Sugar
What exactly is sugar?
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Sugar is a 'simple carbohydrate' that can be found in a variety of foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and nuts.
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Sugar is an important food since we require carbohydrates to survive.
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Many of us are familiar with white sugar, which is a 'refined' or 'processed' sugar manufactured from sugar cane or sugar beets.​
Drinks, cakes, cereals, yogurts, and a variety of other processed foods contain this type of sugar.
There are several other types of processed sugars that are manufactured chemically in various ways and are used to sweeten processed foods and beverages.
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Sugars contained in fruits and vegetables are digested differently by our bodies than sugars found in processed foods.
Our bodies digest fruits and vegetables and their sugars more slowly because they are abundant in fiber.
Sugar from processed foods is easily digested by our bodies, leading blood sugar levels to rise quickly.
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Even if you consume calories from meals containing processed sugars, you will not feel as satisfied as if you consume sugars from fruits and vegetables.
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Sugar is available in a variety of forms. It's critical to understand how to identify 'hidden sugars' in the foods you consume.
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A food that appears to be sugar-free may contain one or more hidden sugars.
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All of these diverse types of sugar are high in calories and low in nutrients. These hidden sugars are often sweeter than regular sugar.
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People with chronic renal disease do not have any special concerns with sugar. However, eating too much sugar can lead to undesirable weight gain and diabetes, which can exacerbate renal disease issues.
Hidden sugars items to look for on a nutrition label:
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Barley malt - Beet sugar - Brown rice syrup - Cane juice - Cane sugar - Caramel - Coconut sugar - Corn syrup - Date sugar - Fructose syrup - Fruit juices - Galatose - Glucose syrup - Grape juice - High fructose corn syrup - High maltose corn syrup - Honey - Malted (type of grain) - Maltodextin - Maple syrup - Molasses - Powdered sugar -Raw sugar - Rice sugar