Health Update

Ever since its discovery, sugar has been loved by people all over the world. It is like a special ingredient that adds magic to food. Every year, sugar consumption increases due to the rising demand for this commodity.

There is an environmental predisposition to sweet taste because sugar is one of the cheapest ingredients in food, along with water and salt, that adds flavor. From pastries, to bread, fruit juices, and candies, sugar is something that the world definitely can’t live without.

However, too much of anything is bad for the body. Hence, due to increasing health risks brought about by excessive sugar intake, the World Health Organization has recently recommended that added sugars should be at maximum of 10 percent of the total calorie intake per day.

Consequently, the Philippine Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes (RENI), likewise recommends that not more than 10 percent of the dietary energy coming from carbohydrates should be from sugars (Reference: Philippine RENI 2002 edition, Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Department of Science and Technology.

In the Philippines, alarming facts have been obtained by the 6th National Nutrition Survey (2003) conducted by FNRI, as their findings strongly suggest that many Filipinos are risking their health with excessive sugar consumption.

According to their findings, many people have the tendency to prefer unhealthy food that are rich in sugar content more than opting for a healthy and balanced diet. The probable reason for this attitude is the decline in the consumption of fruits and vegetables due to unavailability and high cost.

Also, preference for sugar is influenced by the early exposure to sweet foods. Preferred levels of sweetness in particular food seem to be influenced by early experiences. It may be better to begin with the levels of sugar one considers healthy. It may be difficult to reduced preferred levels later on.

Consequently, people develop poor eating habits in the course of time, resulting to less preference to the intake of the essential nutrients that each person needs for proper sustenance.

For instance, studies have observed that improper eating habits and reduced physical activity cause the prevalence of protein energy malnutrition, Vitamin A deficiency, iron deficiency anemia and iodine deficiency disorders, and increasing cases of overweight children, which pave way to increase risks to cardiovascular, and lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, among others.

Moreover, There is a co-existence of the underweight child and overweight adult in the same household with a prevalence rate of 20.9 percent. Most forms of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies continue to afflict many Filipino children and women.

To date, there is an increasing prevalence of overweight pre-schoolers and school children as well, leading to heightened risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other disease.

That sweetness is an acquired accident borne out of the palate being “trained” to prefer such taste during formative years of children aged one to five years old explains an equally great danger: Children could succumb to excessive sugar content, causing energy imbalance; the promise of a more palatable tang – sugary, that is – is dismissible.

So, for instance, to prohibit children from taking in softdrinks, which contain quite a high sugar content, is acceptable. We don’t want to start sugar addiction at young ages.

Malnutrition is not only reflected by underweight and overweight but also nutrient deficiences in children with normal weights. As dictated by lifestyle and absorbed habits in life, many children do not proper attention to what they should or need to eat. Instead they want to eat, without giving consideration if these foods can do wonders for their health.

Food sources with high amount of added sugars are often floods with significant energy without specific nutrients. Coined as “empty calories,” there are food products that do not offer anything beneficial to proper health maintenance. Instead, they just satisfy the needed energy that people will eventually give off, not realizing they don’t have enough energy to sustain in the long run.

It is proven for a long time that excess is always fatal. Thus, there is a need to know the proper way of regulation, Whether it comes from our own personal control to choose what is good for us or the proper choices are consciously handed out to us, it is important that we get the proper health awareness for our own safety.

Start by trying to avoid over-indulgence of sugar, especially in caring for young children. As the custodian of their proper growth, you have to ensure that they consume healthy foods without excessive sugar content so they do not acquire the so-called “sweet tooth” at an early age.

Pursue the essentials to avoid nutrition deficiencies; better control on lifestyle deterrents, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. In the end, we will succeed on the definition of what we rightfully choose to eat and how we well choose to live.

Source: Manila Bulletin