"0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 card", "no sugar"...When sodas and beverages are combined with these concepts, it seems that they have become a healthy choice for all-you-can-drink and worry-free.
In recent years, zero-sugar beverages with various names and new flavors have taken the market by storm, and have strongly "captured" the taste buds of young people.
However--
Is it really healthy that the popular zero-sugar drink
In recent years, with the improvement of public health awareness, people have paid more and more attention to the dangers of excessive intake of sugar, and sugar control and abstinence have become a new trend.
In July 2019, the National Health Commission issued the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)", proposing to carry out 15 major special actions to promote the transformation from disease treatment as the center to people's health as the center.
Among them, the document advocates that by 2030, the per capita daily intake of added sugar should not be higher than 25 grams.
Sugar-free has become a new trend in the beverage industry. Behind it is the new demand for "good drinking and enjoyment but also healthy and not fat".
According to a survey recently released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, nearly 80% of consumers choose sugar-free beverages because they think they are "healthier."
Consumers are full of doubts while enjoying the happiness brought by "little sweet water"-are 0 sugar foods and beverages really sugar-free?
Is it really healthier?
1 0 Sugar, is it really sugar-free?
"I don't have to eat, but I can't help but drink." The netizen "Big Stomach" created a group of "drink experts" on a certain social media. "You can't stop drinking" is the group's declaration.
In another Douban group, "Today I also insisted on not drinking sugary drinks." Many Douban users discuss various sugar-free drinks in the group, and check in daily to "don't drink drinks", "quit sugar" and so on.
"When you don't lose weight, you don't pay special attention to the sugar content of the drink." Yu Meili (a pseudonym), a post-90s office worker from Nanjing, said that the taste of 0-sugar drinks is not as good as sugary drinks, but it is reassuring to drink.
There are many people like Yu Meili. They can't get rid of the habit of drinking beverages, but are afraid of gaining weight. Sugar-free beverages seem to be their "best choice".
Data shows that the market for sugar-free beverages in 2020 will reach 11.78 billion yuan, which is 7 times that of 2014. The proportion of sugar-free beverages in the beverage market is increasing year by year.
However, after all kinds of sugar-free drinks appeared on the market, consumers began to realize that the so-called "sugar-free" and "0 sugar" may be just a "word game" of the brand.
In April this year, an Internet celebrity beverage brand issued an apology statement, acknowledging that the difference between 0 sucrose and 0 sugar was not clearly stated in the product's logo and promotion.
"When I saw this apology statement, I was very angry, as if I was cheated." Yu Meili said.
For a long period of time, some brands have taken advantage of the lack of public knowledge of nutrition.
"Sugar in daily life and sugar in nutrition are two completely different concepts. The former usually refers to white sugar, rock sugar, sucrose, etc., while the latter often refers to monosaccharides, such as glucose and fructose." Beijing Tsinghua University Li Shiyang, a clinical dietitian in the Clinical Nutrition Department of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that sucrose will be quickly decomposed into glucose and fructose after ingested into the human body, which has a particularly great impact and stimulation on blood sugar.
Why did many brands still write "no sugar", "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 card" on the beverage packaging after the apology statement was issued. Does this involve false publicity?
Cheng Jianghua, deputy director of the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said: "According to the current "National Food Safety Standards for Prepackaged Food Nutrition Labelling", the content of carbohydrates (sugar) per 100g or 100ml in solid or liquid food No more than 0.5 grams, energy less than 17 kJ, and calories less than 4 kcal, it can be called sugar-free or non-sugar food and energy-free food. The sugar content of 0-sugar drinks does not exceed the sugar-free food according to current standards. It does not mean that there is no calorie, nor does it mean that there is no sugar."
"Whether a food contains calories depends not only on the sugar content in the food, but also other nutrients that can provide calories. Only if the calorie column in the pre-packaged food is marked with 0 kcal, it means that the food contains basically no calories." China Agricultural University Food Said Guo Xiaohui, a teacher in the School of Science and Nutritional Engineering.
Since it is a 0-sugar food, why does it taste sweet again?
"This is because some foods have added sugar substitutes in their production and processing. Sugar substitutes are a food additive that can add sweetness to foods. Some sugar substitutes are much sweeter than sucrose, and basically produce no or less calories. "Guo Xiaohui said that common sugar substitutes are divided into natural sugar substitutes and artificial sugar substitutes. The former includes erythritol and maltitol, and the latter includes aspartame and acesulfame potassium.
20 Can sugar food and beverages be healthier?
Long-term drinking of 0-sugar beverages, what effect will it have on the body?
Why are 0 sugar food and beverage favored by consumers?
At the end of November, the reporter visited a large supermarket in Beijing's Daxing District and saw a lot of drinks with 0-sugar labels in the beverage shelf area, including carbonated drinks, sparkling water, soda water, etc.
In random interviews, some consumers admitted that they were affected by product promotion and packaging, and some consumers were based on taste.
When asked if they would pay attention to the ingredient list and nutritional content list of the drink, most people answered "It's good to drink happily, and you have to check the information to pay attention to these, a little tired."
Hu Haiying, deputy chief physician of the Nutrition Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said: “Although the sweeteners in 0-sugar beverages do not contain sugar, they tend to arouse people’s cravings for real sugar, which can increase appetite if they are hungry. A bottle of 0-sugar beverages often mixes several additives at the same time. The ingredient list will only indicate the type of addition, but not the amount of addition. This requires the public to have a basic understanding of additives and related knowledge."
