The Hidden Life of Sugar
Halloween has just come and gone and it got me thinking about something that has become dangerously rampant in our food. It not only has an impact on our daily lives but can also lead to many chronic illnesses. The highly addictive substance, sugar!
In this four-part blog series, I am going to shed light on this often misunderstood and underestimated enemy. For this weeks blog I’m going to delve into the hidden life of sugar, exploring its evolutionary significance, its role in the body, and how much is too much. In up coming blogs I’ll give you tips on how to swap out your sugary treats, deal with cravings and answer frequently asked questions.
It’s in our genetic make up
We are wired to seek out sweet foods. Why? Early humans relied on their sense of taste to distinguish between safe and dangerous food sources. Sweetness signaled the presence of energy-rich, safe-to-eat fruits, while bitter tastes were often associated with potential toxins and danger. As you’ll often hear me say, our bodies are incredible ancient biocomputers and this part of our genetics hasn’t changed. To the point where I’m going to ask an interesting question….who out there has ever tried breastmilk? Well, having had 3 children, I, of course, did taste it…curiosity right!? Well I can tell you it is super sweet! Almost sickly sweet!
I now hear you asking “If we are genetically programmed to eat sweet…does that mean we are doomed to never get away from sugar?” - Nope! Read on.
The Medical Journal of clinical nutrition 2007, Johnson RJ et al.
Sugar in Your Body:
It’s important to understand exactly what sugar does to our bodies. I’m going to explain in some very basic terms.
Sugar is one of the two fundamental forms of energy our body uses (the other being fat). One thing you have to know is that our ancient biocomputers constantly ensure our bodies are within certain limits to run properly. Think Goldilocks, ‘not too hot, not too cold, just right!’. When we consume sugary foods or drinks, our blood sugar levels increase and can spike. To maintain equilibrium, our biocomputer swings into action. Excess sugar is not only converted into immediate energy, but when the bloodstream becomes overloaded, it is stored for future use. The primary storage facility for excess sugar is the liver. However, if the liver reaches its limit, insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, is called into action. Insulin opens the doors to our fat cells, allowing them to receive and store the excess sugar as fat, leading to weight gain.
So in simple terms, sugar can turn into fat.
From Sarah Wilson, I Quit Sugar.
How much sugar is too much?
This is a real bio-individual question, however, I can probably say with quite a bit of certainty that if you aren’t actively watching your sugar intake or are eating processed foods, you are getting too much sugar in your diet. Sugar is hidden in almost all processed foods out there. Even the seemingly innocent ones like a loaf of bread. This is where reading labels on what you are buying is so important. Note as well that sugar can hide under various names on food labels, such as sucrose, fructose, or high fructose corn syrup.
If you are trying to loose some weight, be very careful of “Low Fat” claims on products that make you think they are good for you with respect to loosing weight. Products that are labeled low fat tend to be really high in sugar content…which, as you now know, will likely turn into fat on you!
From Sarah Wilson, I Quit Sugar.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that for the average adult, around 25 grams or approximately 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day should be our limit. A common rule of thumb is that approximately 4 grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. I really like this visual rule as it makes it really clear how much sugar I’m actually eating or drinking. You give it a go…does 35g of sugar sound clearer to you or 8 teaspoons of sugar? For me, 8 does, which is 2 teaspoons over the daily limit, and this is from one can of classic coke!
And if adding sugar to our foods isn’t enough, you need to know that carbohydrates, when consumed, turns into glucose or in other words sugar. So your sandwich, your sushi, your pasta is full of sugar too and needs to be taken into consideration if you are wanting to watch how much sugar you are taking in. That’s why I’ve put in the example above from “I Quit Sugar” to show you in real terms what this could look like.
So what can you do this week before next week’s blog on how to swap out sugar?
1. Start to become aware of your sugar intake - check out the photo above and see how much sugar you might actually be consuming.
2. Eat natural sugars - Fruits have sugar but they also are packed with vitamins and minerals so are a great alternative for a sweet tooth. Vegetables that are carb heavy (potatoes, sweet potato, carrots) are again packed with other nutrients that help support the bodies health. Choose those over the processed versions.
3. Read Labels - Be aware of the sneaky different names used for sweeteners or sugar. Also, in my opinion, a no-sugar processed product is often even more dangerous as it can use chemical sweetners that can be even more detrimental to your health. I’d avoid these too!
Put the mask on you first, reduce your sugar intake and thrive again!
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