Sweet Nothing- The Nutritional Value of Sugar 45 in the making of meringue; it can be used to form syrups which have attractive 'mouth feel'; it is a useful preservative as in high concentrations it impedes the growth of bacteria and moulds; and it can be caramelised, that is it can be heated until it turns brown, then used to impart both colour and flavour to foods. There is little doubt that sugar is a versatile and desirable culinary commodity.
On the Down Side As a basic, staple food, however, sugar has little to commend it other than its high number of calories. Sucrose, glucose and fructose are pure foods and contain no fat, fibre, vitamins or minerals. The absence of fat makes it useful as a food only for those few individuals who are intolerant of fat yet require plenty of calories. The two most convincing nutritional arguments against sucrose and its relatives are that they are not balanced foods in themselves, providing none of the essential vitamins and minerals our diet requires (let alone those necessary for the metabolism of glucose), and that in industrialized societies, sugars are used to make palatable foods that are high in fat and salt and low in fibre and essential nutrients. While sucrose itself may be of limited harm, it leads us into temptation and off the nutritional straight and narrow.
The Effect of Excessive Consumption If you satisfy your calorie requirement with sweet food, it is likely that you will consume less of the more nutritious and well balanced foods. If added sugars compose only 5 per cent of your calorie intake, a level in line with certain expert recommendations, the potential loss of essential nutrients is relatively small. However, some 10 per cent of the population consume 20 per cent of their calories in the form of added sugars. This may not matter if you are physically very active and the rest of your diet is very well balanced, but for those who are not physically active and have an average calorie requirement, including, for example,