THE G.I. FACTOR: ARE NATURALLY OCCURRING SUGARS IN FRUIT BETTER FOR US THAN REFINED SUGARS?
May 8th, 2009Naturally occurring sugars are those found in foods like fruit, vegetables and milk. Refined sugars are concentrated sources of sugar such as table sugar, honey or molasses. The rate of digestion and absorption of naturally occurring sugars is not different, on average, from that of refined sugars. There is wide variation within both food groups, depending on the food. The G.I. factor of fruits varies from 22 for cherries to 72 for watermelon. Similarly, among the foods containing refined sugars, some have a low G.I. factor and some a high one. The G.I. factor of sweetened yoghurt is only 33, while a Mars Bar™ has a G.I. factor of 65 (almost the same as bread).
Some nutritionists argue that naturally occurring sugars are better because they contain minerals and vitamins not found in refined sugar. However, new studies which have analysed high sugar and low sugar diets have dearly shown that they contain similar amounts of micronutrients. People who eat lots of refined sugars, tend to eat lots of food. Hence they eat more vitamins and minerals too.
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