in reserve" not fats from food are stored, but fats synthesized by the body from carbohydrates.
Refuse sweets and not become the hero of this medical novel? Not so simple. Sugar is addictive. And in some studies, addiction is stronger than cocaine and heroin (in a mouse study, addiction to sugar was faster than cocaine). Clinics already exist in the world in which they treat sugar addiction in the same way as they do for alcohol or drugs. Hospitalization, work with psychologists, special diets. And it's not about learning to ignore cakes and pastries. In the modern world, sweet powder is present in almost all store products - even those where, by logic, it should not be: in milk, bread, soy sauce. And the products of the so-called healthy diet - cereals and muesli, instant oatmeal, yoghurts, water with flavors. All this, experts call "hidden" or "free" sugar. Every day a person consumes such an amount of which he does not even suspect, namely more than 40 teaspoons per day. This is approximately 160 grams, while the WHO recommended figure is no more than seven teaspoons, or 28 grams. The cards are revealed: that’s why getting rid of addiction to sugar or normalizing weight is a difficult task. It is impossible to stop eating at all! But you can become a conscious consumer and read the labels, choosing products with a minimum amount of white matter. And here is the trap: there is sugar where it is literally said about its absence. For example, in soda with the words "No sugar", "Sugar Free", "Zero Sugar" it is replaced by fructose. Alone, without glucose, this “extract” is even more dangerous than refining: it is absorbed by cells 22 times faster, disrupting carbohydrate metabolism. There can be no question of any energy for the body: the brain eats only glucose. This whole fructose shaft is immediately converted to fat.
TWO PLUS
Sugar itself is not a total evil. For centuries, a man received it from berries, fruits, vegetables, honey - though not constantly, but periodically - for example, in the summer or in the fall, when these products were available. These are monosaccharides, simple carbohydrates - glucose and fructose. But they never entered the body alone, but only together with vitamins, fiber, micro and macrocells. This "golden composition" is itself useful, and provides a gradual assimilation of sugar by cells - from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. But "Homo sapiens" learned to make industrial sugar - first from sugar cane, then from beets. To simplify, the white crystals in the sugar bowl are glucose and fructose glued together. Everything. There are no more useful companions in this molecule. This sugar is digested very soon and enters the bloodstream. Therefore, in fact, sugar is also referred to as “fast carbohydrate”. Similarly, in the blink of an eye, it is consumed. All this resembles a roller coaster: the quickly reached peak level of sugar in the blood is replaced by a steep peak, which is often called the "insulin swing". As a result, the brain again, and quite naturally, requires "fuel" for itself and body cells - a person wants sweets. An addiction is formed to such a quick "fueling", a dependence arises. Hence the mood swings, a breakdown, difficulties with morning awakening, fatigue and nervousness. When sugar is reduced, mood swings pass quickly.
By the way, the opinion that supposedly "eco" bars, chocolates and other goodies increase the efficiency of the brain is wrong. In fact, even though the brain is a VIP glucose consumer (this means that the brain will take it first, and the rest will go to the body), for active work, convolutions need not so much glucose - 4 grams per hour.
The brain easily gets it from any carbohydrates, including complex ones. The fact is that at the level of biochemistry, all carbohydrates entering the body are converted to glucose, and it is not necessary to eat sweets to extract it, it is enough to use buckwheat or legumes. In the absence of carbohydrates, glucose is synthesized from proteins and fats. So the lack of sugar does not threaten your health. But the excess carbohydrates immediately "melts" into fat in reserve.
READ BY FACE
Glucose in the blood starts another important process in the body - glycation of proteins. As a result, "glycation end products" are formed. In simple words - toxins, what we call the common language slags. Collagen and elastin - proteins responsible for youth, elasticity and beauty of the skin - are also subject to this reaction. And the mentioned toxins seem to stick together their fibers. This greatly affects the condition of the skin: it loses elasticity, firmness, freshness, wrinkles are formed on it faster. In addition, cell debris affects the color of the skin, it looks dull, gray and lifeless. The production of melanin is affected - the skin becomes susceptible to pigmentation, its water balance is disturbed - dryness and sensitivity appear.
In fairness, it is worth noting that the process of glycation in the skin up to 30-35 years old is not very active. But when natural aging starts, he quickly picks up speed. The situation is aggravated by the fact that with age, the synthesis of collagen and elastin in itself slows down. And the “glued” fibers are like sticks in wheels for their production, albeit slowly. In a "immobilized" state, they both poorly perform their functions and are poorly destroyed, preventing new "threads" from being born. In medical cosmetology, there is even such a term - “sugar face”: skin dotted with small wrinkles from excessive consumption of sweets.
ATTEMPTS OF PROTECTION
The process of glycation itself, many experts emphasize, is quite natural. Just how and at what age it will affect health in general and skin in particular, simply depends on lifestyle and nutrition. By the way, throws firewood into the fire of "sugaring" proteins and smoking. Cosmetically, the glycation results cannot be completely corrected. Scientists have been working in this direction since the 1980s, trying to find and introduce antiglycation agents into formulas. But you can try to slow down and partially reduce the negative effect. A number of beauty brands, such as Babor, Biologique Recherche, Mary Kay, Skin Doctors, in the instructions for some creams and serums say: "Reduces the intensity of glycation of collagen fibers." Fredrik Brandt, star cosmetologist and founder of the Dr. Brandt, was one of the first who began to produce such cosmetics. He clarified: "Everything that stimulates fibroblasts to produce collagen will help reduce sugar damage." This, by the way, is an extract of green tea, blueberries, pomegranate, retinol, peptide carnosine.
IN A PLATE
Today, the most effective response to protein glycation is the rejection of excessive consumption of fast carbohydrates. It is proved: they accelerate this process by 10 times in comparison with "slow" brothers. So the croissants are fighting. But whole grain bread - a green light! Identifying fast carbohydrate sources is easy by the glycemic index (GI). This indicator indicates the ability of products to influence the level of sugar in the blood, or rather, the speed of its assimilation.
A scale from 0 to 100 is established, according to which dishes are ranked. Within its framework, groups with high, medium and low GI are distinguished. High rates (from 70 to 100) are fast, empty carbohydrates. This includes all the pastries and sweets, white rice, mashed potatoes, popcorn, chips, pizza, pancakes and more. The average index covers numbers from 50 to 69 (pineapple, banana, apricot, beets, basmati rice, jacket potatoes). Beans, quinoa, buckwheat, grapefruit, grapes, orange, fresh cabbage, tomato, cucumber have low rates (from 0 to 49). Meat, fish, poultry, eggs are protein products. They almost do not contain carbohydrates, so their GI is reduced to zero. Tables with GI ready meals and their components are easy to find on the Internet. Together with an attentive reading of the labels, they will allow you to control the quantity and "quality" of sugar consumed, to make a conscious choice in favor of healthy food and drinks.
Text: Marina Motornaya
