The atrocity of the sugar industry

My project is about which is better from sugar and artificial sweeteners. I did research on which is better in calories, taste, in health, and facts of how they are bad and good. I did a experiment to see which tastes different. This helps by being healty
Irtaza Aqeel
Grade 7

Hypothesis

If we do not  find a healthier alternatives for sugar then it can become the new pandemic because it will cause a large number of people to get health problems like diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases. 

If we add different types of sweeteners to each smoothie then the taste and calories , and nutrients will change because the artificial sweetener might taste sweeter and might have less calories. 

 

Research

Sugar is very highly consumed even though it is very unhealthy. I wanted to see if there is any alternative for people who want to have a healthier lifestyle. Some people have an intolerance to sugar. This is one of the reasons I chose this project because one of my family member has sugar intolerance. I also wanted to see if there is any difference in taste. If there is no taste difference people can switch to artificial sweeteners or natural sugars for a better lifestyle. Sugar and sweeteners should still be avoided as you will be the healthiest by reducing the amount of sugar or sweeteners you are consuming. 

Hi my name is Irtaza and I did my project is on the dark side of the sugar industry. We all know everyone loves a sugary snack ,but everyone forgets how unhealthy it is for your body. It can cause health problems like obesity, diabetes, eczema, anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, muscle tension, pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure,strokes, sleep problems, and weight gain. Did u know 2,500 years ago people did not eat added sugar. They only ate natural sugar from fruits

After 15 years of studying scientists have discovered people who got 17% to 21% of added sugar daily have a 38% chance of dying from heart disease. 24 teaspoons of added sugar is very unhealthy and can cause health problems. Two thirds of coffee and tea drinkers use sugar toppings. If you want to identify the sugar in a recipe you should look for an ingredient that ends with -ose. For example,glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, and maltose.The sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to not highlight the link between sugar and heart disease and blame saturated fat as the villain instead. “They were able to derail the discussion about sugar for decades. Companies use different names to camouflage sugar. They add sugar in foods to increase the sweetness, taste, colour, texture, and the browning capability. An example is that one serving of vanilla flavoured yogurt has 14 grams of sugar.

Another example is vitamin water. It has 32 grams of added sugar. According to scientists added sugar can make you less smart. Coke has 39 grams of added sugar.  I did some research and did a experiment to see an alternative that could limit these health issues and to see which is less sweeter. I did research on 2 alternatives. One was artificial sweeteners and the other one was natural sugar. I chose these two because they cause less health problems then sugar.  

Artificial sweeteners taste like sugar and  it has less calories. Some artificial sweeteners can be 200-700 times more sweeter than sugar so you do not need a lot to sweeten your drinks or food. It could lower your chance of getting tooth decay and cavities. It also will not raise sugar in blood. It can help adults and kids who are suffering from diabetes. It can manage your weight. It does have some side effect like  heart diseases however, because of the less calories it would be a better choice if taken in moderation, Natural sugar can reduce rapid blood spikes, obesity, and diabetes. If you eat natural sugar instead of sugar it could limit the amount of sugar you eat and it will give you all the nutrients your body  need. Natural sugar like honey has minerals and vitamins but it does not have it in a large quantity.  You would have to eat 40 cups of honey to reach your daily amount. It's also harmful to babies because it has this chemical that is called clostridium botulinum that is harmful for a babies immune system and can cause food poisoning. I also did an experiment with smoothies and using different alternatives for sugar and taste testing each one. The most favourite one was sugar which was expected because we eat added sugar almost everyday. The least favourite one was twin sugar because it was too sweet. The one that had the least calories was natural sugar, no sugar, and twin sugar had 494 calories. The one with the most calories was honey with 558 calories. So with this experiment and research done I know that natural sugar is the most healthiest alternative and that everyone should limit their sugar intakes and live a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating healthy. 

People would be interested in learning about my project because it would educate them about the effects of sugar on our body.  Will the people be able to notice the different in taste between sugars and sweeteners. This research can help them to decide which sugar is more beneficial to use on a regular basis. I could improve this by using more varieties of sweeteners, and more people to taste, and test some natural replacements. In the future I can also test different types of foods to see if it will affect my results.

 

Variables

Controlled Variable :My controlled variable are the people, the food, and the recipe. Also the amount of sugar, and sweeteners.

Manipulated Variable: Changing the sugar to sweetener then to,natural substitutes ,or no sugar.

Responding Variable:The taste of the smoothies and it has different amount of calories.

 

Procedure

  1. Gather all ingredients
  2. Cut the frozen fruit 
  3.  Put in blender from softest ingredients on bottom and hard ingredients on top
  4. Blend all ingredients

Observations

People enjoy added sugar more then healthy foods or drinks. Everyone forgets how unhealthy sugar is when they are eating it. If you give someone a chocolate bar or fruit they would choose the chocolate bar. We are so addictied to sugar that it has turned into a addiction. It is so addictive most people start their day with a sugary snack. 

