Trần Hoàng Thanh Trang

1732300193
WRT 122
Final Essay

Advantages of eating less sugar

Sugar is one of the most popular ingredients which people consume every day. “Sugars

are a type of simple carbohydrate. They have a sweet taste. Sugars can be found naturally in

fruits, vegetables, milk, and milk products. They are also added to many foods and drinks during

preparation or processing. Types of sugar include glucose, fructose, and sucrose” (Definitions of

Health Terms: Nutrition, 2018). Sugar also provides energy for people. One teaspoon of sugar

can contain 16 calories (The Canadian Sugar Institute, n.d.). When people eat low-sugar foods,

they will avoid risk of obesity, cancer, and protect their immune system. People should reduce

the amount of sugar in their diets.

Eating less sugar can help people avoid obesity. People who drank sugary beverages such

as soda would gain weight easier than people who did not (Malik, Pan, Willett, & Hu, 2013).

Free sugar is “any sugar added to a food or drink. Or the sugar that is already in honey, syrup and

fruit juice. These are free because they are not inside the cells of the food” (British Heart

Foundation, n.d.). According to World Health Organization (2015), “1 tablespoon of ketchup

contains around 4 grams (around 1 teaspoon) of free sugars. A single can of sugar-sweetened

soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of free sugars.” The greater amount of sugar

in food, the greater number of calories that sugar provides for people’s bodies. Cutting down

sugar in diets will help people reduce risks of being obese.

Using too much sugar in diets can lead to cancer. Every cell in people’s body needs sugar

from “the bloodstream” to work. This means cancer cells also use sugar to develop (The
American Institute, n.d.). High-sugar foods will probably make people develop pancreatic cancer

“by increasing insulin demand and decreasing insulin sensitivity” (Larsson, Bergkvist, & Wolk,

2006). Eating sweetened food excessively can change the functions of body parts and provide

fuel for cancer cells. Reducing sugar intake in every meal will probably protect people from

cancer.

Consuming too much sugar can suppress people’s immune system. “An intake of around

35 grams of sugar (about the amount of sugar that you can find in one can of soft drink or a

caramel bar) is enough to cause a 50% reduction in the ability of white blood cells to destroy

bacteria” (Jones, 2015). Mothers who have a weak immunity can have unhealthy children

(Myles, Fontecilla, Janelsins, Vithayathil, Segre, & Datta, 2013). Free sugars not only make

people get sick easily but also affect the immunity of children when they were born. Having the

large amount of sugar in body will damage the human immune system.

However, there were disagreements between the citizens that people should reduce the

amount of sugar in their diets. “Blood sugar is essential to proper brain, heart, and digestive

function. It even helps keep your skin and vision healthy” (Pietrangelo & Cherney, 2018). There

are various reasons people should cut down sugar in their diets. People who have low-sugar

meals can avoid obesity, prevent cancer, and have less chances to suffer from illnesses. Sugar

makes people “consume more calories when they eat foods with more sugar in it.” (Cox, 2012).

It can be clearly seen that people should eat less sugar.

References

British Heart Foundation. (n.d.). Watch: What are free sugars? Retrieved from
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/sugar-salt-
and-fat/free-sugars
Cox, L. (2012). Why is too much sugar bad for you? Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/36188-sugar-bad.html

Definitions of health terms: Nutrition. (2018). Retrieved from

https://medlineplus.gov/definitions/nutritiondefinitions.html

Jones, E. (2015). Goodbye sugar: Hello weight loss, great skin, more energy and improved
mood: How you can beat cravings and emotional eating. Dublin, Ireland: Gill &
Macmillan. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/goodbye-sugar-hello-weight-
loss-great-skin-more-energy-and-improved-mood-how-you-can-beat-cravings-and-
emotional-eating/oclc/1006508162

Larsson, S. C., Bergkvist, L., & Wolk, A. (2006). Consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened
foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study. The American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, 84(5), 1171-1176. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/84/5/1171/4649305

Malik, V. S., Pan, A., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2013). Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight
gain in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, 98(4), 1084-1102. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/98/4/1084/4577098

Myles, I. A., Fontecilla, N. M., Janelsins, B. M., Vithayathil, P. J., Segre, J. A., & Datta, S. K.
(2014). Parental dietary fat intake alters offspring microbiome and immunity. The Journal
of Immunology, 191(6), 3200-3209. Retrieved from
http://www.jimmunol.org/content/191/6/3200.full

Pietrangelo, A., & Cherney, K. (2018). The effects of low blood sugar on your body. Retrieved
from https://www.healthline.com/health/low-blood-sugar-effects-on-body#1

The American Institute for Cancer Research. (n.d.). Sugar and other topics in the news.
Retrieved from http://www.aicr.org/patients-survivors/healthy-or-harmful/Sugar-and-other-
topics-in-the-news.html

The Canadian Sugar Institute. (n.d.). Nutritional value. Retrieved from https://sugar.ca/Sugar-
Basics/Facts-and-Fiction-About-Sugars-and-Health/Nutritional-Value.aspx

World Health Organization. (2015). WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among
adults and children. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/