Why sugar matters – and how to cut back if you're eating too much of it

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A summary of sugar's health effects can sound like the tagline for a Hollywood thriller: "It's sweet and alluring. 它是伪装大师. 今晚，它就藏在你的冰箱里."

好吧，也许不是一部成功的惊悚片. 但就像双重间谍一样，糖可以是有益的，也可以是危险的. 在添加糖的幌子下，它强调的是危险.

"The research just keeps flowing about how bad it is, truly," said Dr. 彭妮稍微, 埃文·皮尤大学营养科学教授, 宾夕法尼亚州立大学公园分校的名誉教授, 宾西法尼亚.

Being aware of how sugar works and where added sugar lurks can help you manage it, 她说.

天然糖有好几种. 有些，比如葡萄糖和果糖，只是一个分子.

另一些则由连接的分子组成. 蔗糖(蔗糖), usually derived from sugar cane or sugar beets) is made up of one glucose and one fructose molecule. Lactose, which can be found in milk, consists of one glucose and one galactose molecule.

没有人天生就是坏的. Our bodies turn sugars and other carbohydrates into glucose that fuels red blood cells, 中枢神经系统和大脑.

因为糖提供了一种获取这种重要能量的快速途径, 人类进化到寻找它, 当我们找到它的时候，我们的大脑会觉得得到了奖励.

这就是问题开始的地方.

我们的祖先获取糖的途径有限, 那就是天然糖, 比如水果中的果糖. 今天，糖就像线索游戏中的嫌疑犯一样丰富. High-fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar and honey all are types of added sugar.

在美国，成年人的平均睡眠线上电子游戏飞禽走兽.S. eats about 60 pounds of added sugar a year, according to the 美国心脏协会.

When you eat sugar, it sets off a chain reaction in the body, 稍微说. 当糖被消化时，你的血糖水平会升高. To regulate it, the pancreas pumps out insulin, which lowers glucose in the blood. If you constantly eat sugar, the pancreas has to "keep pumping and pumping and pumping."

她说，随着线上电子游戏飞禽走兽的推移，这会给胰腺带来压力. 当胰腺不能产生足够的胰岛素来控制血糖时, 或者身体对胰岛素产生抵抗, 结果就是2型糖尿病. +, 多余的卡路里以脂肪的形式储存起来, 哪些会导致肥胖, 这是一种与糖尿病和心脏病有关的疾病.

The AHA recommends limiting added sugar to no more than 6% of calories each day. For most women, that's no more than 100 calories a day, or about 6 teaspoons. 对于男性来说，每天摄入150卡路里，或者大约9茶匙.

You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to track down added sugar in your food. “它无处不在，”克里斯-埃瑟顿说.

是的, 你会认为一罐可乐(41克)中含有添加糖, 或者大约10茶匙, 一罐12盎司的流行品牌)或一个纸杯蛋糕(18克), 或者4又1/2茶匙, 每个独立包装的全国品牌纸杯蛋糕). But you'll also find it in ketchup (roughly a teaspoon of added sugar per tablespoon) and bread (a quarter teaspoon per white slice, 在一个奶油蛋卷里放多于一茶匙). 添加糖也会隐藏在果汁饮料中.

In their attempts to cut back, some people turn to artificial sweeteners. 克里斯-埃瑟顿很谨慎. 她说，有关甜味剂的科学研究好坏参半. “所以，我认为谨慎是有必要的."

People who are worried about sugar in their diet should be aware of the difference between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars that you'd get in a fruit or vegetable.

虽然天然果糖, 在分子水平上, 只是另一种糖, 和谁在一起很重要. 果糖的陪伴, 说, 一杯草莓(8克), 或者2茶匙, 总糖), is completely different from the company it keeps with something like a sugar-sweetened beverage, 稍微说.

对于初学者来说, that serving of strawberries (or bananas or even corn) comes with vitamins and nutrients. 它还含有纤维, which slows the processing of sugar in the digestive tract and limits spikes in blood glucose.

克里斯-埃瑟顿指着一个 糖的研究 发表在9月份的《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》上. It found that while the fructose from added sugar and juice was associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease, 水果和蔬菜中的果糖则不然.

Her advice for people who want to cut back on added sugar is to start by keeping an eye out for it.

营养标签将添加糖和总糖一起列出. 你也可以浏览配料表，比如糖浆, 甘蔗汁, 玉米甜味剂或任何一种“糖”分子.

一旦你学会了识别添加糖，寻找替代品. "It might be hard for some people to go cold turkey," 稍微说. “但也许你可以开始戒掉自己."

If you're used to drinking the largest size of a pumpkin spice coffee drink, switching to the smallest size takes you from 63 grams (nearly 16 teaspoons) of sugar to 25 grams (a little more than 6 teaspoons). 或者尝试黑咖啡或不加糖的茶来获得无糖咖啡因的冲击.

如果你喝了很多含糖的苏打水, 换成用柠檬或酸橙调味的无糖苏打水. 如果你用运动饮料补充水分, switching to water might help you avoid 35 grams of added sugar (nearly 9 teaspoons) per 20-ounce bottle.

对于早餐麦片，克里斯-埃瑟顿很有创意. 她丈夫喜欢吃葡萄干麸皮, 她说9克“确实有相当多的糖”, 或者超过2茶匙, 一个流行品牌的每杯. 她把它和一种无糖的高纤维麦片混在一起稀释.

Such cereal subterfuge also works with frosted flakes and corn flakes, 她说. Or you can switch to an entirely sugarless cereal and sweeten it with fruit.

用于沙拉酱, be wary of brands labeled "low-fat" or "fat-free" because they can still be loaded with sugar, 她说. As an alternative, she suggests balsamic vinegar, lemon or lime juice, or herbs and spices.

克里斯-埃瑟顿说，小步骤积少成多. Cutting back "doesn't mean that you can never have any sugar whatsoever. 所以，记住这一点. 然后明智地选择."