Currently, 80% of processed food contains refined sugar of one kind or another and has had its fiber removed. Refined sugars are dead calories, void of nutrients and fiber, which act like drugs.
When eating out or traveling, there are few, if any, options for sugar-free foods! For this to change, more public education and demand are needed. Globally, a new culture of healthy, tasty food and naturally sweet treats, free of refined sugars or artificial sweeteners, needs to be taught in culinary schools.
The good news is that the MAHA movement in the United States is aware of this problem and has taken on this challenge. They have become a powerful force to Make America Healthy Again. MAHA is also inspiring other countries. MAHA supports Regenerative Agriculture and Organic Consumers Assoc., because good nutrition begins in the soil. Undoubtedly, the challenges ahead are massive because of government conflicts of interest and powerful industry influence.
TYPES OF SUGAR
MONOSACCHARIDES
Glucose, dextrose, or grape sugar are simple monosaccharides found in plants, juices, and syrups. Monosaccharides can be classified by the number x of carbon atoms they contain: triose (3), tetrose (4), pentose (5), hexose (6), heptose (7), and so on. Monosaccharides are the building blocks of disaccharides. They include glucose (dextrose), fructose, and galactose.
Glucose, the most abundant, is produced from water and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis by most plants and most algae. It is used by plants to produce cellulose, the most abundant carbohydrate in the world, for cell walls, and by all living organisms to to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used by the cell as energy.
Fructose is a simple monosaccharide naturally found in many plants, honey, tree and vine fruits, flowers, berries, and root vegetables. Commercially, it is derived from sugar cane, beets, and corn, with the fiber removed. It is the sweet aspect of sugar.
There are three forms:
• Crystalline fructose is a monosaccharide that is dried, ground, and of high purity.
• HFCS (High fructose corn syrup) is a mixture of glucose and fructose as monosaccharides.
• Sucrose is a compound with one molecule of glucose covalently linked to one molecule of fructose.
All forms of fructose are added to junk foods, sodas, and baked goods for taste enhancement, shelf-life, and food browning, such as in baked goods. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the sweetest and most commonly used form, is generally 1.73 times sweeter than sucrose.
Gallactose is a simple monosaccharide that does not generally occur in the free state. It is a component of milk sugar/lactose and is not as sweet as glucose. It is also a component of the antigens found on the surface of red blood cells that determine blood groups.
DISACCHARIDES
• Lactose (glucose and galactose) is a disaccharide naturally occurring in milk. During digestion, it is broken down by the enzyme lactase. Some people and ethnic groups are lactose intolerant because they lack this enzyme, preventing them from digesting dairy.
• Maltose (two units of glucose) is a disaccharide produced from the germination of seeds and certain grains, such as barley, which is converted to malt. Maltose is less sweet than glucose and formed in the body when the enzyme amylase breaks down starch. It is also found in beer and produced when glucose is caramelized. The addition of another glucose unit yields maltoriose; further additions produce maltodextrin and eventually starch.
• Sucrose (glucose and fructose covalently linked) is a disaccharide found in stems of sugar cane and roots of sugar beets. It occurs naturally alongside fructose and glucose in other plants, carrots, and fruits. Commercially, it is highly refined with sulphuric acid into white granulated sugar.
• Castor sugar is even more highly refined into a powder.
• Brown sugar is white sugar with added molasses.
• Raw sugar is a minimally processed form of cane sugar.
• Demerara sugar is a light brown cane sugar originally from Guyana.
• Turbinado sugar is a type of raw sugar that is less processed.
• Sucanat is a trademark name for minimally processed dried sugar cane juice that contains molasses. It is similar to Panela from Latin America, Rapadura from Brazil, Muscavado from the Philippines, and Jaggery from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
• Maple syrup is 90% glucose and 10% sucrose and fructose.
RESEARCH
According to Dr. Robert Lustig, MD (Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco) and his research, “ The McGovern Commission on Dietary Guidelines for Americans Directive (in the 1970s) started the obesity epidemic when it replaced fat with sugar. Low-fat means high in sugar. Sugar is the new dietary evil.
Sugar is not good for us in any way, shape, or form. Whereas healthy fats are vital for nerve and brain development, growth, and function. Plus, the body needs its balanced supply of essential fatty acids (EFAs) for hormone production and many other functions. Unfortunately, the AHA, AMA, ADA, UDSA, and the food industry all collaborated with this dietary change to secure their control of the information, education, health, and food industries.
However, current data now shows that these so-called ‘experts’ got it wrong. Perhaps, deliberately! In any case, their LDL research was flawed and based on incomplete and erroneous information. For decades, ill health caused by the consumption of refined sugars (and damaged fats) was covered up.”
The industry even launched an aggressive campaign to silence and destroy
nutritionists, naturopaths, and anyone else who tried to teach the truth about the benefits of real food and good nutrition. Presently, in the U.S., only dieticians, controlled by the food giants and big pharma, are allowed to practice in schools, hospitals, etc., and be reimbursed by Medicare. In addition, they mounted a massive decade-long campaign, through state regulatory agencies, to ensure that independent naturopaths and independent nutrition consultants could no longer be licensed to practice.