Sugar certainly has gotten a bad rap lately. It's blamed for everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. But is it really all that bad? Is there nothing redeeming about those tiny, sweet granules? Or is a lot of what we hear misinformation? We know one thing for sure. Sugar consumption in America has skyrocketed. In 1990, Americans ate an average of 4 teaspoons (16 grams) of added sugar per day. By 2014, that number had shot up to 20 teaspoons (80 grams) daily. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says Americans obtain 16 percent of their total calories from added sugars, namely soda, energy and sports drinks, grain-based desserts, sugar-sweetened fruit drinks, dairy-based desserts and candy. The World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation? We should only be getting less than 10 percent of our daily calories from added sugar. In 2014, the WHO even proposed slashing that recommended rate to less than 5 percent. Clearly, we need to pay attention to sugar and our consumption rate. But first, we need to learn the truth about our favorite sweetener.
近来，糖类无疑是备受责难。从肥胖症、糖尿病到心脏病、肾脏疾病和中风，一切都归咎于糖。但是糖真的这么不好？这些小小的、甜甜的的颗粒真的没有可取之处吗？又或者我们听到的很多都是错误消息？不过我们可以确信一件事情：在美国，糖类消费量一路飙升。1990年，美国人每天平均摄入4茶匙（16克）添加糖。而到2014年，这个数据已经陡升至20茶匙（80克）。美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）称，美国人从添加糖食品中获得16%的总热量，这些食品包括苏打水、运动型功能饮料、谷物甜点、含糖果汁、乳制甜点和糖果。世界卫生组织（WHO）的建议是什么？我们每天从这些含糖食物中获得的总热量不应超过10%。2014年，世界卫生组织（WHO）甚至提议将这个比例大幅降低至5%以下。显然，是时候留心一下糖以及我们在日常生活对其的摄取状况了。但首先，让我们来了解一下有关我们最喜欢的甜味剂的真相。

10.People Can Easily Limit Sugar Intake
10.人们可以很容易地控制糖类摄入量

OK, we need to eat less sugar. No problem. We'll just stop eating dessert, eschew the doughnuts brought in by our colleague and pass on the Halloween candy. But -- argh! -- why is it so hard? Are we weak-willed babies or what? Sugar is actually an addictive substance. Animal studies show sugar consumption causes bingeing, withdrawal and craving. Regularly eating sugar also makes it easier to become addicted to another drug. When humans were studied, consuming fructose (a form of sugar) caused the brain's reward center to light up. However, much like a drug, over time the subjects needed to consume more and more fructose for the reward center to light up as brightly
好吧，我们需要少吃糖。没问题。我们不再吃甜品，远离同事们买来的甜甜圈和万圣节糖果。但是，啊！为什么这么难？我们是意志薄弱的婴儿还是什么？事实上，糖就是令人上瘾的东西。动物研究表明，摄入糖分会导致暴饮暴食、戒断不良反应和内心产生极度渴望。经常吃糖也更容易对另一种药物上瘾。对人体的研究表明，果糖的分解（一种糖）能活跃大脑反馈中心。然而就像药物一样，随着时间的推移，人需要消耗越来越多的果糖使大脑中心保持活跃的状态。
Additional research shows sugar and sweetness can actually be more addictive, rewarding and attractive than drugs such as cocaine. Seems a bit preposterous, but a possible explanation, say scientists, is humankind's past evolutionary need to eat foods high in calories and sugar.
更多研究表明糖和甜味剂实际上比药物，如可卡因，更有吸引力，令人上瘾，使人更加满足。这似乎有点荒谬，但科学家对此解释说，原始人类的进化需要进食高热量和高糖的食物。这种说法仍有待证实。还有一个问题：含有添加糖的产品比你想象的要多——比如番茄酱、即食燕麦片和意大利面酱。

