Sugar is almost everywhere
Sugars, naturally present in many foods, are simple carbohydrates. Sugar is found naturally in milk, organic products, some vegetables, pre-packaged meals, cereals, and so forth. Sometimes sugars can be used as preservatives and other times as thickeners. Sugar is sometimes used during preparation, changing, or when ready to trough. In other words, sugar is pretty much in the mix! And the sugar, if not used or digested, becomes calories which are converted into fat. But we’ll talk about that later in the article.
Unused sugar in human body = unwanted fat
But when you digest food (especially sugar), the body breaks down carbohydrates into sugar. Now, whether sugar is a natural part of food or is added artificially, the body cannot tell the difference. From the body’s point of view, it’s still sugar. The only difference is that, generally, artificially added sugar contains significantly more calories than foods containing natural sugar. These extra calories, if not utilized by the body, can turn into unwanted fat.
Sugar and Health Problems
While it’s widely believed that sugary foods directly cause diabetes or hyperactivity (the connection is more indirect), that’s really not the case. Sugary foods, however, have been linked to dental problems and provide more calories to the body than they can be used. So, if you really want to lose weight, I would advise against troughing too many sugary foods.
Read the ingredients.
Now, when you’re at the store, sugar comes in different ways. It’s up to you to determine what it looks like by looking at the ingredients. And just because sugar or one of its synonyms isn’t present doesn’t mean there isn’t. Sugar can be a natural part of the food you are viewing and will not be listed as sugar.
Know the DIFFERENT names of Sugar
Either way, look for one of the following “alternative” names, sugars are usually listed as: “brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, organic products juice concentrate, glucose, corn syrup high fructose corn, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose or syrup.” Any of these means that a specialist sweetener has been added. And remember, if you don’t consume those empty calories, they turn into fat. Better recovery, try not to even let these extra items enter your system.
Beware of “low fat” or “fat free” items
Another thing to consider is that foods generally labeled “low fat” or “fat free” tend to make up for the lack of fat by adding extra sugar. This keeps their calorie count high, keeping you wondering why the weight won’t come off. So keep your food and drinks in the low to moderate sugar range, and you should be fine.