Why you shouldn’t drink too many diet drinks and 10 other facts about sweeteners | Cooking & Eating

1. What is sugar and why is it unhealthy?
Sugar is a type of carbohydrate, just like starch and fiber. If carbohydrates were Lego blocks, sugars are made up of one or a few blocks. Starch already consists of quite a few more blocks and fibers are entire constructions of Lego blocks. Because sugars are so simple, they are quickly absorbed into the body. “Sugar leads to blood sugar peaks,” says Mariëtte Boon, doctor and researcher at the LUMC. The pancreas produces the hormone insulin to absorb sugar from the blood. Due to many sugar peaks, the pancreas can eventually become exhausted or the body cells become less sensitive to insulin. This may contribute to the development of diabetes.”

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