Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering: Do not eat more than 25 grams of sugar a day, and be assured of using sweeteners in beverages

Recently, Chen Junshi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, attended the China Drinks Healthy Consumption Forum during the Service Trade Fair. He put forward his views and suggestions on the sugar reduction problems faced by Chinese residents and advocated healthy beverages. The following is based on the original text of Chen Junshi's speech shorthand.

　　 Today’s meeting is very meaningful, it’s about drinks. Beverages are now an indispensable type of food in the improvement of people's lives. Especially for young people, beverages are now facing the problem of sugar reduction. From my personal point of view, I would like to introduce to you how I understand sugar and how much sugar is appropriate. For the beverage industry, how can I reduce sugar? sugar.

　　Sugar provides energy, but excessive intake affects health

　　 First of all, I want to talk about the sweetness provided by sugar. Sugar is not a poison. People are born with an innate preference for sweetness. This is not a certain gene. Of course, certain genes may make people prefer to eat sweets, but as long as they are just born, you can put a cotton lottery candy on the baby’s mouth and he will laugh, and the same other flavors, Sweet, sour, baby expressions are completely unpleasant. Therefore, our preference for sweetness is innate, which is beyond reproach.

　　 Second, from the point of view of our nutrition, sugar is also carbohydrate, and carbohydrate, protein and fat are listed as the three major nutrients. It is necessary. People cannot do without carbohydrates, do not do without protein, and do not do without fat. Therefore, sugar provides energy, and each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories of energy. Of course, our energy is needed. Without energy, we cannot move. Moreover, sugar also has a physiological effect, and the relationship of time is no longer unfolded. From the food processing industry, sugar has a certain need for technology, because sugar has a certain volume, viscosity, etc., which is very good for processing certain foods. It is not necessary to say that it is necessary, but it is because of the technology. The necessity of this is sugar. So don't think that sugar is a bad thing, so whether it is a good thing, it must be harmful. The key is to eat more or less. So sugar is the same as protein and fat. You can’t eat too much. It doesn’t work if you eat too much protein. Of course, it’s even worse if you eat too much fat. So you can’t eat too much sugar. From a nutritional point of view, this is a sure thing, and there is nothing strange. Yes, so what will happen if you eat too much sugar?

　　 Fundamentally speaking, because sugar has no other nutrients other than energy, no matter what sugar it is. Among them, if you are not white sugar, brown sugar, not refined sugar, then the minerals it contains are also limited. Generally speaking, white sugar in particular is called empty energy, which means that there are no nutrients other than energy. Therefore, after you want to eat more, it only provides energy, but after the so-called energy supply, you will be a little full, which affects your eating three meals a day and even affects your original well-balanced diet. Because you eat more energy, more energy than you need, I think eating too much sugar is the most important harm to health.

　　 Everyone should understand from science, it affects you to eat other good, nutritious and healthy things, because you eat too much sugar. Everyone has heard a lot. Eating too much sugar can cause weight gain and obesity. In fact, eating too much sugar has no direct cause and effect on some diseases. In other words, eating too much sugar will not directly cause obesity. People get fat because their energy income is greater than their expenditure. If you eat a sugar-sweetened beverage, you can consume the sugar in an active way. If you are afraid, you will eat a lot of sugar without moving. In this way, your energy will be imbalanced, and your income will be larger than your expenses and you will get fat. Therefore, one possibility of eating too much sugar is to cause more energy. In fact, obesity is a comprehensive chronic disease. It is not caused by eating sugar alone.

Eating too much sugar can cause tooth decay and tooth decay. This evidence is more sufficient than obesity, but it is not the direct cause of tooth decay. Tooth decay is because there are microorganisms in the oral cavity. It is impossible to cause the growth of microorganisms, and it is impossible to cause dental caries.

　　 Of course, in practice, especially teenagers, it is difficult to ask to rinse mouth after eating sugar, so dental caries are caused. These are harmful. In addition, it should be pointed out that diabetes has nothing to do with sugar consumption. Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar, but when you have diabetes, you must control your sugar consumption.

　　 Advocate: The daily sugar intake should not exceed 25 grams

　　 How much sugar is appropriate to eat? What the Chinese Nutrition Association puts forward is very clear. The Chinese Dietary Guidelines are very clear. Now the Chinese Dietary Guidelines will be published in a few years and it is issued by the National Health Commission. The current recommended amount is 50 grams per person per day, which is one or two sugars. It is best to be less than 25 grams, and no more than 50 grams. What concept? If a can of sugar-sweetened beverage has 30 grams of sugar, you can see the ingredient list on the food label. There are many sugary carbonated drinks with 10 grams of sugar in 100 milliliters. If you have more than 300 milliliters, you will have 30 grams of sugar. , You have other sources. It is easy to exceed 50 grams. It’s not that you can’t drink it. You can drink a can, but you have to know that you have eaten 30 grams of sugar. This is the recommended amount and the bottom line. Advocate everyone Do not exceed 50 grams per day, preferably not more than 25 grams.

