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Introduction:

Consuming sugar has consequences for some common public health issues &ndash; obesity 
and caries. Obesity now affects half a billion people in the world and it is on the rise in 
all age groups and particularly in low and middle-income countries. Caries is also very 
common and it eats up up to 5% of the health budget in many countries. 
 
Sugars are taken naturally or are added to the food by the manufacturers, by the cook, 
by the consumer. Sugars are naturally present in honey, in fruit syrups, fruit 
concentrates. Much processed food has a high content of free sugars. An average 
serving of soft drink contains 35 g of sugar. In a bowl of cereal you will have about 14 
g of sugars. 
 
So, sugars are hidden in food and we don&rsquo;t see them. How much sugar is appropriate? 
Current WHO guidelines indicate that we should not exceed the limit of 10% of our 
total energy or about 50 g sugar per day for an adult. 
 
But WHO is also saying that a further reduction to less than 5% of total energy gives 
additional health benefits. 
 
Sugar is not the only cause of obesity. Foods such as rice, maize or potatoes contain 
much starch, and this starch is also broken down to its basic sugar unit &ndash; glucose. And 
this is where the problem starts. Glucose is the primary fuel for all the cells in your 
body. In whole foods, starches are molecularly bound together and your digestive 
system has to break down the food to turn it into glucose. This digestive procedure 
takes place slowly over a period of time. 
 
Processed foods however, like white flour and sugar, need relatively little digestion 
time. They are absorbed rapidly into your system. Your blood and cells get flooded 
with glucose. Your body knows high blood sugar is extremely dangerous, so an 
emergency alarm is sounded. Your glands send insulin to the rescue to deal with the 
catastrophic flood of glucose. Insulin starts a process to turn the glucose into fat to get 
it out of your blood. This is an emergency maneuver designed to protect you from life 
threatening levels of high sugar in your blood. But your body is not designed to 
manage a glucose alarm on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. 
 
Many researchers believe refined or processed, high glucose foods are a major cause of 
diseases such as diabetes. The glucose gets stored as fat. The conversion process not 
only causes fatty deposits on your body, but also in your cells, on your arteries and on 
your heart. Fat is even deposited in your liver, kidneys and other organs. The constant 
bombardment of blood sugar raises your risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular 
disease, arthritis, premature aging, and cancer. 
 
Learn more about the drug.

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