Chocolate, biscuits and cakes – tasty yes, healthy no. While it’s an unpopular reality that too much sugar is bad for our health, it’s no secret. Equally certain is the knowledge that our food leaves traces on its way through our digestive organs and influences the life in the intestines.
Now researchers from Columbia University in New York have Journal “Cell” a study published, which shows the influence sugar has on the intestinal microbiome of mice – and subsequently even on the immune system.
Good bacteria, bad bacteria
in the Bacteria live in the gut that are responsible for the increase in certain immune cells, so-called T helper cells – or more precisely: Th17 cells. The scientists observed that these immune cells regulate the absorption of fat in the mice’s intestines.
The researchers also found that a particularly sugary diet promotes the growth of certain bacteria, which in turn kill the immune-boosting microbiome. As a result, more fat entered the mice’s bodies through the intestinal mucosa. The animals not only became overweight, but also became ill.
“How sugar affects the human intestine is not yet well known,” says Christian Sina, director of the Institute for Nutritional Medicine at the University of Lübeck. There are many mouse studies, but the intestinal data in relation to humans is rather meager. However, one thing is clear: Too much sugar is definitely unhealthy.
Sugar: The dose makes the poison
Anyone who plunders the sweets shelf in a weak moment and spends the day on the couch with chocolate and lemonade will still not get sick immediately.
That’s why Christian Sina doesn’t want to completely demonize sugar. “The pinch of sugar with which you sweeten the coffee is not the problem,” says the nutritionist. It just too rarely stays with the pinch.
the World Health Organization (WHO) advisesto reduce sugar consumption to about 25 grams per day. That would still be six teaspoons. A survey by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) however, between 2017 and 2018 found that Americans consumed an average of 17 teaspoons of sugar per day.
Processed foods contain a lot of sugar
Cakes, cookies, and chocolate bars aren’t the only problem here – things that are notorious for being high in sugar. So-called “hidden sugars” found in processed foods cause the number of teaspoons of sugar to climb. Anyone who eats a lot of ready-to-eat food will quickly exceed their sugar limit.
This quickly results in a vicious circle: sugary food not only causes the blood sugar level to rise quickly, but also to fall again quickly. The hypo that follows fuels the appetite for sweets again.
In addition to obesity, cardiovascular diseases are the result of high blood sugar and blood lipid levels. This results in heart attacks, strokes and type 2 diabetes.
No good alternatives
According to Sina, honey, agave syrup or artificial sweeteners such as saccharin each have their advantages. “However, these alternatives to refined sugar are not unproblematic either.” Honey and agave syrup also contain a lot of glucose, i.e. sugar.
If the results of the mouse study are also confirmed in experiments with humans at some point, sugar may have to be re-evaluated by the WHO or nutritionists.
But the available data also speak a clear language: Less is more. “We have to get away from the feeling that sweets are good for us,” says nutritionist Sina. At least not on a daily basis and on a large scale.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Take a deep breath!
One thing is clear: Life as we know it today would not exist without algae. Algae are the oldest plants in the world and brought oxygen to the earth around three billion years ago. Even today, they still produce between 50 and 80 percent of all oxygen.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
A view from space
Algae are found in seas, lakes, rivers, puddles. Some species can develop flowers so huge that they can even be seen from space. However, the bloom in this NASA photo of Lake Erie is not due to algae, but to cyanobacteria. Algae are also found on roof tiles and building facades. As lichens, they live in symbiosis with fungi, for example on trees or walls.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Hidden Talents
Researchers suspect that there are more than 400,000 species of algae worldwide. Only about 20 percent of these are known to date. Algae can be used in many ways: They are most commonly used in the food industry, but also in the construction, pharmaceutical, textile and bioenergy industries. Scientists assume that algae have even more hidden talents.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Against COVID-19?
Algae are also used in medicine. Certain components of red algae, the so-called sulphated polysaccharides, have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and immunological functions. They could even be helpful in treating COVID-19. According to an in vitro study, the red algae was effective against the H1N1 influenza pandemic, as confirmed by the WHO.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Only in Asian cuisine? nope
Algae provide numerous nutrients such as proteins, magnesium, calcium and vitamins A, B12 and C. Even if you don’t like Asian food, you’ve definitely swallowed a few algae: as a binding agent, they are an important component in plant-based milk, pudding and yoghurt or even in ice cream and are used as a stabilizer in margarine and cream cheese.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Colorful bread from Germany
Yes, it looks rather poisonous. But this bread is edible and very healthy. Three ecotrophology students from the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences developed the colorful bread and presented it in January 2020. The microalgae Spirulina platensis provides the blue dye. An approved natural dye that also strengthens the immune system and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Algae experiment against urban mustiness
This “algae tree” was placed in the French city of Toulouse in September 2020 to purify the air. The aim of the experiment is to have 200,000 cubic meters of city air filtered by microalgae and thus capture one ton of CO2 per year. If the hopes for cleaner air are confirmed, algae trees in cities may soon no longer be uncommon.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Sustainable algae house
Could algae be the future of the construction industry? This algae house has been in Hamburg since 2013. The green facade consists of photobio-collectors containing microalgae. They are bred in the water-filled glass elements of the facade and then sold as food. The energy from the photosynthetic processes of the algae, in turn, helps to heat the building.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Algae in road traffic
French researchers have discovered that asphalt can also be made from algae. The plants replace the bitumen containing petroleum. In this way, oil reserves can be conserved. And that’s not all: since 2014, there has been a bus in Japan that runs on algae diesel. Researchers have calculated that this fuel could reduce climate-damaging emissions by more than half.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
Algae instead of plastic and polyester
Brown algae are dried, chopped up, ground and then bound into cellulose fibres. Seacell is the name of this material, from which clothing can be made. Algae oil can even be used to make flip-flops. The soft organic foam can be decomposed by microorganisms just as quickly as plants or leftovers.
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Algae – the absolute all-rounders
be younger?
Sure, algae doesn’t prevent us from getting older – but maybe that we are showing it. Around 50 types of algae are used for cosmetic applications in wellness hotels and beauty salons. The natural active ingredients of the algae are said to be a promising remedy against skin aging and stress wrinkles.
Author: Aida Sofic Salihbegovic
