Sugar has earned a very…confusing reputation when it comes to your health. There are camps that say you should avoid it at all costs. Then there are others who say it’s not a problem so long as your calories are under control. And while there are arguments that can be made for both sides, as always, the truths lies somewhere in middle of the two extremes.
Although I will never tell you can and cannot eat, my goal is to lay out the objective facts about added sugar and highlight where it’s found in everyday products so that you can be more informed in the decisions you make.
The Facts About Added Sugar
Fact #1: Contributes to weight gain
Obesity rates continue to raise worldwide and added sugar is thought to be one of the main causes. For one, added sugar has no satiating effects at all – meaning it does nothing to help you curb hunger. In fact, it has been shown in studies to be a hunger driver – by causing the body to become resistant to leptin(a hunger regulating hormone). Added sugar is also very Calorie Dense.
In other words: this leads to the potential of consuming a lot of extra calories without feeling like you eaten them. Eating more calories than you’re burning leads to weight gain and visceral fat accumulation which increases your risk of a variety of health issues.
Fact #2: Increases risk factors for both Heart Disease & Type 2 Diabetes
High sugar diets have been linked to increased risk for a number of diseases and chronic health conditions. Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes being two of the major ones associated with excessive sugar consumption.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Evidence suggests that diets high in sugar cause obesity and increased inflammation along with high triglyceride, blood sugar and blood pressure levels — all of which are risk factors for heart disease. High-sugar diets also have been shown to increase your risk of dying from Heart Disease.
Obesity and elevated blood sugar levels are also risk factors associated with Type 2 Diabetes. When blood sugar levels remained consistently elevated – as they often are with a high-sugar diet – it causes a condition known as insulin resistance. Which is a condition where your body isn’t properly using the hormone insulin, whose chief job is blood sugar control. Continuing this pattern of uncontrolled blood sugar is what ultimately leads to the development of Type 2 Diabetes.
Fact #3: Decreases your energy
Eating foods high in added sugar will cause a spike in blood sugar and insulin levels giving a quick shot of energy. If you has ever seen a kid on a sugar rush or experienced one yourself, then you have first hand experience with this blood sugar spike.
But you also know what happens after…the crash. The quick spike in blood sugar is followed by an equally quick drop in blood sugar leaving you feeling tired. Regular consumption of high-sugar foods will result in this rapid rise and fall in blood sugar level – although not as extreme as a full blown sugar rush, they still happen on a smaller scale.
This constant fluctuation in blood sugar levels are a common cause of unexplained sluggishness mid-day, poor sleeping patterns and can lead to insulin resistance or even diabetes.
Fact #4: Accelerates skin ageing
There is an acronym to describes what is responsible for this. Oddly enough the acronym is “AGE” or Advanced Glycation End Products. These are harmful compounds that form when protein or fat combine with sugar in the bloodstream in a process called Glycation. What’s important to know about AGEs is they can also form inside food when it is cooked, not just inside the body. Highly processed foods and foods high in added sugar tend to be much higher in these AGE compounds because of the extensive amount of cooking and processing they go through before they reach store shelves.
This Glycation process and the formation of these AGE compounds happens naturally over time and is what is responsible for the “aged” look as we get older. A diet that is also high in these AGE compounds will only add to the compounds forming naturally through the body’s Glycation, which causes premature wrinkling and age of the skin.
Fact #5: You CAN lose weight eating added sugar
Even with all the evidence against consuming added sugar, there remains one objective truth that still remains. The total number of calories you eat is still what determines if(and how much) weight you lose. Meaning: you CAN lose weight eating a high-sugar diet. So long as you are eating in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight…even with a diet high in added sugar.
In 2010, a Kansas State University professor of Human Nutrition lost nearly 30 pounds eating nothing but Hostess snack cakes and other junk foods – it was deemed the Twinkie Diet. Amazingly with his weight loss he saw improvements in all health markers.
