Experts say that too much sugar is bad for you, but is it?
Natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables is released slowly into the bloodstream due to the fibre content. In contrast, refined sugar present in cakes, biscuits, sweets, breakfast cereals, sauces, processed meals, canned drinks and fruit drinks has a negative impact on the blood glucose, causing a sharp rise followed by a dramatic decline in glucose levels, very often resulting in the body demanding more.
Consuming a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the day will provide the body with sustainable energy and reduce the risk of over eating caused by increased satiety levels. However, eating large amounts of refined sugar has shown to lead to weight gain (British Heart Foundation) and can result in chronic conditions such as diabetes and dementia.
Fruit and vegetables offer a variety of vitamins and minerals keeping the immune system healthy, ensuring normal functioning of cells & muscles and maintaining healthy blood pressure. Many fruits and vegetables also have a positive effect on hydration due to the water content in them. It has been reported that increasing your consumption of fruit and vegetables including; blueberries, strawberries, cherries, kale, broccoli, red pepper, tomatoes and spinach which contain antioxidants, will reduce the risk of dementia. (Lourida et al 2013)
It is therefore important to consume more natural sugar to gain health benefits and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.