The Sugar That Staves Off Hunger

Grain products: rich sources of complex and simple carbohydrates

Sugar is sugar, right? Maybe not. Turns out that there is one type of sweetener that helps fill you up, while another leaves you craving more.

The two sugars in question: glucose and fructose. Glucose appears to quell hunger, and fructose seems to ramp it up.

The sugars may affect your appetite differently because of the unique ways in which they affect malonyl-CoA, an important appetite-suppressing molecule in the brain.

Most dietary carbohydrates contain glucose. Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice and cereals. The primary food sources of fructose are fruits, vegetables, and honey.

Read more at Realage.com

Put Your Thirst First!

by Denise Austin
Who doesn't love sugary drinks? I definitely do! Soft drinks, sweetened coffee drinks, and some fruit juices might not seem like much when you're drinking them, but they can add hundreds of calories to your diet — and your waistline! The diet versions are a little better, but only a little. They're still crammed with sodium and chemicals. Their sweet taste can even trigger cravings for other sweets!
Remember that you can have a can of soda or your favorite latte! Just be sure to consider these drinks as treats and not an everyday part of your eating plan. To quench your thirst, try herbal tea, seltzer flavored with lemon or lime, or the most sensible drink of all — refreshing water!

Cancer or fat from artificial sweeteners?

Photo by riccardobat

The good news relating to cancer:

results from subsequent carcinogenicity studies (studies that examine whether a substance can cause cancer) on these sweeteners and other approved sweeteners have not provided clear evidence of an association between artificial sweeteners and cancer in people.

Read more at Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer: Questions and Answers

The bad news: Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, warn us that artificial sweeteners make us eat more.

The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with high-calorie sugar.

Read more from Purdue researchers Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson who wrote in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association. You can read their technical article A Role for Sweet Taste in PDF form.