NATURE OF NATURAL SUGARS By NETHRA VIJAYAKUMAR Natural sugars are found in foods like yogurt, milk, and fruits, and they don’t lead to the same health problems that added sugars do. All fruits contain some natural sugar. Very sweet fruits including mangos and watermelons have relatively high sugar content. Generally, however, fruits tend to contain less sugar than sweetened foods. Fruits contain two types of sugar: fructose and glucose. The proportions of each vary, but most fruits are about half glucose and half fructose. Glucose raises blood sugar, so the body must use insulin to metabolise it. Fructose does not raise blood sugar, instead the liver breaks it down. These natural sugars are complex carbohydrates that provide nutrition (namely fiber in case of fructose and protein in case of lactose) and help regulate blood sugar. Healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to give up sweets completely; it just means you have to ditch harmful sweeteners for these natural sweetener