Title: Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free - Information #3
Categories: Info Diabetic
Yield: 1 Servings

Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free by Janice Fueur 1993 Royal Teton Ranch

What's Wrong With Sugar? ************************

: Over the past 25 to 30 years, more and more nutritionists, health care professionals, and people in all walks of life are finding out that, yes, indeed, there is a problem with sugar - refined white sugar, sucrose, with the chemical formula C(12)H(22)O(11). : Typical of the concern about the consumption of refined white sugar are the comments from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a well-respected health advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. They have concluded, through their study of the available research, that sugar is not safe at all. They believe that there is substantial evidence that sugar contributes to tooth decay, obesity, and nutrient deficiencies, and may cause hypoglycemia and hyperactivity in children and in sensitive people. They also believe that it contributes to heart disease and diabetes. The Centre adds that everybody has a different body chemistry, and that sugar affects us all in different ways. : However, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines, all Americans are advised to consume sugar only in moderation and to replace high-sugar foods with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other foods rich in complex carbohydrates. The guidelines also state that because sugars provide calories, but few other nutrients, diets with large amounts of sugar should be avoided, especially by people with lower calories needs. : It is very possible to eat too many calories and still not get enough nutrients. The main complaint that nutritionists have about sugar is that is gives the body empty, or naked, calories. Sugar is not only nothing, it is worse that nothing. In the refining process, sugar is stripped of all its nutrients, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes, fatty acids, and amino acids. Yet our bodies have to use minerals to metabolize it. Thus sugar robs our bodies of essential elements, leaving us with nutritional deficiencies when we eat too much. : In order to digest refined sugar, the body must mobilize its stored viatmins and minerals, such a sodium, potassium, chromium, magnesium, and calcium, to deal with the rapid absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. If you eat sugar every day, your body must provide more and more minerals for digestion and assimilation, and then it must attempt to return your blood sugar level to normal. : When we eat white sugar, the rate at which it is absorbed into the blood as glucose is much too rapid. This rapid absorption causes the glucose level in the blood to increase drastically. : The pancreas can then overreact by rushing to produce enough insulin to allow the glucose to be absolbed by the individual body cells. This greatly reduces the blood glucose level and can even cause it to drop to a point lower than before the sugar was eaten. When this drop occurs, the adrenal glands have to work overtime to once again normalize the blood sugar level. : Now, of course, you may be among those people for whom sugar has no noticeable effects. But it is still wearing down your pancreas, your adrenals, and all of your organs. : Fruit sweeteners, on the other hand, still contain many vitamins, minerals, and even protein, along with their calories and sweetness. Fruit sweeteners are composed of monosaccharides in the form of fructose, which many health experts consider to be better than sucrose. Fructose is assimilated along a different metabolic pathway than sucrose, which places less stress on the pancreas. : The following chart compares the nutritional information on our favorite fruit sweetener (made from the combined juices of peaches, pears and pineapples) with information on refined white sugar. The figures are for 100 grams of fruit sweetener (approximately 5 tablespoons) and 1 tablespoon. As half the amount of fruit sweeneter is used in each recipe in comparison to the amount of sugar that would need to be used in the same recipe the figures for sugar are for 200 grams (approximately 10 tablespoons of sugar) and for 2 tablespoons. As a point of reference, the Recommended Daily Allowances for adults of each of the nutrients are also included.

Mixed Fruit Sweetener White Sugar RDA* ********************* ************** ******** 5 T 1T 10T 2T ********** ********* ***** ****** ********

Calories 283.00 56.00 770.00 144.00 2400 Carbohydrates 70.00 14.00 192.00 36.00 300 Fats 0.50 0.10 0.00 0.00 66 Protein 2.30 0.46 0.00 0.00 46 Vitamin A 783.00 148.00 0.00 0.00 4-5000 Vitamin C 43.00 86.00 0.00 0.00 60 Niacin 1.60 0.30 0.00 0.00 14-19 Riboflavin 0.12 0.20 0.00 0.00 1.2-1.6 Thiamine 0.23 0.05 0.00 0.00 1.0-1.4 Calcium 72.00 14.40 0.00 0.00 800 Iron 1.70 0.30 0.10 0.02 10-18 Phosphorous 41.00 8.00 0.00 0.00 800 Potassium 831.00 166.00 0.00 0.00 1525-4575 Sodium 6.00 1.00 1.00 0.20 900-2700 ******************************************************************** *RDA from the Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, 1908. Nutritional information for the mixed fruit sweetener, courtesy of American Fruit Processors, is based on estimated calculations derived from Composition of Foods, a Department of Agriculture Handbook. ********************************************************************** **

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