Every year, Health24's DietDoc answers thousands of health-related questions. Many of these revolve around the intake of sugar and carbohydrates.
We highlight some of the most interesting ones:
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Q: I want to replace sugar with honey in my tea. Are there any health benefits in doing this?
A: There aren't really significant differences between honey and sugar, except that honey may have a slightly lower energy content as it contains slightly more water than granulated sugar. Both sugar and honey contain approximately 4 cal or 16 kJ per gram.
Q: I wake up during the night with extreme cravings for sweet things. I don't experience these cravings during the day. What could be causing this?
A: Cravings for sweet foods generally indicate that your serotonin levels in the brain are low – something that could occur during the night.
On the other hand, waking up in the night could be indicative of anxiety and that you crave sweet foods as a 'comfort'.
To combat the former cause, make sure that you eat sufficient carbohydrates during the day and have a glass of warm milk with honey before you go to sleep at night. The carbs in the honey and the proteins in the milk will boost your brain serotonin levels.
If you suffer from anxiety, I would recommend that you consult a clinical psychologist to help you learn coping mechanisms to combat the anxiety.
Q: I'm trying to lose weight. I exercise and I try to eat at least three small meals a day and about two snacks. Is this too much? Someone at work also told me to cut out bread, sugar and full-cream milk. Is this a good idea?
A: No, it's a fallacy that you need to cut bread out of your diet. Sugar in moderation is also not contraindicated.
You need to keep in mind that all carbs (bread and sugar) have a low energy content of 16 kJ/g and even less if the carb contains a lot of dietary fibre (wholewheat bread) compared to fat, which contains 37 kJ/g (quite a difference!).
Eating three smaller meals a day plus two snacks is a good idea to prevent weight gain and to ensure sustained energy.
The centimetres will drop off as you exercise – just keep in mind that it takes time to firm up slack muscles.
Q: I read somewhere that if you drink sugar in your coffee it causes a hike, and then a drop, in your blood-sugar levels. Does the same thing happen with artficial sweeteners? I have a stressful job and find that coffee helps me tremendously, but I tend to feel hungry after I had a cup.
A: Adding sugar to your coffee could cause a rapid rise in blood sugar if you're insulin resistant. This, in turn, will stimulate your pancreas to excrete insulin, which will lower your blood sugar just as rapidly and cause feelings of hunger.
However, if you do have some sugar in your coffee, you would have ingested some energy (about 16kJ per g) and this could keep your hunger pangs at bay. If you use artificial sweeteners, you won't have ingested any energy, so this could be why you're feeling hungry.
It may help to have a low-GI snack during the mornings and afternoons to combat the hunger pangs, e.g. Provita with fat-free cottage cheese or yoghurt.
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