Top 5 Things You Didn't Know About Sugar

Whether you're a rabid chocoholic or simply prefer a spoonful of sugar in your morning coffee, there's just no resisting the sweet stuff. But do you know why humans appear to be so hooked on sugar?

#1: It's Like Your Mama's Milk

One reason our taste buds like the sweetness of sugar is it tastes a lot like something we had just after birth: mother's milk.

"A mother's milk is sweet, and all the sugars we eat are converted into glucose so the body can digest them, so there's a real connection between sugar and the whole architecture of mammalian life," explained anthropologist Sidney W. Mintz, author of "Sweetness and Power: the Place of Sugar in Modern History."

#2: Evolution Made Us Favor It

In general, sweet plants are safe, says Mintz. So our ancestors were naturally inclined to sample the sweet stuff. "When our ancestors were running through trees, being able to tell when things were sweet was one of the flags of edibility," he said.

#3: It Spurred Colonization

According to Mintz, human fondness for sugar was so strong it prompted expansion of New World plantations, and, unfortunately, furthered the slave trade. After a few years serving as a sort of caviar to the European elite, it became a fast source of calories for factory workers in the newly industrialized world.

#4: It's Sweet: And That's It

Unlike fruit, sugar is the only sweet substance with no other taste. Coffee, tea, and cocoa are incredibly bitter, but add hot water and sugar and you get a cheap source of calories and a lot of human steam. "The stimulant effect was very important to people who worked long hours under bad conditions," noted Mintz, adding that these products became small luxuries and symbols of cozy hospitality in cold, dismal Europe.

#5: It's Not Addictive

Although it may seem easy to get hooked on sugar, it is not addictive, says Mintz. Still, humans (young and old alike) find it tantalizing.

"Pop a spoonful of sugar into a child's mouth and the child goes crazy with pleasure," Mintz said, but affirmed there's no scientific link between sugar and hyperactivity. It's simply "a close association between one taste and the history of our species."

Original post here.