V živilih so različni prosti sladkorji, najpogosteje saharoza in glukozno fruktozni sirup. Dodatek sladkorja v živila ima poleg vloge izboljšanja okusa še številne druge pomembne tehnološke vloge. Uporaba sladkorja je skozi zgodovino naraščala, prav tako je v časovno enakem okvirju začela naraščati pogostost kroničnih nenalezljivih bolezni. Številne znanstvene raziskave so usmerjene v odkrivanje vpliva prostih sladkorjev v hrani na zdravje. Pozitivne povezave med sladkorjem in nenalezljivimi kroničnimi boleznimi so znane pri uživanju sladkih pijač, ki predstavljajo velik delež zaužitih prostih sladkorjev v naši prehrani. Sladkor vpliva na razvoj zobnega kariesa, pri čemer so pomembni dejavniki količina, pogostost in konsistenca zaužite sladke hrane. Ob veliki količini zaužitega sladkorja lahko pride do debelosti, saj s sladkorjem zaužijemo veliko količino energije, ki se shranjuje v telesu v maščobnih celicah. Redno uživanje sladkih pijač vpliva na razvoj povišanega krvnega tlaka in povišanje trigliceridov v krvi. Na drugi strani je malo raziskav potrdilo povezavo med uživanjem sladkorja in sladkorno boleznijo tipa 2, prav tako so nejasne povezave med uživanjem sladkorja in odvisnostjo od sladkorja. Na slovenskem tržišču najdemo veliko izdelkov z visoko vsebnostjo sladkorja. Z branjem deklaracij lahko izberemo izdelke z manj sladkorja. Na področju vpliva sladkorja na zdravje bo treba narediti še veliko raziskav, predvsem takih, ki bodo trajale daljše časovno obdobje in bodo vezane neposredno na človeka. Potrebno bo urediti tudi ustrezno označevanje prostih sladkorjev na deklaracijah izdelkov. Different free sugars are part of foods, most commonly sucrose and glucose fructose syrup. In addition to the function of flavour enhancement, the addition of sugar in the food has many other important technological functions. The use of sugar has been increasing throughout history, and the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases has begun to increase in the same time frame. Numerous scientific studies are aimed at detecting the effect of free sugars in food on health. Positive links between sugar and diseases has been found in the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, which represent a large share of consumed free sugars in our diet. Sugar has an influence on the development of dental caries, where the most important factors for its emergence are the quantity, frequency and consistency of consumed sweet foods. Large amount of sugar consumed are associated whit development of obesity, due to the large amount of energy consumed with sugar. Excess energy is stored in the form of fat cells. Regular consumption of sugar sweetened beverages affects the development of raised blood pressure and triglycerides in the blood. On the other hand, few studies confirmed the direct link between sugar consumption and type 2 diabetes. There are also unclear links between sugar consumption and sugar addiction. On the Slovenian market, there are many products that contain very high amounts of sugar. That is why reading declarations is important because we can choose products with less sugar in it. In the area of the impact of sugar on health, much research will still be needed, especially those that will last for a longer period of time and will be linked directly to humans. Proper labelling of free sugars on product declarations will also need to be regulated.
