Three Foods Packed with Sugar: Expert Issues Chilling Warning [Health Issue]

[The Financial News] A family medicine specialist has pointed out three foods that contain extremely high amounts of sugar.
On the 2nd, the YouTube channel "After the Rain Medical Channel" posted a video titled "Foods That Turn Out to Be Packed with Sugar." In the video, Park Hyun-ah, a professor of family medicine at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, explained, "Naengmyeon is carbohydrates, and the sauce in it is also a lump of sugar," adding, "That is why we found that bibim naengmyeon raises blood sugar much more than mul naengmyeon."

According to data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, mul naengmyeon contains about 3–6 g of sugar, whereas bibim naengmyeon contains as much as 15–30 g. Mul naengmyeon is based on broth and therefore has relatively little sugar. In contrast, bibim naengmyeon uses gochujang, sugar, and corn syrup as main ingredients, which significantly increases its sugar content.
Professor Park also cited energy drinks as another source of excessive sugar. She noted, "Energy drinks are unexpectedly packed with sugar, so you need to be careful," and added, "You would be better off drinking black coffee instead." Most energy drinks contain substantial amounts of fructose, glucose, and high-fructose corn syrup. As a result, they can trigger reactive hypoglycemia, also known as a sugar crash. This refers to a low blood sugar state that occurs after consuming a large amount of carbohydrates. Major symptoms include fatigue and reduced concentration, and they typically appear within one to two hours after drinking the beverage.
The last food mentioned was tteokbokki, a popular spicy rice cake dish. Professor Park pointed out, "If you look at how tteokbokki is made, they pour in sugar by the sack," adding, "You can basically think of the sauce as sugar soup."

The rice cakes commonly used in tteokbokki are made from wheat flour and are classified as refined carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels and increase insulin resistance. Once insulin resistance develops, blood sugar can no longer be properly controlled even when insulin is secreted.


hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter