Americans are champions, 126.4 grams every day. It is followed by the Germans with a weight of 102.9 and the third with a chest difference, the Dutch with a weight of 102.5 grams. In the race for sugar consumption in the list of 165 countries, Greece is in 50th place, consuming about 35 grams per day. It’s hard to believe such a big difference, probably due to the usual underreporting of Greek data and the chronic lack of reliable statistics about our diet. In any case, the amount is not small. There is no doubt that we consume more sugar than we need, and the consequences are numerous and adverse to our health: the biggest risk from its excessive consumption is type 2 diabetes and obesity, which are then associated with various health problems such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer, thyroid dysfunction, dental disease, and even psychological problems. In addition, sugar is the biggest brake on our weight control efforts. White, processed is especially quickly absorbed, which leads to a vertical increase in insulin in the blood and a rapid deposition of glucose in adipose tissue. And because insulin levels stay high, it stimulates our appetite. This creates a vicious cycle as higher insulin levels mean more hunger…

ABOUT World Health Organization recommends a maximum intake of 25 grams per day. But breaking that limit is not at all difficult when you consider that one can of soft drink contains about 50% more sugar than the maximum amount recommended for adults. Sugar is also hidden in foods that we consider innocent, meaning it ends up on our plate of… camouflage. About 80% of the products we find on supermarket shelves contain added sugar: baked goods, ready-made soups, dressings and sauces, coffee and tea drinks, mustard, pasta, cold cuts, jams, alcoholic drinks, dried fruits, flavored waters, among many others. The composition of ketchup of a well-known and popular brand includes sugar by a quarter!

Changing our whole way of life

Can we live without sugar? OUR “TO” asked this question Ioannis Manio, Professor of Dietetics Education – Nutritional Assessment at the Department of Dietetics – Nutrition at the University of Harokopei. “Yes, if we try with diligence and self-discipline, we can. But do we want to? The answer is definitely no. A person has an innate preference for sweet taste, that is, he is genetically predisposed to his choice. In particular, since the appearance of our species on the planet, sweetness, as opposed to bitter, sour or neutral taste, indicates a safe, high-calorie food that can ensure our survival,” says Mr. Manios. “Therefore, we will strive to apply “moderate-excellent” everywhere and we will remember two important parameters. First, we want to limit our intake of natural and added sugars found in various processed foods and drinks. And secondly, the problem of increased body weight is associated not only with the consumption of sugar. In a broader sense, its reduction does not in itself mean its reduction. We need to change our overall lifestyle towards a balanced diet and physical activity.”

Yes, but there are alternatives, sweeteners, you might think. Or maybe not; In a recent recommendation, the World Health Organization emphasizes that even stevia, aspartame, saccharin and other artificial sweeteners, which are widely used in the food industry, are not completely harmless. Mr. Manios disagrees. “Internationally, there haven’t been enough clinical trials yet to provide us with sufficient evidence,” he explains. “However, we will draw useful conclusions after the completion of the European study “SWEET – clinical trials (sweeteners and sweetness enhancers: effects on health, obesity, safety and sustainability)”, coordinated by the University of Copenhagen (Prof. Ann Raben) and Harokopion University (Professor Ioannis Manios), which examines the risks and benefits of using low-calorie or no-calorie sweeteners to replace sugar in the diet in terms of health, obesity, safety and sustainability. The first results are expected in autumn.

Empty calories, it does not give us anything

“Several decades ago, I served on a committee of the European Union that decided whether or not to approve artificial sweeteners. The pressure from the food industry was enormous. Their argument was that their human consumption in small amounts is not associated with toxicity, although relevant experiments were carried out on mice,” recalls Antonia Trihopoulou, emeritus professor of dietetics and preventive medicine and member of the Athens Academy.

“I was and remain against the use of surrogate mothers. It is wrong from a nutritional policy point of view to encourage sweet cravings, because that is what it is about. The same opinion is about sugar, which gives us nothing more than “empty calories”, as they are called. In a bunch of grapes, for example, there are a lot of sugars, but at the same time it gives us fiber, vitamins and trace elements. With sugar, we do not get anything useful for our body. We only increase our energy intake, with calories that are hard to burn and lead to obesity.

In other words, it is a bomb for our health: it creates ideal conditions for the onset of diabetes and metabolic syndrome and is an aggravating factor for the adverse development of various forms of cancer. Research shows that especially in obese children, as they become adults, they have an increased incidence of all these diseases,” continues Ms Trihopoulou.

Overconsumption Leads to Chronic Inflammation

OUR Nikolaos Tentolouris, Professor of Pathology, 1st Clinic of Preschool Pathology, Laiko Hospital. “Sugar is a disaccharide that is absorbed into the blood very quickly. A healthy person has to deal mainly with the problem of calories. One gram provides four calories, one teaspoon, i.e. fifteen grams, provides sixty, which is far from insignificant when you consider the large amount of “hidden” sugar in many foods and drinks that we consume every day. And this sugar? Either it is metabolized and used by our body as an energy source, or it is deposited as fat in our tissues and contributes to our body weight gain.” explains “K”. For diabetics, according to Mr. Tendoluris, there is no dilemma. “They need to … get rid of sugar, which drives up the price of glucose.”

According to many international studies, sugar, in addition to causing obesity, is also to blame for its pro-inflammatory effect, as it is a substrate for microbial growth. It is no coincidence that cultures in microbiological laboratories are made on a sugar basis …

A professor of pathology confirms this: “Indeed, its excessive consumption contributes to changes in the gut microbiome and appears to lead to a subclinical chronic inflammatory condition that is associated with multiple metabolic disorders and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.”

Is there sugar free ice cream?

Difficult exercises, but sweet life without sugar. Or at least not overusing it. Pastry chef Antonis Selekos faces this challenge every day. “Ever since I became a member of the Funky Gourmet team, our goal has been to make sweets as…savory as possible. Where you do not need to drink, that is, a bottle of water after drinking them. Don’t be deprived. I still do this trick to this day every time I make a new confection: if they try it and immediately ask for water, then something has gone wrong,” he says. “However, I am not demonizing sugar. I think its substitutes are worse. Even colleagues who say they make sugar-free sweets are not always honest. There are also technical problems. Can you make ice cream without sugar? Difficult. Widely used is invert sugar, a mixture of glucose and fructose, that is, sugar syrup, which in itself is fattening and harmful. That is why I repeat at every opportunity that moderation and balance are required. And if you insist on giving up sugar, then it is preferable to turn to natural products, such as agave syrup and honey, which are abundant in our country and they are of excellent quality.”

Numbers

176 million metric tons of sugar was consumed worldwide last year.

126.4 grams of sugar the average American consumes every day.

4 calories provides each gram of sugar.

200 this is the maximum daily calorie limit we should be getting from free sugars.

2.1 billion dollars last year was the international turnover of artificial sweeteners.