How to explain the desire to eat sweets?

Usually, through the consumption of sweets or foods, that contain sugar people improving their mood. And according to experts, the reasons for this come from childhood.

Psychologists explain the craving for sweets by the fact that our first contact was with sweet food because breast milk is sweet. When we eat candy or a cupcake – there is a feeling that we are loved, cherished, although, in fact, the effect is quite short.

But in addition to the psychological dependence on sweets, there is also a medical explanation associated with the hormone of joy, which is released when consuming foods containing sugar.

Nutritionists say that when we eat something sweet, our brain reacts – and 5% of the joy hormone immediately signals this, but this happiness passes very quickly. Only 20 minutes – and the mood is bad again. Therefore, we again want the same level of endorphins, the same level of happiness and joy.

What is the price of craving sweets?

Sugar is a real drug: the more you eat it, the more you want and the harder it is to give up. And its excess in the body leads not only to obesity but also to diabetes, tumors, and multiple sclerosis.

What foods can replace sweets?

It can be cane sugar, stevia, or honey.

Top 5 sugar alternatives:

1. Whole cane sugar. Is the easiest way to replace white sugar and when used, you can maintain the same proportions in the recipe without noticing important changes in taste.
2. Stevia. It has a very high degree of sweetening and also has many health benefits.
3. Honey. It is delicious and nutritious food, that gives us a lot of energy and vitality, as well as strengthens the immune system. But it is not desirable to add to desserts with heat treatment. Honey is also an allergenic product, so it is forbidden for allergy sufferers.
4. Maple syrup and agave syrup are of great nutritional value. It tastes a bit like caramel and is suitable not only for pancakes but also as a sweetener for dough.
5. Erythritol is a modern sweetener for diabetics that do not increase insulin levels and contains 0 calories. Slightly changes the taste of drinks, but is not felt in desserts.

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A team of doctors, biologists and nutritionists believe that people are gradually poisoning themselves. According to experts, sugar contains a toxin which is very harmful for the organs and responsible for disrupting the body’s normal hormonal cycles. Thus, it poses great danger compared to love handles and cavities. High sugar consumption is believed to be the main cause for metabolic disorders and obesity epidemic. It is likely to cause diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity has affected as much as one third American adult population and almost 12.5 million adolescents of US. As per certain records, 5.6 million people in US were affected by diabetes and the numbers rose to 20 million in 2011. This is a warning bell for those people who consume sugar irresponsibly.

Arguments placed in favor of toxicity of sugar rely on certain technical details of ways body is energized from various sugar types. In the present times, majority of Americans consume it in two different forms. These are fructose rich corn syrup and table sugar. A single molecule of the latter is a link between a fructose and glucose molecule. Both the sugars have similar chemical formula although the atomic structures vary. During the 60s period a technology helped America’s corn industry to convert glucose to fructose cheaply.

Irrespective of the sugar coming from which is consumed by common people, cells are designed to deal with glucose and fructose instead of bulky sucrose. Sucrose is split by the enzymes present in the intestines within seconds. There is difference between fructose rich corn syrup and sucrose in terms of the constituent molecules. It is glucose which runs throughout the blood stream to different tissues as each cell readily transforms glucose to energy.

Liver cells fall under the rare category of cells which may convert the fructose into energy. This places the burden of the metabolizing fructose on a single organ entirely. High doses of fructose consumption will tax the liver. A huge amount of energy is exhausted in converting fructose to other molecules. Thus, there may be no energy left in terms of other functionalities. An outcome of this depletion is the creation of uric acid. Researchers have found its link with kidney stones, rising blood pressure and gout stone.

Experts believe that people need to lower their sugar consumption provided it leads to weight gain. Following ad healthy and balanced diet along with exercises will go a long way in keeping diseases at a bay. People committed to stay fit and healthy should have a disciplinary approach to sugar consumption.

Image credit: Alex Varlakov

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