Original title: "Drink freely" because of "sugar free"? Listen to the experts

In recent years, with the improvement of consumers' health awareness, the harm of excessive sugar intake in daily diet has been increasingly emphasized. So, represented by sugar free drinks, a variety of sugar free foods have taken advantage of this trend to occupy many people's taste buds.

Many consumers, especially young consumers, believe that these sugar free drinks not only have a good taste, but also because of "zero sugar", "zero fat" and "zero calories", so "just drink without fat". Is sugar free beverage as healthy as advertised? Does drinking sugarless drinks have no negative effect on the body? To this end, the People's Daily Online interviewed Mu Yiming, director of the Department of Endocrinology of the First Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital.

Since "sugar free", why is it still sweet?

The current National Food Safety Standard General Principles for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Food stipulates that if the carbohydrate (sugar) content per 100 grams or 100 milliliters of solid or liquid food is not more than 0.5 grams, the energy is less than 17 kilojoules, and the calorie is less than 4 kilocalories, it can be called "sugar free".

"The" sugar free "and" zero calorie "on the label of the beverage does not mean that it does not contain sugar, nor does it mean that it does not contain calories." Mu Yiming further said that although such products do not add common sugars, they are likely to add sweeteners such as sugar substitutes. According to reports, sugar substitutes are divided into natural sugar substitutes and synthetic sugar substitutes. Erythritol, stevioside, sucralose, aspartame, etc. are common in the market, which is the main source of sweetness in "sugar free" drinks.

Are sugar free drinks healthier?

Whether sugar free drinks are really healthier has been the focus of debate among netizens. In this regard, Mother Yiming believes that sugar free drinks should be treated in two ways.

"Compared with the real sugary drinks, sugar free drinks are actually healthier." Mother Yiming explained that, as a food additive, although the sweetness of sugar substitutes is far more than sucrose, they basically do not produce or produce less calories while producing sweet taste, "Especially for diabetic patients, if they drink sugary drinks, their blood sugar may rise abruptly within 3-5 minutes, while sugar free drinks will not. From this perspective, sugar free drinks are indeed more conducive to the control of sugar intake."

Mother Yiming said that it is human nature to love sweetness, so there is nothing wrong with merchants adding sweeteners in drinks. "As for whether these sweeteners are safe or not, it depends on whether the sweeteners used meet the relevant national regulations. If they are added according to the national standards, there is no need to worry."

Can sugar free drinks be "open to drink"?

However, Mother Yiming also said that drinking a large amount of sugar free drinks for a long time would also have an impact on the human body. But everything should be moderate. If you drink such drinks and consume a lot of sugar substitutes without restraint for a long time, the brain may mistakenly think that sugar has entered the human body, thus stimulating the rapid secretion of insulin. In the long run, it will reduce the sensitivity of insulin and increase the risk of diabetes. "

In the Healthy China Action (2019-2030), the National Health Commission advocated that by 2030, the daily added sugar intake per capita should be no more than 25 grams. Therefore, many people began to consciously reduce sugar intake in their daily meals, and the pursuit of "sugar free" and "zero calorie" has become a new trend.

In this regard, Mother Yiming also reminded the general public that sugar can only cause negative effects on the body when it is consumed excessively, and these negative effects cannot be simply said to be directly caused by sugar. "Sugar is an important source of energy in the human body. If it is not taken enough, it will also lead to muscle weakness, slow reaction and other problems. Only by maintaining a good lifestyle and eating habits can we have a healthy body," said Mother Yiming. (Wei Yanxing, Qiao Yeqiong)