Science of sugar

FEW ingredients are as divisive as sugar.

Described by some as a simple means for humans to acquire the energy required for daily life, sugar is simultaneously demonised by others who regard it the key source of modern corporeal corruption.

Unsurprisingly, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But you only get there when science can lead, not personal preferences or partially understood rumours.

IN THE MAIN, YOUR BODY CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE KINDS OF SUGAR IT CONSUMES, IT JUST KNOWS THAT IT HAS TO METABOLISE THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

The sugars we consume come in two main types — monosaccharides (simple sugars such as fructose, glucose and galactose) and disaccharides (complex sugars such as sucrose, lactose and maltose). There are also more complex sugars, but they are not relevant here.

In the main, your body cannot differentiate between the kinds of sugar it consumes, it just knows that it has to metabolise them in different ways. Some are absorbed through the gut, some through the intestine, some pass through the liver and some immediately become energy.

But here is the most essential fact. Calories are calories, whether they come from chocolate, coconuts, cereals or chickpeas.

Except that this is not completely true. When calories are consumed with fibre (whole fruit as opposed to fruit juice) it slows absorption of calories and reduces the body’s glycaemic response.

If you were to learn just one word, it should be ghrelin, a hormone produced to tell your body that it is hungry. We know that glucose triggers its release, as do some other factors, but controlling it will be the definitive means of normalising our relationship with sugar in years to come.