9.Added Sugar Is Bad for You
9.添加糖对人有害

In 2014, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends Americans slash their sugar consumption from the average 20 teaspoons (80 grams) a day to six (24 grams) for women and nine (36 grams) for men. And the group notes, added sugars are particularly worrisome. Added sugars are sugars or syrups that are tossed into our food and drink during processing or preparation. They can be natural (e.g., honey) or chemically manufactured (e.g., high fructose corn syrup). They're troubling because they don't provide any nutrients -- just excessive calories. And they're in more products than you might think – in ketchup, instant oatmeal and spaghetti sauce, for starters.
2014年，美国心脏协会（AHA）建议美国女性将每天的糖类消耗从平均20茶匙（80克）减少至6茶匙（24克），男性减少至9茶匙（36克）。并且该协会称添加糖尤其令人担忧。添加糖就是在加工过程中或生产过程前添加到食物和饮料中的糖或糖浆。它们可以是天然制品（比如蜂蜜），或是化学制品（比如果葡糖浆）。它们令人不安，因为没有任何营养——只有高热量。并且它们的覆盖范围比你想象的要广——比如添加在番茄酱、即食燕麦片和意大利面酱里。
Yet you don't have to nix all added sugar from your diet. Sugar may not have any nutritional value, but it can enhance the flavor of foods that do provide important nutrients, such as whole-grain cereal or yogurt. So if sprinkling some sugar over a cup of healthy, plain yogurt is the only way you'll eat the yogurt, it's worth it to add the sweetness. Luckily, in most instances all you need is a small amount of sugar to achieve a satisfactory taste. That's why it's better to buy the no-added-sugar version of the product and add a little sugar than to buy the "regular" or fully sweetened version.
然而，你不必完全对这种添加糖说NO。糖或许没有任何营养价值，但是它可以改善一些食物的口感，正是这些食物（如全麦麦片或酸奶）提供给你重要的营养物质。所以，如果唯一让你喝杯有益健康但口感平平的酸奶的方法就是加点儿糖的话，那就这么做吧。值得庆幸地是，在大多数情况下只需要添加少量糖就可获得令人满意的味道。这就解释了为什么买无糖产品并自己加少量糖比买普通的或甜味的产品更好。

8.Artificial Sweeteners Are Healthier Than Sugar
8.人造甜味剂比糖更健康

Many health-conscious people favor artificial sweeteners for their food, figuring they're a better bet because they don't contain any calories. It's true you're avoiding calories when you stick with artificial sweeteners, but the jury's out on whether they're healthier for you. The FDA deems artificial sweeteners safe, but experts say their long-term effects still aren't known. Further, there are numerous studies that raise red flags. For example, one study performed by researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine found that if you eat artificially sweetened foods that are low in calories, it may cause you to down high-calories foods later in the day, especially if you ate the artificially sweetened stuff when you were tired or hungry. Artificial sweeteners don't signal "energy" to the brain the way regular sugar does.
许多有健康意识的人喜欢往食物中加些人造甜味剂，认为这种甜味剂是个更好的选择，因为它们不含任何热量。的确，坚持使用人造甜味剂你可以避免摄入热量。不过，这些甜味剂是否有益健康，这一点尚无定论。尽管美国食品和药物管理局认为人造甜味剂是安全的，但是专家称人造甜味剂的长期影响仍旧不清楚。此外，大量研究表明人造甜味剂值得注意。例如，耶鲁大学医学院的研究人员发现，尤其当你累了或饿了的时候，如果吃低热量，添加了人造甜味剂的食品，那么晚些时候你就会多吃些高热量的食物。因为大脑并不会把人造甜味剂跟普通的糖一样视为能量的来源。
Additionally, many people who rely on artificial sweeteners knowingly eat a little more throughout the day because they feel like they can afford to do so. After all, they've saved calories by opting for Splenda or Equal in their coffee or plain yogurt, so it's fine to have that extra hamburger or serving of potatoes. In the end, it may be best to simply eat less real sugar than swap it out for artificial sweeteners.
此外，很多依赖人造甜味剂的人每天会故意多吃一点，因为他们觉得自己可以这么做。毕竟，他们选择在咖啡或原味酸奶中加点儿人造甜味剂如Splenda 或 Equal，从而避免摄入一些热量。因此额外吃一些汉堡和薯条是可以的。总之，比起选择人造甜味剂，最好还是少吃糖。

