美國哈佛大學根據三項追蹤20年涉及12萬人的研究發現，成人平均每4年增磅3.35磅，著片和炸薯條更是致肥的元兇。
研究指出，每天吃15塊薯片，會令人4年內增磅1.69榜，比飲汽水或食雪糕更嚴重，研究還發現8大食物及生活習慣是人類致肥的關鍵，包括薯片﹑各式薯仔﹑含糖飲品﹑紅肉﹑加工食物﹑飲酒﹑吸煙和看電視，而五大健康食物包括蔬菜﹑全穀物﹑水果﹑果仁和乳酪。
研究表示，若每天看1小時電視，每4年將增磅0.31磅；睡眠多於或少於6-8小時，亦會致肥。
Will the REAL FOOD Sugar Please Stand Up?
I love sweet things. As a child I was addicted to white sugar and this caused many health problems. This is one reason that at Real Food for Life I am always talking about real foods: foods that are whole, live and are balancing to the body. I try to find sugars in this category.
In my last Care2 articles I dealt with 7 Tips to Stop White Sugar Cravings and Reasons to Avoid Artificial Sweeteners. Now we deal with the more natural ones.
Not all sugars are equal. Some are very good for you in small quantities. Many are less healthy. Which ones on the following list would you consider real foods? Which do you use and why?
Common Sugars and Sweeteners
1. White sugar (aka sucrose)
White sugar is a pure chemical extract of sugar cane or sugar beet with no vitamins or minerals; these are stripped during the extraction process. Refined white sugar is a simple carbohydrate with lots of calories, no dietary fiber and is an isolate. Isolates never occur in whole foods. Vegetarians may note that it may be processed with bone char. Causes a “sugar high.”
2. Brown sugar
Brown sugar is white sugar coated in molasses which will add a few trace minerals but no healthier than white sugar and creates the same “sugar high.”
3. Fructose
Fructose is not from fruit; it is a commercial, refined sugar and it is no more nutritious than sucrose. It raises cholesterol, makes blood cells more prone to clotting, and it may also accelerate the aging process.
4. Sugar alcohols
Sugar alcohols (Erythritol, Isomalt, Lactitol, Maltitol, Mannitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates) are neither sugars nor alcohols. They do have calories; Xylitol has more then half the calories of white sugar. The only problems I could find with them are that when they are eaten in excessive amounts they can cause gastrointestinal side effects (bloating and diarrhea), weight gain and increased blood sugars. Still they are not whole foods so caution must be used; the recommendation is to not use them on a regular basis.
5. Fruit juice concentrate
This is refined and has been stripped of flavor and nutritional value. It is rapidly assimilated in the bloodstream so not highly recommended.
6. Demerara sugar (natural brown sugar)
Also known as turbinado sugar, demerara sugar is made by extracting the juice from sugar cane and then heating it until it is turned into crystals. It does not preserve much of its original molasses content but does have lots of potassium and some minerals and vitamins.
7. Evaporated sugar cane juice
Evaporated sugar cane juice goes through less processing than refined sugar and has more nutrients found in sugar cane. It contains tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals.
8. Sugar cane juice
Sugar can juice is made from the same sugar cane stalks that are grown to make white sugar. Hand-powered presses or machine presses crush the sugarcane stalks and release the raw sugar cane juice. It is healthier than table sugar as it contains tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals and is raw if not processed at high temperatures.
9. Sucanat
Sucanat is made from sugar cane, usually organically grown, and minimally processed to obtain juice to make syrup (the molasses is not removed). The syrup is dehydrated and milled into a powder. It has potassium, vitamin A, calcium, iron, magnesium and small amounts of other vitamins and minerals.
10. Coconut sugar
Coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut flowers by boiling it down to dry sugar blocks or a soft paste or a granulated form. Coconut sugar contains higher amount of nutrients compared to brown sugar as it has some amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, sulfur, and micro nutrients.
