Sugar - Delicious Food for Thought

Nowadays sugar is considered to be one of the cruelest enemies of our body, interfering especially with our continual ambition to lose weight. But scientific studies state that we should not become to act defensively to it by showing that sugar is the most 'trustworthy friend' of our brain.

Sugar is the most precious natural medicine for us to be - not only look - smarter. It improves memory, concentration and learning capacity. Sugar makes us cheerful and happier, too, as it chases away melancholy and irritability feelings, which are influenced by the brain activity.

Consequently, one should consider sugar as an important part of the diet, since your body needs energy to grow, to work, and to repair itself.

Like every cell in the body, brain cells use glucose for energy, and this is the only "food" they consume. That is why when we don't supply our organism with sugar - like when being on a diet - our brain does not function at its highest level and we are more likely to easily forget things or not have the ability to concentrate on a subject for a long period of time.

The brain is our most voracious organ. It consumes 60 percent of the sugar flowing through our bloodstreams, a total of about 450 calories each day. And because the brain can't store energy as fat or glycogen - a storage molecule made of glucose - like other parts of the body, it needs a continuous supply of fuel.

Nevertheless, it is very important to keep in mind that our biological system requires a normal, balanced amount of sugar. Low and high blood sugar levels are both important metabolic culprits in poor brain function. When the blood is lacking or overloaded with sugar, the brain comes to suffer from a wide range of mental symptoms, including mental fogginess, lack of concentration, short-term memory loss, mental fatigue, depression, mood swings, physical and mental exhaustion, and the inability to learn or comprehend new information.

Sugar is related to glucose and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates represent a group of nutrients that contain carbon atoms that have been hydrated by adding water molecules. They are made of sugar molecules, called saccharides and include sugars, starches, and fiber. Both sugars and starches are broken down by the body into the simple sugar, glucose. After being formed, glucose molecules circulate in the bloodstream, supplying cells with fuel.

Extra glucose is converted into glycogen, which is stored in muscles and the liver. If the body is already storing enough glycogen, glucose gets changed into fat. Your body prefers to burn glucose or glycogen for energy, but when these reserves are depleted, it draws on fat the reserve fuel.

Carbohydrates are usually classified in simple or complex, depending on their chemical structure: simple carbohydrates have one or two chains of sugars, while the complex ones have three or more such chains.

Simple carbohydrates include fructose (found in fruits), galactose (milk), lactose (dairy products), maltose (vegetables and beer) and sucrose (table sugar and honey.) Complex carbohydrates, or starch, are to be found in foods like bread, cereals, rice, pastas, and starchy vegetables - corn, potatoes, peas etc.