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This means that this chemical compound is relatively easy to break down and it does not take long until the individual components are available for use, i.e. to supply energy. Long-chain carbohydrates present the body with greater challenges because it already uses more energy to get this chemical compound into a usable form at all.

      So sugar is a kind of turbo fuel. It gives the body a quickly available energy kick. However, this cannot last long, because the chemical compound can be broken down so quickly that the substances supplied by the food are immediately gone as soon as they have been eaten.

Sugar in food - why and how does it work?

      Sugar belongs to the carbohydrates and thus to the three macronutrients besides protein and fat. People cannot live completely without carbohydrates, because otherwise they lack fuel for vital functions. However, there are good and less good carbohydrates, which become good or bad mainly because they are not consumed in today's diet as nature originally intended for us.

      Sugar belongs to the short-chain carbohydrates. These provide a quickly available energy boost, because the body does not need long to decompose them into their individual parts. In this form they can be used as fuels and energy suppliers. This begins already in the mouth, because in the saliva enzymes are present, which accomplish the first splitting processes. Such carbohydrates are contained in foods containing sugar, but also in completely natural delicacies. Fructose, for example, is an underestimated supplier of such carbohydrates.

      In nature, of course, this form also has its right to exist. A life in the wild was exhausting for our ancestors - for example when they had to flee from hungry predators or fight against them. For this purpose there is quickly available energy in the food, because so we can quickly replenish our empty reserves.

      At least as important are the long-chain carbohydrates. The body already has to expend relevant amounts of energy in order to be able to utilize them at all. This means that they supply the body with less energy than they actually contain. That sounds suboptimal at first, because who wants to risk slipping into the energy minus?

      This may have been legitimate in the Stone Age. Nowadays our diet has changed, but the sugar metabolism has not. In the past it was rather difficult to get the short-chain carbohydrates, while the long-chain variant was often available. Fruits were our main source of sugar. Stone Age people would have been more than happy with a handful of gummi bears, because what we take for granted today did not exist in nature at that time. Today, on the other hand, we must ensure that we use wholemeal products or eat vegetables instead of fruit so that we do not have a surplus of readily available sugar - and thus an energy surplus that leads directly to the production of new fat cells and thus to obesity.

      So sugar isn't bad across the board. Like any poison, it's the dose that matters. Your body can't survive long without carbohydrate energy. But with too much sugar you inevitably gain weight, and that is the problem with our current diet.

What contains sugar - and what does not?

      You now know that there are short-chain and long-chain carbohydrates and that you can't do without them, but if you can, then long-chain carbs are more recommendable. But what about real sugar? What foods does it contain, how is it camouflaged by the industry and what different types of sugar are there?

      Sugar is not the same as sugar

      In many foods you will find sugar on the list of ingredients. Yoghurt, bakery products, almost all ready meals, spreads, sauces and convenience products all contain sugar - unless the product is labelled as sugar-free. But even then there are pitfalls. It is already difficult because products with such a list of ingredients do not always have sugar on them where sugar is. Maybe you'll stumble across one of those names:

       Glucose syrup (sweets, gummy bears, etc.)

       Fructose (fructose)

       Lactose (lactose)

       Sucrose

       Dextrose (dextrose)

       Fructose-glucose syrup (mixture of fructose and glucose syrup)

       Caramel or caramel syrup (caramel is highly heated sugar)

       Maltose or malt extract

       Dextrin or maltodextrin

       Sweet whey powder (contains lactose)

      You can search for these ingredients on the packaging. This allows you to avoid products with a high sugar content for the most part when you are shopping more consciously in the future. You will notice that you can follow a simple basic rule. The more natural you shop, the less trouble you have with avoiding sugar. There's nothing in a stick of celery, zucchini or organic chicken breast you don't want to eat. Conversely, this means that ready meals are no longer necessary and that you cook yourself instead - and determine what may be contained in your food and what is not to be found there.

      In addition to the industry names that all come down to sugar, there are other critical products that you may not be thinking about right now. At first glance they may appear healthy and often have healthy properties, but at the same time they contain sugar in various forms. These foodstuffs or products include:

       Agave syrup (sugar substitute that actually still contains a lot of sugar)

       Honey (antibacterial, but sometimes composed of sugar)

       Fruit juices & smoothies with fruit (contain fructose; green smoothies from vegetables contain less sugar)

       Natural vs. artificial sugars

      Basically, it is always better to eat sugar if, then from as natural a source as possible. Gummy bears are worse than a piece of fruit, but the piece of fruit from the fresh food department in the supermarket is better than the piece from the baker's cake next door.

      This is due to the fact that natural foods have a different composition than industrially processed products with added sugar. There is not much more to a ready-to-eat meal containing sugar than preservatives and colourings. Even though you have eaten, your body lacks food that it needs to live. An apple or a banana would have provided you with vitamins, minerals and fibre - despite fructose. You probably absorbed the same amount of sugar in both of them, but in the natural variant you got nutrients at the same time.

Healthier sugars: What's the point?

      I'm sure you've heard of raw cane sugar or coconut sugar. Sugar, of course, is still that, after all, that's what it's called. However, these variants are said to be better than the household refined sugar.

      They are therefore marketed as healthier because these sugars are absorbed more slowly by the body. As a result, the insulin level does not skyrocket as with household sugar, then drops off again - and leaves you with a ravenous hunger attack that is difficult to satisfy.

      However, there is no scientific evidence for this. The carbohydrates contained in most alternatives are about the same as those contained in normal household sugar. They also supply calories equally. In particular, coconut blossom sugar is said to contain valuable vitamins. That's true, but in order to get a relevant amount that could contribute to your daily needs, you need to consume kilograms of coconut blossom sugar - but vitamins should benefit you and not harm you at the same time.

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