Do you really understand “sugar-free food”? Can diabetics eat it? Pay attention to these points

Uncle Wang has diabetes. Every time he is on holiday or his children visit him, they will buy him a lot of sugar-free food or sugar-free health care products. Now Uncle Wang has a lot of this kind of food piled up in his house. Uncle Wang is a frugal person who doesn’t like to waste. Afraid that these foods will expire, I eat a lot of them every day.

Uncle Wang believes that although he has diabetes, eating these sugar-free health products or foods should not cause the blood sugar to rise. So Uncle Wang eats a lot every day and feels at ease. But recently, Uncle Wang went to the physical examination and found that not only did his blood sugar not remain stable, but there was a gradual upward trend. This finding made Uncle Zhang very puzzled.

Is it a pan of sugar-free food? Aren’t sugar-free foods sugar-free?

Are sugar-free foods really sugar-free

Want to know Is “sugar-free food” really “sugar-free”? Let’s first understand the substance “sugar”.

Saccharides are distinguished by hydrolysis and can be divided into monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides are the simplest forms of sugar that cannot be broken down any more and are absorbed directly by the body. The main representatives of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, etc.. Disaccharides refer to monosaccharides with the same or different molecules after hydrolysis, which are then absorbed by the human body. The main representatives of disaccharides are sucrose, maltose, lactose, seaweed essence and so on. Polysaccharides can be hydrolyzed to produce at least 6 molecules of monosaccharides, mainly represented by starch, dextrin, cellulose and sugar substitutes.

Each molecule of disaccharide contains two molecules of monosaccharide, such as one molecule of sucrose can be broken down into two molecules of glucose. Both disaccharides and polysaccharides need to be hydrolyzed into monosaccharides before they can be absorbed by the body. Polysaccharides need to be hydrolyzed first to disaccharides and then to monosaccharides. The nutritional significance of monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides is the same, the difference is the speed of absorption.

Sugars are carbohydrates that provide energy. The human body needs energy for various activities, and the main source of these energy is carbohydrates such as sugar.

As long as you consume it in moderation and grasp the best time to eat sugar, sugar is beneficial to the human body. For example, when you take a bath, you need to sweat a lot and consume energy, and you need to replenish water and calories. Eating sugar can prevent collapse; when exercising, you need to consume heat energy. Sugar can provide heat energy faster than other foods. ; When fatigued and hungry, sugar can be quickly absorbed to increase blood sugar; when dizzy and nauseated, eating some sugar can increase blood sugar, which is beneficial to return to normal; eating sugary snacks can make people learn And when working, be in high spirits and full of energy.

Sugar is an essential substance for the human body every day, but if excessive intake of sugar, the human body cannot use up so much “energy”, and excessive intake of Entry can cause diseases such as obesity, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, and dental caries.

Seeing this, I believe that everyone has a general understanding of sugar. Next, let us analyze whether the “sugar-free foods” on the market contain sugar or not.

In fact, my country has clear standards for “sugar-free food”. The Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China issued the “Administrative Specifications for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods”, which clarified that sugar-free refers to the sugar content of not more than 0.5 g per 100 g of solid or 100 ml of liquid food, and low-sugar refers to solid or liquid food per 100 g of sugar. A gram or 100ml contains no more than 5 grams of sugar.

After reading this standard about “sugar-free” and low-sugar, then everyone should know that the so-called “sugar-free” is just a sugar-containing standard, not in the true sense. contains no sugar at all.

It is impossible to completely remove sugar from food

And some businesses confuse the concept of “sugar free”, their “no sugar” “Sugar” may be sucrose-free. Although it does not contain sucrose, other sugars may be added, such as glucose, maltose, etc. Such merchants should actually label their products “sucrose-free” on the packaging food” rather than “sugar-free”.

There are also “sugar-free” ingredients that may contain more sugar.Not all All sugars are sweet. For example, starch, glycogen, and cellulose are all unsweetened sugars. Foods such as “sugar-free” cookies or “sugar-free” cakes generally contain a lot of starch Or fat. From the above, starch is also a type of sugar.

Starch will be converted into glucose in the body and absorbed by the body, and blood sugar will still rise. Therefore, “sugar-free food” does not mean that it is really “sugar-free”.

Those who suffer from diabetes suffer from diabetes because they eat too much sugar. Is it?

Is diabetes due to eating too much sugar?