11. Palm sugar
Palm sugar is extracted from the sap of date palm trees and palmyra palms, which are said to be the best. It can also be extracted from sago and coconut palms. It is commonly used in Southeast Asia, where it is called jaggery or gur. It is high in amino acids, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iron and has some vitamin B1, B2, B3, and B6. It also has an absorption rate slower than that of white sugar.
12. Honey
Honey is similar to table sugar. Pure raw honey (not heated above 100 degrees) contains small amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, flavonoids and antioxidants. Some research suggests that honey helps in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Honey is as rapidly assimilated in the bloodstream as refined sugar, so is not highly recommended.
13. Date sugar
Date sugar is not really a sugar as it is made from ground, dehydrated dates containing all the vitamins, minerals and fiber found in the fruit. Date sugar is rich in nutrients and is metabolized more slowly than sugar.
14. Maple syrup
Maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees. Less refined than white sugar, but at roughly 65 percent sucrose, is basically a sugar equivalent. It has a tiny amount of minerals and a very tiny amount of vitamins.
15. Barley malt syrup
Barley malt syrup is made from barley that is sprouted using only the grain’s own enzymes, kiln roasted, and slowly cooked until a thick, dark brown syrup is formed. The sugars in barley malt syrup are complex, thus they are slowly broken down in the body. It has trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and protein. Barley malt syrup, like rice syrup, will not create a sugar high like the simple sugars do as it releases slowly.
16. Brown rice syrup
Brown rice syrup is made from cooked brown rice, which is fermented by adding enzymes to turn the starches in the rice into sugars. Brown rice syrup is absorbed easily into our system, leaving less for fat accumulation in contrast with regular sugar. It is a complex sugar thus takes longer to digest and does not create the sugar high that the simple sugars do.
17. Molasses
Molasses is a by-product of sugar cane or beet sugar refining. High in B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, chromium, manganese and zinc. The blackstrap variety is less refined and higher in nutrients. Buy unsulphured molasses, as sulphur can be toxic in high doses.
18. Agave nectar
Agave nectar is juice extracted from agave (which is the same plant they make tequila from). It is 42 percent sweeter than white sugar but has the same caloric value and a low glycemic index — a measurement of the relative ability of a carbohydrate to raise blood glucose levels. It also has an absorption rate slower than that of white sugar.
19. Stevia
Stevia is a natural sugar alternative that helps to regulate blood sugar and lower blood pressure. Stevia is a complex sugar extract from the plant Stevia Rebaudiana, grown originally in South America. It is an herb native to the Paraguayan Indians who used it before the colonization by the Spaniards in the 16th century. The Brazilian Journal of Medicine showed that Stevia Rebaudiana actually “increased glucose tolerance.”
Because stevia is very sweet, you only need to use a small amount and the best thing is that it virtually has no calories. Just think about it……a plant sweetening your food with virtually no calories…….how good is that?!!
Note:
My Choice:
I never use the first four (white sugar, brown sugar, fructose, sugar alcohols) in my cooking.
I mostly use the last four (16-19: brown rice syrup, molasses, agave nectar, stevia).
I use all the others carefully. For most of us a little of the healthier sugars is fine and can even be good for us.
In my kitchen sugars are used sparingly. I bought a liter of maple syrup seven years ago and still have half a cup left and the only reason there is so little left is because I spilled a cup of it two years ago….in the fridge — what a mess! I bought a package of sucanat three years ago and still have a quarter of a cup left. At Christmas, I make my Fancy Fruit & Macadamia Nut Cookies (dairy- & wheat-free) and use four tablespoons of sucanat for a big recipe. When making desserts, I mostly use stevia for things like rice pudding.
As stevia is almost always in my recipes, I use less of the other “sugars.” To get the right texture and flavor a little of one of the healthier sugars is helpful and they actually add some nutrition……and of course fun.
