Functionality of Sugars in Foods and Health

Dear Colleagues,

Apart from the functional roles of sugar in foods, the ongoing discussion of dietary sugar and health is characterized by sharply conflicting recommendations and emotionally charged controversy. Dietary sugars as a subset of carbohydrates are a diverse group of molecules that range from simple sugars to highly complex polysaccharides, such as starch, dietary fiber, and oligosaccharides. The importance of carbohydrates in human nutrition cannot be overstated; they are the principal energy source for healthy human beings throughout the world. Nonetheless, in the modern industrial world of today, carbohydrates, especially sugars, are often viewed at best as a health-neutral energy filler, used to make up the energy content of the diet in place of dietary protein and fat. Some suggest these forms of carbohydrates are actually toxic and are the primary contributors to noncommunicable diseases. Caloric excess irrespective of the source is generally not part of the discussion.

One of several key elements of existing policies and guidelines focuses on improved weight management in an era of universally increased body weight. Efforts to encourage the maintenance of a healthy weight and to curb “globesity” include an array of sugar-avoidant dietary, behavioral, and economic interventions that have been implemented and proposed in many countries. While there is agreement regarding the need to reduce calories from excess sugar intake, dietary recommendations and nomenclature used to address sources of extrinsic sugar are often divergent.

The variable quality of epidemiologic research focusing on sugar is a major obstacle to achieving clinically meaningful recommendations for consumption. Failure to consider antecedent and intervening variables such as genetics, physical exercise, and interactions with region-specific food matrices militates against illumination of causal linkages or plausible mechanisms that may underlie complex multidimensional illness causality.

This Special Issue welcomes original high-quality research papers and review articles that address the myriad roles of sugar in health, disease, and focus on the tenuous proposition that sugars act as putative culprits for metabolically-based diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Prof. Roger A. Clemens
Dr. Peter Pressman
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Sucrose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Obesity