7.Organic (Raw) Sugar Is Healthier Than Table Sugar
7.天然（原）糖比蔗糖更健康

Raw sugar looks so appealing, with its light caramel hue and nuggety shape. This organic sweetener, less refined than table sugar, is found in many health-focused products -- so surely it must be healthier for you. Actually, it's not.
原糖看起来似乎是比精炼加工的白糖更有益健康，但这只是因为原糖中含有少许矿物成分而已。（白糖完全没有）。二者的热量相同。
Both raw sugar and table sugar are derived from sugarcane, although table sugar can also come from beets. Raw sugar is created when sugarcane juice is boiled once. This leaves some molasses in the product and gives the sugar its signature golden color. Table sugar results from sugarcane juice that is boiled several times, a process that removes all of the molasses from the juice, hence its white color.
这一块一块带着浅浅焦糖色的原糖看起来如此诱人。这种有机的甜味剂，虽然不如白糖般经过精细加工，但它存在于很多主打健康的食品中——所以很显然，这种食品更健康。然而事实并非如此。原糖和白糖都来源于甘蔗，虽然白糖也可来自甜菜。原糖是甘蔗汁煮第一次时的产物。这使得原糖中留存了一些糖蜜，颜色也变成了标志性的金黄色。甘蔗汁经过多次煮沸提炼，就产生了蔗糖。这个过程让糖蜜从甘蔗汁中流失了，因此蔗糖就是白色的。一些原糖支持者声称留在原糖的糖蜜具有我们身体所需的营养价值。但是大多数专家认为只有微量营养素得以留存——微量到对我们的身体没有任何影响。况且，原糖和精制糖含有等量的热量。所以尽管制作过程不同，但它们真的都差不多。

6.Sugar-free Diets Are the Healthiest
6.无糖饮食最健康

OK, so we eat too much sugar. And artificial sweeteners or other forms of the sweet stuff, like raw sugar, aren't any better than plain old table sugar. So maybe the answer is simply to cut all sugar out of our diets. Perhaps. But that is a complicated plan. Technically, if you were able to eliminate all sugar from your diet -- meaning eating solely foods where no sugar was added during its creation or afterward -- that might be the healthiest option. But if your suggested "sugar-free" diet means eating foods labeled "sugar-free," then that won't fly.
好吧，我们吃太多糖了。而且人造甜味剂或者其他种类的糖，比如原糖，都不比普通的蔗糖。也许最简单地答案就是戒食所有含糖食物。但这也说不定。因为要做到无糖饮食也很复杂。从技术层面来说，如果你能够做到消除你饮食中所有的糖——这意味着只吃在生产过程中或之后不添加任何糖的食物——这样可以称为最健康的选择。但是如果你的“无糖”饮食只是吃一些标签着“无糖”字样的食品，那么就不会有任何效果。
Foods that boast of being "sugar-free" typically really aren't. That's because while the sugar has been yanked, it's been replaced with an artificial sweetener. That sweetener could be the pleasant-sounding honey or agave nectar; chemical-sounding sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol; or noncaloric sweeteners like saccharin (brand-name "Sweet'N Low") and sucralose ("Splenda"). Unfortunately, many of these alternative sweeteners are still high in carbohydrates and/or calories. And sugar alcohols are famous for causing stomachaches and diarrhea if they're ingested in large quantities. Experts say the wisest strategy is to eat unprocessed foods, adding as little sugar as possible.
那些自称是“无糖”的产品通常言过其实。这是因为当糖被提取掉，取而代之的就是人造甜味剂。甜味剂可能是迷人的蜂蜜或龙舌兰花蜜；产生化学反应的糖醇，比如山梨糖醇、甘露醇和木糖醇；或者无热量的甜味剂，比如糖精（品名：低脂糖）和三氯蔗糖（蔗糖素）。不幸地是，许多可使用的甜味剂都含大量的碳水化合物或热量。众所周知，过量摄入糖醇会导致胃痛和腹泻。专家称最明智的做法就是吃未加工的食物，尽可能不加糖。

翻译:夏久梅 审校:晴晴晴天 来源：前十网