SUGAR CONSUMPTION
Historically, human survival has been programmed on sensoring sweet food, starting with lactose in breast milk. Tastes are detected by receptor cells in our mouth – bitter and sour rejected as “bad, harmful, or even potentially poisonous”. “Bad” food literally spit out (do you remember?). Sweet is the security taste of human evolution. In addition, sweet means energy, mostly quick energy that is critical for survival. Sugar is the main source of energy for all cells of the human body. Sure, cells can also obtain energy from fats and proteins depending on conditions, although this secondary metabolic process is more difficult and less common in cells.
Excess of sugar intake is the real problem. For mankind, excess is a relatively modern issue, starting in the 20th century with industrialization and mass production of a rising Food Industry. Added sugar was, and still is, the driver for consumers acceptance of processed goods and for added consumption. At the end, for excess of consumption.
The so-called Lifestyle disorders are typically chronic diseases, mostly due to a metabolic misfunctioning after years of inappropriate lifestyle habits of an individual. They are noncommunicable diseases of chronic duration, but often reversable or, at least controllable, through fundamental lifestyle changes in nutrition and physical activity.
Excess of sugar intake increases the prevalence of sugar-related lifestyle disorders, especially suffering from obesity which is, for its part, related to the induction of several chronic diseases such as hypertension, insulin resistance, and diabetes in humans. This is basically due to an excessive intake of sugars and low-quality carbohydrates, as well as sedentary lifestyles, causing a deterioration in the organs of our body, and consequently, reducing quality and life expectancy
WHO – fact sheet on NCDs
- Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors. The main types of NCD are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and metabolic disorders like diabetes
- These diseases are driven by forces that include rapid unplanned urbanization, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles and population ageing
- Unhealthy lifestyle: Tobacco use, lack of physical activity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.
- NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries, where more than three quarters of global NCD deaths (31.4 million) occur.
UNHEALTHY (WESTERN) DIET
Non-communicable diseases have become a major public health problem as a result of decreased intake of functional foods and increased availability of ready-prepared (industrially processed) Western foods. The western-type diet is generally proatherogenic, characterized by energy-dense (calories), refined, ready-prepared foods with a high glycemic index (sugars) and unhealthy lipids and poor amega-3 fatty acids, phytochemicals, and fiber. Changes in nutrition due to economic growth and affluence are associated with increases in the intake of total and saturated fat as well as preserved animal foods and red meat. Economic development also allows people to consume ready-prepared refined foods, including snacks, beverages, and major meals with high salt content and a high glycemic index. These foods are characteristic of a Western diet that is deficient in micronutrients (omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, and amino acids), high in refined carbohydrates, lower in monounsaturated fat and linoleic acid, and high in salt and sugar compared to a prudent diet.
