Sugar is in fruit and you can eat a ton of fruit and be ok, but then you can’t eat much candy or pop. What’s the difference? Also sugar vs sweeteners? Sugar is such a world I can’t wrap my mind around because there’s so much debate!
In: Biology
As someone has already mentioned glucose and fructose are the main sugars we talk about and table sugars tend to be sucrose which is a combination of them. I am no expert but it does seem like there are *some* differences in the way that the body metabolises different sugar and the sort of fat that might result or where that fat is produced. Fructose is as a matter if interest the ‘sweeter’ of the two.
The problem with sugar is much to do with quantity and ‘context’. Too much sugar is associated with obesity , diabetes and dental cavities. Obesity is *associated* further with things like heart disease and cancer. Though sugar does have some role in making you feel full, I believe, on its own it does so less than when combined with other important nutrients. When you eat fruit the sugar is combined with other useful nutrients and things like fibre that help slow down the sugar uptake and make us feel full, if you eat sweets or drink soda then this isn’t the case and you are more likely to still feel hungry.
As far as sweeteners are concerned , it’s seems like studies will continue to be ongoing ( and there are of course different ones).I have read that people drinking soda with sweetener in are again likely to want to eat more and thus it’s not necessarily as helpful as people might think in dieting. As far as any other health issues with sweeteners it’s difficult because there will be some scaremongering that might have no clear research basis. On the other hand, I’m not sure whether the amount that people now have with them being so common was quite expected.
I think that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to consider whether like sugar itself you should consider the whole nutritional value of whatever you are eating or drinking , whether having unnecessary *added* sweetness is likely to be a good thing and whether it’s sometimes better to have less of something than always try to find a replacement. But to be clear I am not aware of any research that shows sweeteners are ‘bad’ for you unless someone knows better…
Latest Answers