The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-02
SUGAR AND IT'S USES

Formerly lactose (milk sugar.
was much used for modifying milk
for infant feeding. Lactose Is less
sweet in taste than sucrose or glo-
cose, but has precisely the same
nutritive value. Cows or goats milk
contains from 5 to 6 per cent of
lactose, human milk about 7 per
cent. Therefore it is advisable to
add some sugar to cows or goats
milk when this is fed to an infant.
1t seems logical that the best type
OF sugar to add to the baby's food
should be sugar obtained from milk.
In recent years, however, other
kinds of sugar have been more wide
ly used for modifying milk, and here
is where the fancy sugar fad has
Cnrived
Beet or cane sugar is converted
into 'invert" sugar, a mixture of
glucose grape sugar, dextrose) and
levulose (fruit sugar, fructose).
This occurs in the process of can
ming. The inversion of sucrose goes
on more rapidly when the sugar is
boiled with any acid fruit or fruit
juice. A large part of the sugar
used in making jam thus becomes
glucose and levulose.
What I have said from time to
time about the digestibility and the
general suitability of sugars refers
to their ordinary use, along with
other foods, in the diet. If you COM
pare sugars taken in concentrated
form, unaccompanied with other
food, then it is certain that fruit
sugar and milk sugar is less likely
to irritate the stomach than either
beet or cane sugar is. Straight corn
syrup, for instance, is less likely to
irritate the stomach than straight
beet or cane sugar syrup is.
A solution of one part of beet or
cane sugar in ten parts of water
will irritate the mucous membrane
lining of dogs stomach and make
the lining become dark red; a solu-
ton of one part of sugar in five
parts of water will irritate much
more, causing distress and pain, pro-
duction of much mucous and secre-
ton of highly acid gastric juice.
Glucose is less irritating in similar
concentration. A solution of invert
sugar (boiled beet or cane sugar.
of similar strength produces little
or no such effect. The moral of this
is, don't let the kids have candy,
sweetened beverages, cake and the
like, on an empty stomach or an
hour or two before regular meal
time. Children, and every noe else
for that matter, should take their
sweets only as dessert or after the
meal of essential foods
Sugar Or any kind is no more and
and no less "fattening' than starch.
cornstarch as such or the starch in
potato, say, or in wheat flour. Car
bohydrate is not only itself trans
formed into body fat, when taken in
excess, but spares the body fat and
fat or oil taken in the diet from
combustion, because carbohydrate is
more readily oXidized or burned
than fat.
Sedentary folk cannot handle a.
moderate excess of carbohydrate.
People who do much real muscular
work can handle sweets, sweetened
beverages, ice cream, cake, candy
and the like because they burn it
rapidly, into carbon dioxide and
water. Therefore children who play
hard, athletic youths, adults who do
much walking may indulge in sweets
with impunity. Mandy -pamby
youngsters, youths who sit and look
on instead, of playing the game
themselves, and adults who ride
where they should walk, should es-
chew sweetened beverages, syrups,
candy, cake and desserts in general.
Instead they should drink only
natural fruit juice or tomato juice,
and fresh fruit instead of sweet des-
Sert.