　　 Which foods contain the most sugar? From pre-packaged food, it is nothing more than beverages, baked goods, and dairy products. You may ask why candies and chocolates are not among them? Candies and chocolate are of course high in sugar, but people don’t eat too much. What we pay attention to is the amount of sugar that people eat. Through sugary foods, the amount of sugar added to eat, so we all know it. Sugar drinks are definitely high in sugar. The varieties of bread and cakes are different, so the sugar content is also different. Don’t say that bread is full of sugar, cakes have more sugar. No, some cakes don’t have much sugar. Generally speaking, they are a large category that can be eaten. A type of food where sugar is very important.

　　 The third category of dairy products that everyone did not expect is very healthy, but the sugar content in yogurt, especially room temperature yogurt, is not inferior to sugary carbonated drinks. The amount of yogurt you drink is not a piece of chocolate, you have to drink a bottle, a box, and a can. From a nutritional point of view, I want to tell everyone that you should not just look at the sugar content, but also how much sugary food you eat. According to the health risk assessment report on how much sugar Chinese people eat per day made by the National Food Safety Assessment Center, I can tell you the specific figures. The sugar that we each eat every day, yogurt can provide 24%, which is It is said that 24% of sugar comes from yogurt, not everyone is like this, the average Chinese is like this. The contribution of beverages is only 17.7%, which is not as good as yogurt. Baked foods, cakes, biscuits and the like are almost 20%, and these three categories are the main ones. And chocolate and candy are ignored, because the consumption is small, and the key is consumption.

　　Sweetener in the beverage industry has become a trend to replace sugar

　　 How can people be able to reach no more than 50 grams, preferably no more than 25 grams, and what measures should be taken? One is the theme of this conference. Food companies must respond to the provisions of the "Healthy China 2030" plan and help implement the rational diet in the Healthy China Initiative. Therefore, we must find a way to reduce the sugar content as much as possible in the product. Now the yogurt industry has fallen, why is yogurt added sugar? Because it is sour, and this acid has a national standard. If the acidity is low, it does not meet the yogurt standard. Therefore, the national standard should be lowered. The acidity requirement should be lowered. Of course, it is not sour. The yogurt must be sour, and the amount of sugar added should be less. , Drinks are the same.

　　 To gradually reduce the sugar of the food industry’s own products through technological innovation, one way to reduce sugar is to reduce the sugar so that the taste is not particularly sweet, and then consumers gradually adapt. This takes time. Another way is to use sweeteners. You can use some or all of the sweeteners instead of any sugar. This is something that the beverage industry needs to innovate.

　　 For consumers, it is mainly to raise awareness. If all of the scientific principles I mentioned just now can be understood, he will consciously control his sugar intake and not eat too much sugar. This must be considered. In the final analysis, the Healthy China Action issued by the State Council speaks very much. It is clear that everyone is the first person responsible for his own health. This sentence has not been used before, and it may not have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, this is a State Council document, so you must be responsible for your own health. You need to know that if I don’t like sugar, there’s no problem. I don’t want to eat too much sugar, and it doesn’t affect my health. Finally, the question about sweeteners is a kind of food additives, so it is not very good in public opinion. It is completely misunderstood that when talking about sweeteners, it is considered that they are additives. Sweeteners are an indispensable part of the modern food industry. With the development of the food industry, especially the development of scientific and technological research and development, more, better and safer sweeteners will come out.

Regarding the safety of sweeteners, a kind of sweetener used in food must be approved by the government, that is, approved by the National Health Commission. He has a list of approved sweeteners, no matter natural sweetness. Recipes, such as Luo Han Guo extract and so on, or synthetic saccharin, aspartame and so on. Xylitol and so on. Now some beverages have already used erythritol. These are high-end sweeteners. No matter what kind of sweetener, as long as it is approved by the government, it is safe. The government not only approves this sweetener. Flavoring agents can be used, and what is the scope of their use in food? What is the scope? It is the amount of beverages, bread, and candies that are no longer allowed to be used within the scope of use, and the maximum addition amount is also specified. Under these conditions, everyone can rest assured as much as possible, and it is safe.

　　 I think about the problem of sugar reduction, the problem of sweeteners, this is very clear. For the beverage industry to develop, it is a trend to replace sugar with sweeteners, but it will not completely replace the sugary beverages in the future. There will be no more sugar. It just gives consumers more choices. This is not mandatory. It is a choice. Under the guidance of scientific knowledge, you can choose your own beverage. Also choose your own three meals a day to protect your own health. (Source: Official account of People's Science and Technology of People's Daily Online)