Everything You Should Know About Fruit Sugar. Every one of us knows that eating so much sugar is unhealthy for you. Many of us say that sweets cannot be repealed with fruits. Even after knowing the side effects of consuming sugar, it is not easy for people to avoid the temptation.
So, while it is important to cut temptation, everyone wants to know why it is fine to eat sugar from fruits but not refined sugar. The experts have tried to clear up this confusion about fruit sugar once and for all.
Some companies are even working to extract sugar from fruits, such as organic grape sugar.
Let’s talk about fruits, sugar, and refined sugar in detail
The Difference Between Fruit Sugar and Refined Sugar
The first thing to know here is that not all sugars are equal. There are various types of sugars, including glucose, sucrose, maltose, fructose, and others. Natural sugars are present in fruits, grains, and vegetables.
So the question here is what makes fruit sugar different from artificial sweeteners and refined sugar.
Refined or processed sugar is available under many names such as brown sugar, white sugar, palm sugar, cane sugar, high fructose syrups, and others. This sugar comes from plants that have been processed one way or another to sweet form.
Refine sugars are added to various food items to make them tastier and help them last longer. Though refined sugar may be addictive, it lacks various nutrients. Fruits, on the other hand, contain all essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, finder, and antioxidants. This means eating fruits is much more nutritious than a bag of candy.
Understanding Sugars
Natural Sugars- Natural sugar is present in fruit in the form of fructose and in various daily products such as milk, cheese, as lactose. Food with natural sugars plays an important role in preventing diseases, and fruits provide essential nutrients to keep the body healthy and prevent disease.
Refined Sugars– Refined sugar, on the other hand, comes from sugar beets and sugar cane. These are then processed for extraction of refined sugar. We use brown and white sugar in various food items such as bakery products, coffee shakes, cookies, and even fruits.
Food manufacturers also add chemical processed sugars known as artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup in food and beverages.
Items such as crackers, sweet yogurt, tomato sauce, and salad dressing contain artificial sweeteners. Low-fat foods are a worse thing because they manufacture sugar to add flavor.
The processed food items that we eat are high in calories with little nutritional value. In contrast, fruits and unsweetened milk have vitamins and minerals. Milk has protein, and fruit has fiber that keeps the body full for a long time.
How Does the Body Metabolize Sugar?
The fruits have glucose and fructose, just like processed sugar. But most fruits have up to 50% fructose, and table sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose.
Does this Matter?
Now, as all the sugars are different, they also metabolize differently in the body. The process of digestion for sugar in milk and fruits vary from that of refined and processed sugar.
A registered dietitian Nicole Using says that fructose is metabolized differently than glucose in the body. Fructose is mainly broken down in the liver. There are various pros and cons of this.
The benefit is that eating fructose does not raise the blood glucose or insulin level, both of which if raised above the normal range through contributing to a variety of diseases ranging from obesity, heart disease and other forms of cancer.
The cons, however, is that when fructose is metabolized in the liver, it is used to make fat, however, as fructose is eaten along with equal parts of glucose.
When glucose breaks down in the stomach, it needs insulin to get into the bloodstream so that it can further be metabolized. The glucose that the body does not need stores to keep the glucose level stable.
As compared to natural sugar, refined sugar breaks down rapidly in the body and causes insulin and blood sugar levels to increase. When refined sugar is metabolized quickly, you do not feel full, no matter how many calories you have consumed. The fiber in fruit slows down the metabolism and helps you feel full for a longer period of time.
After the sugar is passed from the stomach, it reaches the small intestine, and it does not matter what comes into that area, either it is an apple or a soft drink.
The point is how much sugar you have in the blood determines how the body uses the sugar. If the body has a high sugar ratio, the rest will be stored in the form of glucose.
Is Eating Fruit Sugar the Same as Refined Sugar?
As already mentioned, the body breaks down all types of sugar, whether it is from fruits or from cake. But the sugar eaten from fruits is digested much slowly. This is because of the fibers presenting the fruits, which help in slowing down the process.
When the process is slowed down, blood sugar level is also not accelerated like that of refined sugar.
As there is no fiber in refined sugar like cake and cookies, the sugar quickly travels through the bloodstream, and you experience high sugar. Now, as a bonus, refined sugar does not contain any nutrients, which is why it is consumed as empty calories.
So, Is fruit sugar healthy?
Too much sugar isn’t good for you, but as compared to refined sugar, fruits sugar is much better for consumption on a regular basis. That is why companies are producing sugar from fruits such as organic grape sugar.
Fruits have a lot of great nutrients that are important for the body. Barriers, grapes, and apples have flavonoids and antioxidants that can help fight various diseases such as cancer.
Bottom Line
The key to a healthy diet is moderation. However, if you love sugar and enjoy eating sweet food, it is suggested to shift to natural sugar from refined sugar. Eating fruit sugar is healthier than eating refined sugar.
Eat purists as they will keep your fill and will also provide nutrients and vitamins. Sometimes nothing satisfies you but sweet things. At that time, I relied on good sugar.