Analysis

People would be interested in learning about my project because it would educate them about the effects of sugar on our body.  Will the people be able to notice the different in taste between sugars and sweeteners. This research can help them to decide which sugar is more beneficial to use on a regular basis. I could improve this by using more varieties of sweeteners, and more people to taste, and test some natural replacements. In the future I can also test different types of foods to see if it will affect my results.

Conclusion

The most healthy option would be Stevia because it does not make your heart rate spike. It also does not give you diabetes and won’t make you obese. It provides you with all the nutrients that you need. It also gets digested faster.  The Stevia smoothie had 494 calories. If we substitute Stevia and other natural sugars for everyone then sugar will not become a pandemic. It does have some health risks if consumed too much but limiting the daily intake and living a healthy lifestyle can help you stay fit. It’s 200-300 times more sweeter than regular sugar so less is needed.Twin brand sweetener also has 494 calories but it was 300-700 times sweeter than sugar. It was the second most sweet smoothie. The least healthiest option would be honey because honey has 558 calories. It also doesn’t taste well with all foods.Changing the sweeteners in the smoothies changed the taste, and calories. It had the most sugar. Stop the upcoming pandemic and stay healthy. 

Application

People would be interested in learning about my project because it would educate them about the effects of sugar on our body. Will people be able to notice the different taste between sugars and sweeteners. This research can help them to decide which sugar is more beneficial to use on a regular basis. I could improve this by using more varieties of sweeteners , and more people to taste, and test some natural replacements. In the future I can also test different types of foods to see if it will affect my results.

Sources Of Error

Something that went wrong is that i put sugar in honey in the same one. I also put different amounts of sugar and sweeteners in each one. I labeled the smoothies incorrectly.  

Citations

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/artificial-swehttps://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugareteners/art-2004693

  https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/added-sugar-in-the-diet/ 

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/trending-sweetener

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/whats-worse-sugar-or-artificial-sweetener/#:~:text=Artificial%20sweeteners%20are%20compounds%20that,sugar%2C%20which%20has%2016%20calories.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/facts-about-sugar-and-sugar-substitutes

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/artificial-sweeteners/art-20046936

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-food-companies-hide-sugar-from-you-evgeniya-djuranovic 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150818131807.htm 

https://www.mashed.com/229128/heres-why-sugar-is-added-to-almost-everything-

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/faq/how-much-sugar-is-in-coca-cola#:~:text=There%20are%2039%20grams%20of,availability%20varies%20based%20on%20geography

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html?fbclid=IwAR2psuXhUH0uNy9nAzKqyV1hlawIgBXzA8oMmSAZYIzfXpLpIilhRwBvZUI 

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/sugar-101#:~:text=Naturally%20occurring%20sugars%20are%20found,adding%20sugar%20to%20your%20cereal 

https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/natural-versus-refined-sugar--what-s-the-difference.h00-159465579.html 

https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/13-ways-to-fight-sugar-cravings

https://www.childrenshospital.org/sites/default/files/media_migration/3e3d91bf-85b3-436d-b081-ac9f161b1b96.pdf

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/new-data-encourages-canadians-to-curb-the-sweet-stuff-in-support-of-heart-health-871172908.html#:~:text=Two%2Dthirds%20of%20Canadians%20are,lbs%20of%20sugar%20per%20year

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/artificial-sweeteners-safety-questioned-1.6633357 

https://lyfefuel.com/blogs/lyfefuel/top-10-best-sugar-substitues 

https://myallamericancare.com/blog/2020/08/15/too-much-sugar-destroying-your-brain-body/#:~:text=Diets%20high%20in%20sugar%20can,brain's%20pleasure%20and%20reward%20chemical). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWAuLYhDrC0 

https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-sugar-the-food-nobody-needs-but-everyone-craves-49823#:~:text=The%20first%20chemically%20refined%20sugar,Mediterranean%20in%20the%2013th%20century

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/added-sugar-where-is-it-hiding#:~:text=Sugar%20is%20added%20to%20countless,and%20browning%20capability%20of%20food

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVFa-UdHYcY 

http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=19506#:~:text=Sugar%20in%20high%20concentrations%20acts,dehydrated%20and%20cannot%20multiply%20further.

Acknowledgement

I appreciate my teacher who help me with my science fair. She also helped me with making my title board and my title. She helped me by getting me a trifold. I also apreciate my mom for buying me all my supplies and my lights. She helped me making a layout so most of my information could fit on my board. I also acknowldge my family members who motivated me.