How sweet! Whether it’s cake, cookies or chocolate, almost every one of us loves a sweet treat every now and then. And that is absolutely fine! Sugar can definitely be a part of a balanced diet. But what do we actually mean when we talk about sugar? There are many different names for the sugar contained in our food and it exists in very different forms. Read on to discover the most important sugar facts.

 

Fed up with those sneaky sugar traps? Then you definitely need to take a look at next month’s Dole blog, when we will tell you all you need to know about the sugar hidden in many foodstuffs.

 

But what exactly is sugar?

 

When we talk about sugar, we generally mean white sugar – sucrose. It is found in many fruits and plants and is extracted mainly from sugar cane and sugarbeet. Sucrose is known as a disaccharide or double sugar. What does this mean? Depending on the number of chemical molecules it contains, sugar – sweet-tasting carbohydrate – can be divided into single sugars (monosaccharides), double sugars (disaccharides) or complex sugars. The latter can be subdivided into oligosaccharides (consisting of 3 to 9 monosaccharides) or polysaccharides (consisting of at least 10 molecules of monosaccharides).

 

Monosaccharides: Glucose, fructose, galactose

Disaccharides: Maltose, lactose, sucrose

Oligosaccharides/polysaccharides: Starch and fibre

 

Important: The phrase “no added sugar” on packaging does not mean that a product is sugar-free. It only means that no sugar was used in processing the product. If ingredients, such as fruit for example, naturally contain sugar, this is also present in the end product.

And why do we need sugar?

 

Carbohydrates are primarily a source of energy for the human body. Our brain consumes the most energy – it uses almost exclusively glucose to provide energy. The intake of carbohydrates temporarily increases blood sugar levels. We should get most of our carbohydrates from starchy and high-fibre foods, such as fruit and vegetables, cereals and potatoes. These contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.

 

What happens if we consume too much sugar?

 

Our sugar intake has been constantly increasing in recent decades. While in the past sugar was a scarce luxury product, it is now a component of many different foods. Fructose, glucose and sucrose in particular are consumed in ever increasing quantities. Eating large amounts of sugar on a regular basis leads to excess weight and obesity and consequently to related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and tooth decay. 

 

How sweet is it for you?

 

Your Dole team