Back in the mid-20th century, the act of balancing nutrition was in a state of arrested infancy. This was a time where processed foods, fast foods, and general foods of convenience were rapidly pushing out the square meals of yesterday. There arose a need, particularly for young America, to establish some sort of nutritional guideline and the ever-popular “Four Basic Food Groups” were created, and they were as follows:
(1) Meats, poultry, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, and nuts
(2) Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt;
(3) Grains
(4) Fruits and vegetables.
Below is a graphic (circa 1956) that demonstrates this concept for otherwise clueless children:
Then in 1992 the United States government realized some of the apparent limitations of these four basics, and erected the iconic Food Guide Pyramid (see graphic below):
This pyramid was highly successful at relentlessly bewildering generations of children and is likely the cause of the current obesity epidemic (OK, that last part is wholly inaccurate, but it is somewhat satisfying to pretend like the mythic pyramid is the root of all nutritional evil). The Food Guide Pyramid was graphically confounding and gave young and old the impression that they needed to have a firm grasp of what constitutes a serving size in order to understand good and sensible nutrition. Also, fats, oils, and sweets were oddly placed at the top of the pyramid, giving the false impression that these nutritional voids were essential toppings for the previous four (now five) basic food groups (and why where they included in the pyramid at all?). Then in 2005, the Food Pyramid was updated to be something less than a hierarchy and more of a fractioned pie chart with a little runner guy trying to climb the thing, all of which did nothing but confound eaters more than ever, and render the Pyramid more obsolete than ever (see below):
Now, as part of the FLOTUS (Michelle Obama’s) ongoing nutritional efforts, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, something new has been introduced that dismantles the flawed Food Pyramid once and for all. Check out MyPlate, which is a more basic graphic depicting a dinner plate split into four quadrants, with an accompanying cup or side plate.
The graphic is obviously more user friendly and intuitive (we don’t generally eat off of pyramids, but plates are common when we are not consuming our meals out of Burger King bags while attempting to drive). The Agriculture Department has also launched an accompanying website to promote the new “plate” idea, which includes tip sheets that encourage Americans to eat fish twice a week and avoid high-fat and salty foods. The new plate icon, while being an ideal graphic for those of us who detest the idea of having our foods mixed together, is also a means of simplifying the message. In essence, it is an attempt to make us more mindful and disciplined about what we are eating, not just on a daily basis, but also meal by meal.
Assuredly the MyPlate development is an improvement, but hardly a perfect solution to the longstanding problem of how to promote good and balanced nutrition. The icon alone doesn’t address things like portion size or the fact that the protein quadrant is exceedingly vague, as grains and dairy can all contain significant amounts of protein (that said, it is nice to finally see meat replaced by the more interpretive “protein”).
What is your feeling on MyPlate? Is this an improvement on the old model? Do these sorts of charts and graphs actually make an impact on national nutrition, or are they an abundant waste of money (the current MyPlate campaign required around two million in tax dollars to happen)? How could this model be greatly improved to actually reach out to the people that need this guidance the most?
（法新社紐約25日電） 美國消費者權益保護
團體，今天對美國食品暨藥物管理局（FDA）提出聯邦
訴訟，宣稱FDA允許在動物飼料中使用抗生素，導致抗
藥性強的「超級病菌」出現。
這些團體表示，添加到豬、牛、雞、火雞等牲畜飼
料或水的抗生素，濃度太低無法治療疾病，讓細菌得以
更強大的形式生存，且更具抗藥性。
自然資源保護會（NRDC）執行主任李納（Peter
Lehner）說：「越來越多證據顯示，抗生素效果日益降
低，我們超市肉品逐漸殘留抗藥性細菌。」
科學工作者關懷聯盟（UCS）的麥隆（Margaret
Mellon）發表聲明說：「過去30多年來，我們一直反對
非為了治療目的使用牲畜抗生素。我們希望這場官司最
後能迫使FDA因應問題嚴重性而緊急採取行動。」
提告團體包括自然資源保護會、公益科學中心（
CSPI）、食用動物關懷信託（Food Animal Concerns
Trust）、「公眾」（Public Citizen）和科學工作者
關懷聯盟等。（譯者：中央社盧映孜）1
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