What does sugar do to your body and how can you avoid a slump?

"Sugar tastes great for good reason: we evolved to like it, back when honey was a hard-to-get, energy-dense treat and we spent half of our time running around after antelope. Now that it's much easier to get and we don't move as much, that sweet tooth is working against us: many of us are consuming far too much of it, and suffering from poor health as a result. But is there anything specifically bad about it beyond it providing too many calories and not enough nutrients? This whole idea of trying to flatline' your glucose response that you see from some influencers is totally unnecessary"

"When we taste sugar, the body starts reacting the moment sweetness touches the tongue, says Dawn Menning, a registered dietitian who works with health app Nutu. The brain recognises it as a quick source of energy and activates the reward system, releasing the feelgood chemical dopamine that makes it so appealing."

"Interestingly, not everyone tastes sugar in exactly the same way in 2015, researchers compared different types of siblings' perception of sugar and sweeteners, and found that identical twins were more similar to each other in their sweet taste perception than fraternal twins or non-twin siblings. They concluded that genetic factors account for about 30% of the variance in how sensitive people are to sweet tastes but it's unclear whether that actually affects how much we eat. Regardless, what happens after your first taste depends on the kind of sugar you're taking in: glucose, which is what you get from table sugar, most sweet treats and starchy carbohydrates, has slightly different effects from fructose, the type you'll commonly find in fruits and juices. Glucose causes the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone which to put it in simple terms is involved in removing that glucose from circulation and depositing it where it needs to go, says Sarah Berry, professor of nutrition at King's College London and chief scientist at science and nutrition company Zoe."

Human preference for sweetness evolved when energy-dense sugars were rare and survival depended on high energy intake. Modern food abundance and reduced physical activity mean many people consume excessive sugar, contributing to poor health. Sweet taste activates the brain's reward system and releases dopamine, making sugar appealing from the first taste. Genetic differences influence sweet sensitivity, with identical twins showing more similar perceptions than other siblings, accounting for roughly 30% of variance. Different sugars act differently: glucose triggers insulin release to clear blood glucose, while fructose, common in fruit and juices, has distinct metabolic effects.

Read at www.theguardian.com