In daily life, food additives are everywhere.
"There are at least a few months between food production, transportation, sales and final consumption. How to ensure the quality and safety of food? On the one hand, it is controlled by the technology and management of the factory, on the other hand, food additives also play a big role. "Cheng Jianghua said that the key is to see whether the additives used are in the catalogue prescribed by the state. Normal and legal use will not affect it. The problems mainly arise in illegal addition, illegal addition, and excessive use of food additives.
"In addition to being vigilant against illegal additives, we must also avoid eating foods with high fructose corn syrup, fructose syrup, fructose, glucose, etc. as sweeteners. They are not only easier to digest and absorb, but also bring a lot of energy, increase the metabolic syndrome and The risk of type 2 diabetes." Li Shiyang emphasized.
In December 2014, the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "Standards for the Use of Food Additives" (GB2760-2014), which stipulates the principles for the use of food additives, the types of food additives that are allowed to be used, the scope of use, and the maximum use or residual amount.
"From a nutritional point of view, it is difficult to conclude on the effect of long-term consumption of zero-sugar foods on the human body. The history of widespread use of sugar substitutes is not long, and the impact of certain foods or food ingredients on the human body is a long process. Evidence-based nutrition needs to be evaluated whether it is beneficial or harmful to the body." Guo Xiaohui said that with the progress of research, scientists will have more accurate conclusions about the impact of sugar substitutes on the body.
During the interview, many experts suggested that the intake of zero-sugar foods should also be limited.
Li Ming (pseudonym), who works in finance in Beijing, told reporters that as a heavy enthusiast of carbonated drinks, he basically needs to drink two bottles of Coke a day.
In this regard, Zheng Chao, chief physician of the Endocrinology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said: “Everyone has different genetic backgrounds, different environments, and different metabolic capabilities for the same food. Some people drink four or five bottles of cola a day. , Blood sugar may rise rapidly, diabetic ketoacidosis may occur, and some people may be fine."
3 How to treat "sugar"
The survey shows that the current per capita daily intake of added sugar is about 30 grams, which is higher than the normal standard.
Excessive sugar intake still poses a challenge to residents' health.
From 2015 to 2019, the National Health Commission organized the Chinese Centers for Disease Prevention, National Cancer Center, and National Cardiovascular Center to carry out a new round of chronic disease and nutrition surveillance for Chinese residents.
At the end of 2020, the "Report on the Status of Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents (2020)" shows that more than 50% of adult residents in my country are overweight and obese, close to 20% of children and adolescents aged 6-17, and 10% of children under 6 years of age.
Unhealthy lifestyles are still common among Chinese residents, the problem of overweight and obesity among residents continues to be prominent, and the prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases are still on the rise.
When the whole people pay attention to health knowledge, why is the relevant data still on the rise?
"The imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure is the direct cause of individual overweight and obesity. Modern people's diet is becoming more refined, coupled with irregular work and rest, lack of exercise, these factors together influence, resulting in chronic diseases tend to be younger. "Li Shiyang said.
Both national policies and professionals are encouraging the whole society to participate in sugar control and sugar reduction.
On social media, related discussions are also very lively.
"Does eating sugar make you ugly?" "Is anti-sugar equal to anti-aging?" "How to control sugar when losing weight?" "Can diabetes eat sugar?" Similar voices are endless.
Some people are unhappy without sugar, and some people talk about "sugar".
How should the public treat sugar?
During the interview, the reporter found that many people mistakenly think that controlling sugar is to eat less or not.
"For ordinary people, the most important thing is to eat a balanced diet and maintain a good lifestyle. Under normal circumstances, the human body mainly consumes carbohydrates through staple foods, which are also the main source of blood sugar. The structure of the staple food with the fine and thick structure, its digestion The absorption rate is much slower than the direct intake of sugar, and the effect on blood sugar is the same." Li Shiyang said that if a person's weight reaches the standard and the body does not have an alarm signal, there is no need to restrict calorie intake too much.
In addition, “the increase in blood sugar is not only related to how much you eat, but also inseparable from the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL). The glycemic index can reflect the speed at which food causes blood sugar to rise, and the blood sugar load can reflect the amount of food eaten. The degree of influence of the same food on blood sugar.” Hu Haiying said, the same food has different effects on everyone’s blood sugar, and you need to choose your diet based on your own blood sugar situation.
For diabetics, whether or not to eat sugar is a key issue.
“If the patient’s blood sugar is well controlled and all aspects are stable, especially if the glycosylated hemoglobin is lower than 6.5, you can take in sugar in an appropriate amount. Take a 0-sugar drink as an example, if you don’t eat it with meals, one bottle a day is fine. "Yes." Zheng Chao said that eating is also a kind of fun, but you must pay attention to the time, occasion and personal physical condition of eating.
Zheng Chao believes that these diets have certain advantages, but they should not be blindly imitated.
"It must be carried out under the guidance or monitoring of a doctor, otherwise it will not only fail to achieve the effect of reducing and controlling sugar, but it will be counterproductive and cause serious consequences." Zheng Chao emphasized.
(Our reporter Zhao Jie)