Now the concept of sugar reduction and sugar cutting is very popular in society. Many people are beginning to pay attention to reducing sugar intake in their diets, and even implement a “zero sugar” diet to some extent.
However, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that sugar is important for the body’s immune functionImmune Cellsplay a decisive role in the activation. When the body has the right amount of sugar, the immune system can be activated.[1]
Immune CellsIt takes sugar to have the strength to fight
Many of our immune cells live in the lymph nodes. The energy in the lymph nodes is sufficient. “For example, the lymph nodes accumulate a lot of ‘bento’, and the immune cells are always full of energy,” said the head of the study, the head of the Portuguese Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), Mark Marc. The analogy of Marc Veldhoen.
When immune cells leave the lymph nodes and kill viruses, they can even bring some “lunch boxes” with them to provide themselves with energy. It’s like a person who has eaten his fill at home and brings some more to work.
But there are some immune cells that don’t live in the lymph nodes, but in tissues, such as the gut. Their food is not so abundant. “These immune cells are usually semi-activated, ready to fight, for example, to fight infection,” Wildhorn said.
They need to “eat”glucose, to replenish energy and become active. Using the gut of a mouse as a model, the researchers found that the availability of glucose in the gut determines the rate at which immune cells are activated.
When sugar is plentiful, immune cells “clear the infection more quickly,” says another researcher, Spera. Spela Konjar said.
carbsThe healthiest when the energy supply ratio accounts for 50% to 55% of the total energy
The human body obtains energy from three macronutrients:carbsCompounds, proteins, fats.
Carbohydrates are also called sugars.eventually transformed intoglucoseYes, mainly from the large carbohydrate familystarchandsucrose。
Since our bodies need carbohydrates for glucose, how much does it take to be healthy?
A study published in The Lancet tracked more than 15,000 American adults aged 45 to 64 over an average of 25 years.[2]
They found that people lived the longest when 50 to 55 percent of the total energy from carbohydrates, protein and fat came from carbohydrates.
When the energy intake through carbohydrates is less than 50% or more than 55% of the total energy, it will affect people’s lifespan. In other words, eating too many or too few carbohydrates can be dangerous.
The researchers further stated that a 50-year-old who consumes less than 30% of total energy from carbohydrates is expected to live 29.1 years; if it consumes more than 65%, the expected life expectancy is 32 years. But if the carbs in the diet accounted for 50% to 55% of the energy, then the remaining life expectancy will be extended to 33.1 years.
Supplement “good carbohydrates” to supply sugar to the body correctly
So, how to choose a high-quality source of glucose for the body – “good carbohydrates”?
1. Eat naturalstarchfood
The source of glucose in the diet, mainly starch.
Starch is a nutrient produced by plant photosynthesis and our body’s preferred fuel. Each plant produces its own unique starch, but all starches are broken down into glucose when digested. 1 gram of starch provides 4 calories of energy.[3]
Remember, not all carbs are the same.
There are many types of carbohydrate-containing foods, and their effects on health vary. The sources of starch can be divided into two categories. One is starch in natural foods, such as root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins, and natural grains such as brown rice and corn.
The other category is refined starches. Refined starches are made from whole foods that have been further processed to remove most of the fiber and many nutrients, such as white rice and white flour. Without the combination of fiber and other substances, refined starch will be rapidly decomposed, causing a person’s blood sugar to rise rapidly.
It is best to choose starches from natural foods. Because these starches are surrounded by a lot of fiber and other substances, they are not easily digested; or because the presence of organic acids slows down the emptying speed of the stomach, the release of sugar is relatively slow. While getting sugar energy, the effect on blood sugar is relatively small.
2. Eat natural sugars
Another source of glucose issucrose. When sucrose is digested, it produces 50% glucose and 50% fructose.
Natural sucrose, found in many fruits, vegetables and grains.
Many fruits contain both sucrose, glucose and fructose. For example, in the bananas we often eat, the ratio of glucose:sucrose:fructose is about 2:1:2. Peaches, oranges, apples, peas, and mangoes all have large amounts of natural sucrose; tomatoes and blueberries have half the sugar in glucose.[4]
However, try not to “eat” fruit by drinking juice. Because it removes the fiber and some components from the fruit, the nutrition of the fruit is no longer complete. Because of the sweetness and deliciousness, people may also drink too much fruit juice at once, resulting in excessive sugar intake.
If you eat the whole fruit, along with the chewing action and the intake of a lot of fiber, you usually don’t eat too much at once, as you do with juice alone. And the whole fruit contains naturally matched nutrients, and substances such as fiber and micronutrients will cooperate with each other to slow down the body’s absorption of sugar.
There is also a kind of sucrose extracted from food, which is the refined sugar we often eat, such as white sugar. Sucrose is added to most processed foods. A lot of sugar is also added in some products that don’t taste sweet, such as seasonings and sauces.
Actually, we don’t need to get any sugar from added sugar. Added sugar provides calories but no nutrients, and can harm a person’s metabolism in the long run.
Artificial refined food, whether it is sucrose or starch, can provide a sweet, silky and other taste, but often some good ingredients are removed. They can only provide people with the short-term happiness of “eating sugar”, but they cannot bring other nutrients to people, and they will lead to addiction and other harm in the long run. If you really want to quit sugar, you must first quit this part of sugar.
Grasp a simple and easy method – try to choose natural foods to get sugar and energy from them.
Living in a chaotic world, with a healthy mind, just seeHealth 1+1！
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Responsible editor: Li Qingfeng