Invisible to the eye, sugar is a disaccharide consisting of two molecules in equal amounts, namely glucose, and fructose. They get separated early in the digestive process and both get absorbed into the bloodstream but are processed quite differently. While glucose is the currency of energy in the body, fructose
Too much sugar in the diet has been referred to as “white death” and on closer inspection it boils down to the two ingredients in sugar. A single molecule of sugar consists of equal amounts of glucose and fructose, which gets separated early during the digestive process in the small
Vitamins are essential nutrients that the body requires in small quantities daily from our diet, since the body can’t make them. Vitamins are classified in two broad categories, namely fat soluble, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K, or water soluble, such as the rest of the vitamins (B
The ever-increasing extent of overweight and obesity is highlighted by the World Health Organization, which found that worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016 more than 1,9 billion adults were overweight, of which over 650 million were obese. Over 39 million children under the age of 5 were
Ancient man’s lifestyle of walking long distances daily in search of food and shelter, typified by opportunistic eating and either fasting or feasting, also meant that they had to go for long periods of time without food when none was readily available. It makes you wonder if the human body
Mushrooms are not a vegetable as they appear to be, but are a kind of fungus. Some wild mushrooms can be toxic, but the commercially grown edible ones are quite tasty and come in different shapes, sizes, and colours. Adding flavour and meaty texture to many different dishes, mushrooms also
As natural sugar is high in calories and a high intake can lead to weight gain, many people switch to artificial sweeteners, which are made from synthetic chemicals that give a sweet taste without the calories. As artificial sweeteners are 200 times or more sweeter than sugar, much less is
The three macronutrients that we need in our diets are protein, carbohydrates, and fat. During digestion, enzymes in the gut break down the most plentiful fat in our diet, triglycerides, into fatty acids and a molecule called glycerol. Once absorbed these molecules reassemble into triglycerides, and as they cannot move
The first few weeks of breastfeeding are an amazing period of bonding time for mother and baby. Just as amazing is the essential composition of nutrients contained in breast milk – the most complete food imaginable, cleverly adapting to the needs of the growing infant. However, the most spectacular part
Less intense than cocaine and heroin, but nonetheless addictive for some people, sugar activates the same region in the brain that makes you experience a high and feelings of pleasure. Like using hard drugs, bingeing on sugar blunts the “pleasure” response over time, making you want the sugar fix more