When I saw this, I believe that many people should have a preliminary understanding of sugar. Most of the foods we eat contain sugar. exist. Our physical activity also requires sugar to provide energy, so our body must consume sugar every day.

Just like starch, a polysaccharide without sweetness, starch should mainly exist in daily staple foods, such as rice, noodles, etc., in most people’s cognition. We all eat these kinds of staple foods, so why do some people have diabetes and some people don’t?

Physical activity requires a limited amount of sugar, and as much sugar as the body is active, it may require as much sugar. Most people in modern times may need to sit for a long time because of work, so the amount of physical activity is small. If your body is less active, you don’t need to expend as much energy, and sugar builds up in your body.

But when the human body eats, it does not know whether the energy in the food can be used up by the body, and only cares about whether it is full. Plus, the modern diet is so varied, foods high in sugar are loved by most people. Therefore, it will lead to the sugar intake of the body every day, in fact, the body may not be able to consume all of it. Sugar is converted into fat and slowly accumulates in the body.

Insulin is the body’s only hormone that lowers blood sugar. If your body consumes too much sugar and then doesn’t increase your physical activity to use up the energy from sugar, insulin may become “overworked“. In the long run, it is easy to cause reduced insulin function, difficult to control blood sugar, and increase the probability of diabetes.

So the conclusion is that Too much sugar just increases the probability of diabetes, but diabetes is not necessarily because of too much sugar.

Clinically diabetes is divided into type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by decreased insulin function or decreased secretion of insulin, and the above-mentioned excess sugar intake is also a cause. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic β cells, resulting in absolute lack or significant reduction of insulin secretion.

Type 1 diabetes and genetics There is a great relationship. The mutation of the gene can lead to the defect of insulin islet β-cell function, thereby reducing the production of insulin. Some experts have found that people with a positive family history of diabetes have a significantly higher probability of developing diabetes than family history. Negative population.If both parents are diabetic, their children are 15-20 times more likely to develop diabetes..

Therefore, type 1 diabetes is relatively rare, type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 95% of all diabetes mellitus. Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can prevent high blood sugar before diabetes, and after diabetes can Control blood sugar as much as possible.

So how to prevent diabetes and how to control blood sugar stability is very important.

What to do to keep your blood sugar healthy

No matter what your current blood sugar situation is, start preparing to control your blood sugar and reduce your chances of developing diabetes.

Control blood sugar, you can start from the following three aspects:

  • Control intake
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    Although most foods contain sugars, the sugar content of each food is different. Generally, the sugar content in vegetables is relatively low, and the sugar content in vegetables is relatively low. Nutrient elements such as vitamins and minerals have many benefits for the body. Therefore, you can choose more in your daily diet Eat vegetables, such as celery, spinach, cucumber, lettuce leaves and other green vegetables.

    Try to eat less high-calorie snacks such as cakes, candies, chocolates, and drinks with high sugar content, such as cola, Sprite, etc. Eating foods high in sugar can make people happy, but eating foods high in sugar can only lead to short-term happiness. For the sake of your health, you should control your intake.

    • Increase consumption

    mainly activity Volume is too little exercise. If you consume too much sugar in your usual diet and your body does not consume it through exercise, sugar, which is energy, accumulates in the body, and it is only a matter of time before you gain weight.

    When the human body is exercising, it needs energy to maintain, and the source of energy is the sugar ingested in the body. However, Exercise needs to be sustained for a long time. It is best to stick to exercise about 5 times a week, and it is best to stick to it for 30 to 40 minutes each time. When exercising, pay attention to self-protection to reduce muscle strain and other injuries.

    • Abstain from smoking and drinking

    to better maintain blood sugar health. Long-term drinking can easily damage the liver, and abnormal liver function can cause abnormal glucose metabolism, resulting in poor blood sugar control. Diabetes can accelerate the hardening of blood vessels. If patients smoke, it will stimulate blood vessels, accelerate the hardening of blood vessels, and affect the health of the body.

    Write last

    Diabetes is not an overnight disease, it is a long-term Time is affected by an unhealthy lifestyle. Blood sugar cannot be controlled overnight, and it takes a long time to stick to it. Diabetes is an incurable chronic disease. Rather than focusing on treatment, it is better to focus on prevention.

    It is impossible for everyone to know their physical condition accurately, and many diseases rarely have symptoms in the early stage. enough attention will be paid. Therefore, physical examination is very important for everyone. Physical examination can more directly reflect the state of the body, understand the progress of the disease, and enable people to receive timely treatment and active prevention.