The Truth About Sugar: What You Aren't Being Told
So we know we can't eat cookies everyday and expect to keep our girlish figures. But exactly how bad is sugar? And more importantly how much can we have before it's too much?
There are many different names for sugar. Whether it is manufactured or naturally occurring-it's still sugar and still a carbohydrate. So here are some of the names of those sneaky little buggers.
There are 56 names for sugar. But here are some of the most common.
Let's start with my favorite.Fructose. This sugar occurs naturally in fruit, honey and cane sugar. So sweet and so incredibly delicious- truly a bakers best friend.
Next we have Glucose. This sugar also occurs in fruits as well as some plants but is a process of photosynthesis. Our bodies will burn glucose as energy or convert it into glycogen ( muscle and liver energy).
Lactose. This is basically milk sugar. This form of sugar is created as a result of a process in our bodies. Many children possess the necessary enzyme to be able to break down the molecule into lactose so that it can be used in the body, while most adults do not. Hence the lactose intolerant!
Last but certainly not least Sucrose. This sugar is found in the stems of sugar cane, roots of sugar beet, and can be found naturally alongside glucose in certain fruits and other plants.
So basically anything ending in ose is sugar, and yep sugar is you guessed it... a carbohydrate.
Teeth. Well for most you this is an obvious downside to too much sugar. Sugar can cause cavities, tooth decay, and even rot your teeth. But you have heard this speech a thousand times so let's keep moving forward.
Skin. A 2013 study analyzed 50 years worth of data on acne and diet. The conclusion - high glycemic index foods trigger hormonal fluctuations that cause acne. These foods include some of our favorites.. bagels, pizza, and white bread. What you may also not know is that when you eat sugar it causes your body to go through a process called glycation. This process causes the sugar to attach to the protein and fat cells in your body, this is heavily concentrated on collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin are what your skin needs to keep from aging. This process will also give your skin a yellowish hue. Gross. So maybe re-think that mid-afternoon Kit-Kat bar. If you are unsure what foods are high on the glycemic index you can go to www.nutritionfacts.com.
Brain. Addiction. Yep you heard me right. Sugar is addictive! We are not designed to consume as much sugar as we are to date. You brain will literally override your ability to say its had enough when simply smelling the sweet sugary stuff. Because of these lack of self- control it can easily turn into an addiction. Have you ever had caught yourself saying ill just have a bite of ice cream, and somehow you end up eating the entire thing? Yep. Sugar has that effect. Sugar releases dopamine into the area of the brain that is associated with reward and reinforcement. This is why most diets fail. You brain tells you, much like a dog that you aren't doing a good job.
Body. When you consume sugar you body has two options. Use it as energy, or store it as fat. The female body should consume no more than 6 teaspoons/ 24g of added sugar a day! There is more than that in half a donut. Any more sugar than that our bodies don't have any use for. As for men, they are little bit luckier as sugar can help increase semen production.
Now that you have consumed sugar, your pancreas detects the sweet poison and releases a hormone called insulin to deal with the excess sugar. Insulin helps the body to regulate the level of sugar in our blood. The more sugar in the blood stream, the more insulin is released. Insulin helps store all of this glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen and in fat cells (adipocytes stored as triglycerides).
The problem is that our body doesn't always get the balance right which can result in too much insulin being released. This occurs when we put too much sugar in our body too quickly and will ultimately result in our blood sugar levels dropping below normal levels. This drop in blood sugar is called hypoglycemia-aka the sugar crash. Which will tell your brain to give you more sugar. Sadly, if you listen to your cravings and indulge in sugar again your blood sugar spike is more severe and more insulin will be required.Simply put- you body will stop using the sugar for energy and instead store it as fat.
Check out this cheesy but awesome and easy to understand video.
Check Your Labels. So I know I have mentioned this several times in the article but it truly is the key to cutting the sugar and carbs. Many of your favorite are drowning in simple carbs and sugars. Start by reading the nutrition facts. If the carb count is over 40..don't eat it. If sugar or white flour is the fist listed ingredient..don't eat it! Manufactures are sneaky and excellent at marketing so don't let the labels fool you. Be smarter than corporate branding. Here are a list of some more of sugars sneaky names courtesy of dietriffic.
- Barley malt
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Caramel
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Carob syrup
- Castor sugar
- Date sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Dextran
- Dextrose
- Diastatic malt
- Diatase
- Ethyl maltol
- Fructose
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Galactose
- Glucose
- Glucose solids
- Golden sugar
- Golden syrup
- Grape sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Maltodextrin
- Maltose
- Malt syrup
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Muscovado sugar
- Panocha
- Raw sugar
- Refiner’s syrup
- Rice syrup
- Sorbitol
- Sorghum syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
Stevia. Oh my favorite, Stevia is a naturally occurring sweetener from the Sunflower family. It is 300 times sweeter than table sugar, has a lower effect on blood glucose levels. read about that here, Stevia has been used in Japan and South America with minimal adverse effects.
Aspartame. With diet sodas on the rise and 90% containing aspartame, a laboratory-created sugar alternative. This stuff has been proven inconclusive in a wide range of recent studies. Some studies cite an increased link with aspartame and cancer, although nothing has been proven. Still, you should be careful who much you consume, as we are still fairly unaware of the consequences.
Sucralose. an artificial sweetener that is non-caloric. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as your average table sugar and thus can be consumed in smaller quantities to get the same desired “sweet” effect as sugar. Sucralose is available in things like protein powders, Splenda, and other products reliant upon remaining low-sugar or low-carb. Sucralose has a negligible effect on blood glucose levels.
Saccharin.Created back in the late 1890s, is again sweeter than table sugar allowing you to consume less. It was linked to increased risk of cancer within laboratory rats and labeled as dangerous by the US.
Agave Nectar. Despite the fact that it comes from a cactus, it is processed,refined and contains a hefty amount of refined fructose (90% fructose and 10% glucose). The process to create agave is similar to the process used to create high fructose corn syrup.
Honey - A sweet mixture of compounds and minerals. Honey has been proven in a study that improved blood lipids, lowered inflammatory markers, and had minimal effect on blood glucose levels. Honey also resulted in a lower blood glucose spike in rats compared to other types of sugar. So this may be your best alternative yet!
Don't Be Afraid To Be Beautiful
Sydney Day