No Sweet Talk About Sugar

Sugar's proponents call it quick energy, opponents say it's empty calories (卡路里) 。 But to the average person, who consumes a quarter of a pound of it each day, sugar is mostly an irresistibly good taste.In fact, people seem to have an innate "sweet tooth."

Human societies have long equated sweetness with goodness - sweet mystery of life, sweet smell of success, sweetheart - and that enhances (增强;提高) the attraction.But in recent years, sugar has also been singled out as a potential enemy of the healthy life.Cited for such evils as distracting youngsters from more nutritious (营养的) foodstuffs, enhancing obesity (肥胖), ruining teeth and causing diabetes(糖尿病), it has become the most maligned (恶毒的) of the main components of our diet.

Sugar, like starch, is a carbohydrate (碳水化合物).Its many types include sucrose (table sugar refined from sugarcane or beets), lactose (milk sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), glucose (blood sugar), dextrose (右旋糖), maltose(麦芽糖) and galactose (半乳糖).Seventy percent of the sugar in the labels on all the packaged products in your pantry (食品室) and see how many list sugar (or corn syrup) as a main ingredient (成分) 。

Early this century, the average North American consumed about 76 pounds of refined sugar a year, but starches formed two thirds of his dietary carbohydrates.Today, per-capita refined sugar consumption hovers around 95 pounds, and all types of sugar represent more than half the carbohydrate calories.But in relying on sucrose-sweetened processed foods as a main carbohydrate source, we may miss the essential nutrients - fiber, vitamins and minerals - found in other carbohydrate foods like fruits, vegetables and breads.

The body has no physiological need for sucrose that cannot be satisfied by other, more nutritious foods.The body can convert starches to sugar, or use the sugar in fruits and vegetables for energy.In fact, nutrition experts say that even the purported (传说的) need for sugar as quick energy is a myth except in a few rare situations, such as a diabetic in insulin shock.During exercise, the body calls upon its reserve of glycogen (肝糖) (and, if that runs low, fatty acids from the breakdown of triglycerides) to supply the muscles with needed energy.If you eat sugar before exercising, your body simply stores it.

As for sugar's reputed adverse (不利的) health effects, the following can be said on the basis of available evidence:

Obesity, Sugar supplies four calories per gram - about the same as protein and less half that of fat.Excess caloric intake, not sugar, causes obesity.But since calories can be highly concentrated in sugar-sweetened foods, you may eat many more calories than you need of such foods before you feel full or even realize how much you consumed.

Tooth decay.Sugar definitely promotes the development of dental caries.Bacteria in the mouth digest (消化) the sugar on tooth surfaces, and produce acid which eats away the enamel (珐琅).It is the time sugar remains on the teeth, rather than the amount eaten, that makes the difference.To reduce the risk of decay, dentists recommend rinsing your mouth or brushing you teeth after consuming anything sweet, and avoiding sweets between meals.

Diabetes.In diabetes, the pancreas (胰腺) fails to produce enough insulin to clear the blood of excess glucose.Thus, diabetics must curb their intake of sweets lest their blood-sugar levels rise dangerously high.But the important factor in diabetes is controlling body weight.

Heart Disease.The theory that sugar is an important factor in heart disease does not have wide support among experts, who say that fats and cholesterol (胆固醇) are the more likely culprits (罪魁祸首).

Some people have a tendency to develop high blood levels of fatty substances called triglycerides, which may promote atherosclerosis (动脉硬化).They are often advised to reduce their sugar intake, but losing weight is more important.Diets free of sucrose can lower abnormally high triglyceride levels, but they have been found to have little or no effect on triglyceride levels that are acceptable in the first place.

1、What does the word "innate" mean?()

A、born with

B、implanted

C、bad

D、healthy

2、Which of the following statements is NOT true?()

A、There are many types of sugar such as sucrose, lactose, fructose, etc.

B、Sugar can cause many health problems such as obesity, tooth decay and diabetes.

C、Sugar is not nutritious because it doesn't contain fiber, vitamin and mineral.

D、Sugar is physiologically needed by the body and can not be substituted by other substance.

3、"Curb their intake of sweets" can also be referred to as()their intake of sweets.

A、increase

B、decrease

C、limit

D、take

4、Based on the ideas presented in the passage we can conclude that ().

A、there is not available evidence to show sugar's bad effects

B、if you eat a lot of sweet food, you may suffer from obesity, because such food contains a lot of calories

C、to limit sugar intake is the most important thing for the atherosclerosis patient

D、most experts believe that sugar can cause heart disease

5、From the passage, we know().

A、sugar eats away the enamel, thus causing tooth decay

B、the cause for diabetes is the excessive intake of sugar

C、fats and cholesterol have nothing to do with heart disease

D、high level triglycerides may increase the chances of atherosclerosis