No added sugar, a bittersweet taste Part 2

In the first part of our study on sugar we talked about its structure, how it is composed and how it behaves with our body. Now we need to understand another important thing, how and why does sugar make us gain wheight?

+ Sugar and calories

Now that we have a general idea about sugar, its different forms and versions, we can focus a little more on its real Nutritional Value. Generally 100 grams of granulated sugar (sucrose) contain about 392 kcal which makes it a product that is not at all low-calorie but despite this sugar does not have fat and therefore the question is how does sugar work on our weight? It has everything to do with insulin, triglycerides and body fat. It all begins when the Sugar is broken down into Glucose and enters your body, depending on the amount of fat in your body, sugar can behave in two fundamentally different ways. The first by decreasing the burning of body fat or the possibility of using fat as energy, this is because it already provides our body with the energy it needs, thus inducing your body to increase fat reserves and is also the reason why it is also so difficult to untie those love handles. The second and perhaps more subtle way in which sugar works in your body always has to do with insulin, which at the peak of production drops dramatically making you feel that annoying feeling of hunger and making you enter a vicious circle where you would eat. the first thing you find in front of you. So it has nothing to do with fat, indeed, recent scientific studies have shown that it is much more effective for weight loss to reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates ingested instead of the amount of saturated and / or unsaturated fat. Besides that sugar has a terrific ability, it makes us feel happy! In fact, every time we take sugar in one of its forms, we receive a dose of Dopamine, the hormone of happiness, but its quantity is not enough to last and when it ends our brain requires a dose again, keeping you in that Circle we were talking about previously.

How important is it to know the glycemic index of the foods I eat?

Let's start by understanding what the glycemic index is and why it is so important. The index is nothing more than a scale of values ​​that calculates the assimilation time of glucose in our body. Together with the glycemic load they determine the amount of glucose that will be received by consuming this food. It is certain, however, that it is an approximate value due to the many variables that can increase or decrease the GI of the same, for example the state of ripeness, the place of cultivation but also cooking and chewing are fundamental needles of the balance. This does not mean, however, that it is not important to know and appreciate its usefulness because there are foods with an unchanged value, they are foods containing only 100% glucose.

The glycemic scale and its values:

below 40, the glycemic index is considered very low

between 41 and 55 is considered low

between 56 and 69 is considered medium / moderate

above 70 is considered high

Summing up, the GI is important because it helps us understand which ingredients to choose when preparing our meal, but the intake of other macronutrients such as proteins and fats which in certain quantities can slow down digestion and therefore the glycemic peak is also extremely important after each intake.

Sugar and its energy value

• Where is the sugar found?

It can be found in many foods, in plants and some animals such as bees and even in our blood and organs such as the Spleen and Liver.

+ Why doesn't CleanFoods add sugar to its Products? 

 This is undoubtedly a wonderful question. It is against the current for a food company not to add sugar to its products, it is an ingredient that would offer us an insured clientele due to sugar addiction, instead, our company was born to popularize those preparations and ingredients that have as their central subject the well-being, because what matters most to us is to create a better future not only for us but also and above all for future generations, which is why we have chosen to permanently eliminate simple sugar from our production line and added ingredients such as Sucralose, Poly-dextrose and natural sweeteners such as stevia for our sweet preparations. All of this results in a low glycemic index, which together with the glucomannan and the strong source of fiber help to drastically reduce sugar blood level as proven by multiple scientific studies.

Are you discovering new things about sugar or are they things you already knew? Let us know what you think about the topic or if there is a particular topic you would like us to talk about!

Thanks for joining us, see you next week!

With love,

Jorge