Sugar: The Good, The Bad and The Cutting Back
By Anne Palumbo
Deep breath: Are you ready?
Sweets season has officially landed, kicked off by Halloween. From now on, an avalanche of cookies and candy and pies — oh my! — will come barreling toward our eager palates.
Indeed, it’s the sweetest time of year. But it’s also the perfect time to reflect on the main ingredient of all this sweetness: sugar.
While this nutrient certainly has its merits, this same nutrient — depending upon the kind of sugar consumed and how much — also has severe and well-documented health risks.
First, the good
Sugar, all kinds, provides quick energy for physical activity and basic cellular survival. Also good: It powers cognitive function, supporting concentration, memory and focus. Whenever my kids were taking SAT exams, I gave them a chocolate bar, no matter the time of day.
But not all sugars are alike: some are healthier than others.
Let’s start with the healthiest sugars.
Sugars from whole-food sources like fruits and vegetables — called “natural sugars” — come bundled with a variety of beneficial nutrients and compounds that change how your body processes these sugars.
For example, the fiber present in many fruits and vegetables slows down sugar digestion, which prevents blood sugar spikes and reduces stress on the pancreas. Less stress on this vital organ is always a good thing, especially when you consider the potential consequences of sugar overload: Type 2 diabetes, abdominal pain, inflammation and more.
At the same time, the high water content of fruits and vegetables provides even more benefits: it dilutes the concentration of sugar; it slows down its absorption into the bloodstream; and it increases the physical volume of the food so you consume fewer sugars per bite. Plus, more water equals more saliva, which is always a good thing.
Put another way, eating a big slice of juicy watermelon is a whole lot healthier than wolfing down a handful of dry Skittles.
Honey and maple syrup are slightly more nutritious than table sugar, but not significantly. Because both undergo less processing than white sugar, they retain small amounts of minerals. And while honey and maple syrup do raise blood sugar a bit more slowly than white sugar, it’s not by much.
Now, the bad
Unfortunately, the worst sugars are the sugars Americans consume most: sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn sugar.
How much sugar are we consuming?
According to the American Heart Association, adults consume nearly twice the recommended daily amount while kids inhale nearly three times their recommendation.
— Men: 36 grams recommended; average intake, 72 grams.
— Women: 24 grams recommended; average intake, 48 grams.
— Kids: 24 grams recommended; average intake, 72 grams.
(Note: one teaspoon of granulated white sugar equals about four grams of sugar.)
But no surprise: Sucrose and fructose are the sugars most commonly used in highly processed — and often addictive — foods like carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, baked goods, cereals, condiments and candies, which unfortunately make up roughly 50% to 70% of the average American diet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Wow: 50% to 70%.
While most of us recognize that excess sugar causes weight gain, many Americans are unaware of the more severe health consequences that can accompany overconsumption.
Over time, consuming high amounts of refined and added sugars simply overloads the metabolic system. Pushed in an unnatural direction, your liver responds by changing excess sugar into fat, your pancreas responds by overproducing insulin and your blood vessels respond by constricting.
If overconsumption continues for years or decades, the consequences can become life-threatening: fatty liver disease, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer (caused by years of low-grade inflammation) and more.
What’s especially troubling is how prevalent Type 2 diabetes is now. According to the CDC, 1 in 8 Americans has diabetes, with most having Type 2. Also worrisome: More children, teens and young adults are developing Type 2 diabetes than ever before.
Fortunately, we can often put Type 2 diabetes into remission by losing weight, staying active and eating fewer processed sugars.
Of course, easier said than done, especially now when Sweets Season is in full swing. But there’s always a beginning, even if it’s as small as using one teaspoon of sugar versus two in your morning coffee.
Tips for Cutting Back on Sugar
• Don’t go cold turkey
Banishing sweets overnight usually leads to intense cravings and binging later. Begin by consuming smaller amounts of sweets and continue on this healthier path until your goals are achieved.
• Read food and drink labels carefully
“Nutrition Facts” appear on most products today and list both total and added sugars. Aim for less than 25-36 grams a day. Pepsi, for example, packs 41 grams (10 teaspoons) of sugar into a single 12-ounce serving, exceeding recommended limits in one fell gulp!
• Swap your drinks
Replace sugary sodas and juices with water (plain, sparkling or boosted with slices of fruit), herbal teas and other unsweetened beverages.
• Snack on fruits
Satisfy your sweet tooth with nature’s candy. The natural sugars take longer to digest and come with all sorts of nutrients in tow.
• Go from added to natural
Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, boost sweetness with slices of fresh, frozen or canned fruit. Choose fruit canned in water or natural juice without added sugar versus fruit canned in syrup.
• Be skeptical of “healthy” and “natural” product descriptions
Buzzwords like “low-fat,” “organic” and “made with whole grains” can trick us into assuming the entire product is healthy, reducing our urge to check the nutrition label. Keep checking!
• Halve it
When baking cookies, brownies, cakes or any other sweet treats, cut the sugar called for by one-third to one-half. Or swap out half the sugar with applesauce. Most won’t notice the difference.
Anne Palumbo is a writer based in the Rochester area. She is the author of Smart Bites, a monthly column about food, which is published every issue in In Goode Health.