Life Can Be Sweet without Sugar
Back in the 1970s, when research revealed just how damaging dietary fats are to our health, food manufacturers slashed the fat content of their products almost overnight. Unfortunately, they began adding sugar to pretty much everything to make things "tastier." For example, in the U.K., Kellogg's Special K, which is touted as a low-fat, weight loss food, contains almost twice as much sugar as it did in 1978. Similar increases can be cited for many other common foods all over the world. But what's the problem with sugar? Isn’t it all just natural goodness, designed to give you an energy boost?
Well, yes and no. We all need a certain amount of sugar as a source of energy, but most of us are getting way too much of it. While sugar doesn't make you fat on its own, it is now recognized as being a major contributor to obesity. This is because, when we consume too much sugar, it interferes with how insulin delivers glucose to our blood cells and causes us to store excess fat more easily.
Sugar has also been associated with many other illnesses, ranging from diabetes to heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. With consumer groups drawing attention to high sugar content, especially in soft drinks, governments are finally starting to address this important health issue.
無糖的甜美人生
回溯一九七○年代，研究揭露食物脂肪對健康有多大的危害時，食品製造商幾乎一夜之間就大幅削減產品的脂肪含量。不幸的是，他們卻開始在近乎所有的食品中添加糖分，讓食品「更美味」。舉例來說，在英國，家樂氏的 Special K 早餐麥片雖號稱是低脂減重食品，但含糖量卻幾乎是一九七八年的兩倍。類似的增糖情形可見於世界各地其他許多一般的食品。不過，糖有什麼問題？糖不就是自然的養分，目的在於為人們提振精力嗎？
這個嘛，是也不是。我們都需要一定的糖分做為能量來源，但多數人都吃得太多了。糖本身雖然不會使人發胖，現在卻被公認是造成肥胖的一大因素。這是因為當我們攝取太多糖分時，就會干擾胰島素把葡萄糖傳遞給血球，導致我們更容易儲存多餘的脂肪。
糖也和其他許多疾病有關，從糖尿病到心臟病、癌症，甚至是阿茲海默症。隨著消費者團體把焦點導向含糖量過高的問題，特別是非酒精性飲料的部分，各國政府終於開始著手處理這個重要的健康議題。
本文引用自：biz互動英語報 http://paper.udn.com/papers.php?pname=POH0059
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