2023-05-17 10:33:29
A few days ago, the World Health Organization issued a new statement on the sweeteners that has raised new suspicions about sugar and the effect that its excess (glycemic spikes) produce in our body. According to the agency, “the use of NNS [non-sugar sweeteners, un tipo de edulcorante] may not produce desirable effects for those who are not regular consumers of free sugars or who are not otherwise at risk of excessive energy intake resulting from the intake of free sugars. Therefore, this segment of the general population is likely only subject to the potential unwanted effects of NNS use.”
And it is that many consumers were enthusiastic about the idea of taking sugar free products whose list of ingredients had a significant amount of sugar-free sweeteners, as they have become known in the food industry, as if they were diet products. “The NSS are not dietary factors essential and have no nutritional value. People need to reduce sweetness in the diet completely, starting early in life, to improve their health,” Francesco Branca, director of nutrition and food safety for the WHO, said in a statement.
Between the nutrition expertsthis new declaration of intent from the health organization confirms that not only must avoid sugars in our diet but also sugar substitutes, that is, sweeteners because, after all, we are not leading our body to ingest less glucose, but we are substituting the flavor in certain meals. In fact, on many occasions this flavor feels multiplied with respect to traditional sugar, which on a psychological level generates a dependency on this taste.
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What are blood sugar spikes?
If our head gets used to this taste, the logical thing is that it seeks to eat foods that satisfy its cravings. Thus, our diet will end up turning in search of the consumption of products that contain glucose. Not only is the traditional and added sugar free that we find in thousands of products, the list is also added to the ultra-processed and the carbohydrates which, mostly simple, also add to the task of generating blood glucose spikes. This means that when we take this type of food, during a certain moment, there is a excess blood glucose. To alleviate this situation, our body, which works by homeostasis, seeks to regulate the situation with the help of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas whose main function is to regulate glucose levels.
The danger of suffering spikes in blood glucose
“What harms the body the most are the insulin spikes secreted by the pancreas, which, among other functions, is responsible for obtaining energy (glycogen) from glucose in the blood to allocate a part to the liver, muscles and brain, while another part is converted into fat,” he explains. Sonia Lucena, expert in psychonutrition. The expert explains the risks we face when these insulin spikes occur regularly. “They can favor the appearance of cancer, overweight and other types of pathologies such as insulin resistance, which I detect more and more in consultation. And it is that when there are too many insulin spikes, the cells become immune and resistant to the insulin hormone, causing insulin not to exert the effect it should.”
How to avoid spikes in blood glucose
As you may have already guessed, there are two essential ways to deal with this situation: through feeding and through the sport. According to the expert in psychonutrition, what we have to do is increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables: “Although they will also provide us with glucose, which we need to function, they will do so in a more consistent measure.” Regarding exercise, Sonia Lucena explains how cancer cells feed on glycogen and that, to the extent that we consume that energy, we will reduce the risk of developing the disease and even reduce the risk of it evolving into metastasis.
All this, translated into your day-to-day life, according to the advice of the expert would be:
- Evitawhenever you can, the consumption of sugars.
- Choose complex carbohydrates better than simple that generate higher insulin spikes.
- Aadjust the consumption of protein at each intake. It has been more than proven that this macronutrient helps regulate insulin spikes if taken in the right measure, because excess can also unbalance the production of this hormone.
- Makes exercise by way of regular.
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