What this Twinkie Diet experiment and multiple, more scientific, studies have shown is that so long as you’re eating in a calorie deficit and you’re losing weight, everything else makes no difference. As long as weight is coming off, all the cardiovascular, diabetic and cancer risk factors that can be measured go down. Bad cholesterol goes down, inflammatory markers go down, blood pressure goes down, blood sugar goes down, insulin sensitivity improves, good cholesterol goes up, along with many other things.
More Stuff…
There are many more things than just these 5, however I’d like to avoid making this blog into a novel. But there is research and studies that suggest added sugar consumption is linked to many types of cancer, acne in people of all ages, mood swings and even damage to the microbiome and autoimmune function in the body.
A Quick Lesson:
There is a difference between Natural Sugar and Added Sugar. Sugar is naturally present in many whole, unprocessed foods; milk, fruit, vegetables and some grains – in the form of fructose and lactose. Natural Sugars occur naturally in food and are often found along side fiber and other nutrients. Added Sugar is sugar that is added in when the food is processed – sucrose and dextrose being most common. These do not occur naturally in foods and must be added in by the manufacturer.
When looking a food label…
1 – The first line shows the amount of Total Sugar which includes the amount of natural sugar in the product.
2- The subline underneath shows how of the Total Sugar comes from Added Sugar
In many cases, the second line is the one you want to watch out for – we’ll discuss that in the next section.
Where Added Sugar Can Be Found
There are the obvious places where you find added sugar: baked goods, candy, soda, fruit juice and the like. But added sugar is also in products that you would think of as “sweet”. It’s actually shocking how many products have added sugar in them when you stop to look.
Now, some of you might look at these products and say, “4 or 6 grams isn’t that much.” – and you’re right, it’s not. But what’s important to consider about a lot of these products is the serving size. When was the last time you measured out 2 tablespoons of salad dressing or peanut butter. Or put exactly half a cup of pasta sauce in the bowl. Often times, a realistic serving of these foods are 2 or 3 times the serving size suggested on the package – meaning you could get as much sugar from those foods as you would a fancy latte or fruit smoothie.
What Does SEN Have to Say
Sugar in the diet – or should I say eliminating sugar in the diet – can be a very touchy subject for many people. Which is why, up until this point, this post has been strictly facts. But, I think it’s time I put in my two cents. And even though I shouldn’t have to say this by now, I’m going to anyway – as with everything in the realm of nutrition, there’s a HUGE variance from person to person here with many factors that need to be considered.
There is no shortage of professionals in the Health and Fitness space who have been an apologist for added sugar. And over time this mentality towards selling weight loss has changed from “eating your favorite foods is ok” to “look how much shitty food I can eat and still be shredded”. Which, to be clear, I have no issue with even though I think it’s horrible advice.
That being said, I don’t think added sugar is inherently a bad thing. And for someone who is very active, gets 10,000 steps a day and workouts out consistently, a little bit of added sugar probably isn’t the worst thing in the world.
However, the average person dealing with common chronic health issues is already grossly over-consuming calories. Not only that, 90% people are deficient in at least one micronutrient. And in a world where most people who seek weight loss advice are overfeed and under-nourished, I think promoting added sugar in the diet is more of a health disservice than legitimate advice. For these people who already fight the glucose intolerance issues which lead to heart disease and diabetes – added sugar is something that should be avoided.
On the other side of the coin are people who are activity following a diet. Most diet plans sold to the average dieter are written so the dieter grossly under-consumes calories. And while weight loss is possible in this scenario with added sugar in the diet, the health outcomes are less than optimal. Just because you can lose weight eating nothing but Twinkies, doesn’t mean you should.
My official stance added sugar is…it depends. A vast majority of people should be worried about fixing their protein, fat and fiber intake before concerning themselves with how much added sugar is ok to eat. Removing as much added sugar from the diet as possible is, by most accounts, a better course of action than keeping in. Focus on whole, natural foods and limit the amount of processed food you eat.
Disclaimer: All information presented is for general information purposes only. Coach Owen Stenabaugh is not a registered dietitian, licensed nutritionist or medical professional.
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