Okay, I can’t start my first nutrition and lifestyle blog post without talking about America’s addiction to sugar. Too much sugar is interconnected with just about every preventable disease on the planet. Whether it be increased susceptibility to infection or blatantly causing cancer.
To list it out, the overconsumption of sugar leads to:
Alzheimer's Disease
AKA type 3 diabetes
Bone degeneration
sugar causes calcium depletion
Brain fog
excess glucose in the brain can cause cognitive impairment
Cancer
sugar FEEDS cancer cells
Chronic inflammation
linked to heart disease, cancer, arthritis, cirrhosis, autoimmune disorders, and obesity
Insulin resistance
diabetes, duh
Leptin resistance
Leptin is our hunger hormone. Leptin resistance happens when there is too much leptin (due to too much body fat) to the point where our cells stop recognizing it, so, your body thinks you’re starving when you’re not
Microbiome dysbiosis
cue the IBS, leaky gut syndrome, and constant carb cravings
Obesity
we know this - but - specifically, excess sugar increases visceral fat which is the fat that surrounds your abdominal organs, and too much, well, it chokes you internally
How you metabolize sugar
For example, if you eat a fresh baked double chocolate chip cookie (my favorite), enzymes in your mouth and the acid in your stomach break down the chocolatey goodness into glucose. Glucose enters the bloodstream and is either used for energy or put in storage. Excess glucose can be stored as glycogen in your liver or directly into fat cells. Now, it’s insulin’s job to manage the storage of the excess glucose, but if you have insulin resistance from long-term sugar overload, your insulin receptor sites can get downregulated, causing that excess glucose to never get stored or used for energy. It just hangs out in the bloodstream all day long, clogging up everything and damaging your tissues (Type 2 Diabetes).
2 controversial sugars: Fructose and Sucralose
Fructose is the sugar in fruit
Now, you’re probably wondering if fruit is bad for you because of its high sugar content.
The short answer is no, but it’s complicated.
The way you use fructose is very individualized but it can affect you better, the same, or worse than refined sugar.
There was a study cited in the journal Cell that found different glycemic responses in those who ate a cookie and those who ate a banana. The people who ate the banana had a higher glucose spike than those who ate the cookie and some who ate the cookie had a higher glucose spike than those who ate the banana.
However, fruit contains powerful vitamins, antioxidants, and FIBER that are good for the microbiome and satiety.
Also, fiber is harder for your digestive system to break down, causing you to burn energy just to digest it and in turn, manages the sharp spike in blood glucose. So, fruit is not the enemy but be selective. Aim for under-ripe bananas (I personally think they taste better greener!) for the resistant starch and smaller amounts of sweet fruit (like oranges, grapes, peaches) and moderate amounts of lower sugar fruits (like berries) and a lot of fruits that are ~socially~ vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, avocados, etc.).
Sucralose is found in fake sugar
All right, so now that we know how bad too much sugar can be for us, does that mean we can use sweet ‘n low and drink diet pop??
A study by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, in the journal Stroke, found that people who drink diet soda daily, are 3x more likely to have a stroke and develop dementia.
To add to that, another study showed increased rates of cancer in lab animals consuming artificial sweeteners (saccharine). Not only are these sugar chemicals bad for our health, but they are also extremely addictive. The study showed that rats chose saccharine over cocaine consistently.
But wait.. it gets worse! Fake sugar still triggers your brain to release insulin and actually increases your blood sugar by 14%.
So you might as well just drink the regular Coke!! Or don’t :)
How much sugar is too much?
Right now, the daily recommended dietary sugar limit is 24-36g.
The American daily average intake of sugar?
77g :’)
And this only accounts for ADDED sugars, not the sugars that are naturally in most foods like fruits and vegetables. Added sugars are hidden in just about every packaged food and a bottled drink. Next time you’re grocery shopping, look at the sugar content before you buy that gallon of OJ.
How to avoid sugar overload
You don't have to avoid sweets completely, but you need to find a balance.
When you're eating 80% whole, nutritious foods daily, it's okay to have a donut (or two) when you want it.
Generally speaking though,
Cut back on processed foods. And yes, even the healthy and organic processed foods. Anything in a bag is considered processed because it needs to be preserved- and to do that, sugar and salt are added.
Look at the ingredient list. Avoid anything that has high fructose corn syrup or other syrups. And even if the sugar listed is ‘organic cane sugar’ it’s still sugar- it's just not refined and bleached.
Look at the nutrition facts. Look out for the added sugars and be cognizant of how many grams you’re consuming every day.
Avoid white bread, cereals, candy, desserts, juices, energy drinks, specialty coffee drinks, and pop.
When eating fruit, incorporate more berries and vegetables
Track your added sugar intake for one day and see where you measure up to the daily recommended intake and the average American intake
To note: If you’re a daily mountain dew drinker and you abruptly stop, you will, in fact, go through sugar withdrawal- headache, fatigue, mild tremors (yes, it's a thing!). Try reducing your intake a little bit each day until you completely give it up. Then see how you feel!
References
American Heart Association, Inc. (2021, January 11). How much sugar is too much? www.heart.org. Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/how-much-sugar-is-too-much#:~:text=American%20adults%20consume%20an%20average,%2Dpound%20bowling%20balls%2C%20folks!
Stevenson, S. (2021). Eat smarter: Use the power of food to reboot your metabolism, Upgrade your brain, and Transform your life. Little, Brown.
Zeevi, D., Korem, T., & Israeli, D. (2015). Personalized nutrition by predicting glycemic responses. Cell, 163(5), 1079–1094. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.001
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