Sugar
Sugar is a type of carbohydrate, along with fiber and starch. Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy. Whole foods that contain natural sugars are a recommended part of a healthy diet, as plant foods also have high amounts of fiber, essential minerals, and antioxidants, and dairy foods contain protein and calcium. However, refined sugars (like white table sugar) provide calories, but they lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Types of sugar:
Fructose (fruit sugar)
Sucrose (table sugar)
Galactose (pairs with glucose in the body to form lactose)
Glucose (plant sugar)
Lactose (dairy sugar)
Maltose (glucose + glucose, the by-product of other sugars fermenting (found in alcohol))
4 grams of sugar is equal to ~1 teaspoon- keep this in mind when reading nutrition labels to better visualize just how much added sugar the product contains. For example, one 12-ounce can of cola contains 39 grams–almost 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Nutrition labels on packaged foods now lists both “Total Sugars” and “Added Sugars,” however food manufacturers can also use sweeteners that aren’t technically sugar— but these other sweeteners are in fact forms of added sugar.
Below are some other names for sugar that you may see on food labels:
Agave nectar
Dextrose
Maltose
Brown sugar
Evaporated cane juice
Malt syrup
Cane crystals
Fructose
Maple syrup
Cane sugar
Fruit juice concentrates
Molasses
Coconut sugar
Glucose
Raw sugar
Corn sweetener
High-fructose corn syrup
Sucrose
Corn syrup
Honey
Syrup
Crystalline fructose
Invert sugar
The average American adult, teenager, and child consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day, or about 270 calories. While we sometimes add sugar or sweeteners like honey to food or beverages, most added sugar comes from processed foods. The leading sources of added sugars in the U.S. diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, and sweet snacks like ice cream, pastries, and cookies. Less obvious yet significant contributors are breakfast cereals and yogurt.
Added sugars come from a variety of sources and go by many different names, but they are all a source of extra calories and are metabolized by the body the same way. A common misconception exists that some added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup are unhealthy, while others such as agave nectar are healthy.vThe reality is that most added sugars are composed of glucose and fructose in varying ratios., and for the majority of people, one type of sugar isn’t healthier than another. Some types of added sugar — honey, for example — may also contain micronutrients or other bioactive compounds, but these properties have little benefit when it comes to metabolic health.
What does sugar do in the body?
Sugar, like all carbohydrates, provides energy. When sugar enters the body from a whole food source, our bodies digest it slowly, and the sugar offers a steady supply of energy to your cells. A high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
Eating too many carbohydrates can lead to an increase in total calories, which can lead to obesity. Not eating enough carbohydrates can cause a lack of calories (malnutrition), or lead to an excessive intake of fats to make up for the calories not eaten as carbohydrates.
Here are some of the negative effects that consuming too much sugar has on your health:
1) It overloads and damages your liver: The two main components of sugar are glucose and fructose, and most cells in the body are capable of breaking down glucose to use for energy, but fructose is a much different story. The cells of the liver are virtually the only ones in the body capable of breaking down fructose, and when there is too much of it present, fructose gets stored as fat. These fat droplets build up in the liver cells, and lead to a disease known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which prior to about 1980 was unheard of, but which now afflicts about 30% of adults in the developed countries of the world.
The damage from excess fructose is not limited to the liver however. The New England Journal of Medicine described in a 2010 article how people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are likely to also have buildups of cholesterol-filled plaque coursing through their arteries. When this situation occurs, high blood pressure becomes a typical side-effect, and coronary disease becomes a much likelier possibility. Heart function is also negatively impacted by the elevated levels of triglycerides and the increase in free radicals commonly partnered with excess sugar levels.
2) It affects your insulin and leptin signaling:
The pancreas is a gland that specializes in digestive functions and in regulating the amount of nutrients entering the bloodstream, one of which is glucose from sugar. The pancreas also produces insulin, which controls the level of glucose in the bloodstream, so if the pancreas becomes overwhelmed by the intake of excess sugars, it’s not hard to understand why its normal functionality could be disturbed. In some cases, excess sugar intake can lead to a complete cessation of insulin production (which results in Type I Diabetes), while in other cases the body loses its ability to use the insulin produced, and it just builds up in the bloodstream (which can lead to Type II Diabetes).
Fructose fools your metabolism by turning off your body’s appetite-control system. It fails to stimulate insulin, which in turn fails to suppress ghrelin, or “the hunger hormone,” which then fails to stimulate leptin or “the satiety hormone.” This causes you to eat more and develop insulin resistance.
3) It causes metabolic dysfunction:
Eating too much sugar causes a barrage of symptoms known as classic metabolic syndrome. These include weight gain, inflammation, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL, elevated blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure.
All of the above effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease— are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke
However, removing all sugar from your diet means you might miss important nutrients found in fruits, whole grains and dairy. Without sugar, our bodies must find alternative sources of energy. So, they use ketone bodies (substances produced by the liver) for fuel in place of glucose (which is the body’s preferred energy source).
The takeaway: The body needs carbohydrates to function, but carbohydrates from added sugars should be mostly avoided. Most packaged food products that have a lot of added sugar, however many of these products use a variety of sweeteners by names other than “sugar”, so be sure to scan the full ingredient list. All types of sugar are metabolized in the body in basically the same way. Fortunately, the updated Nutrtion Facts label in the U.S. now features a separate line for “added sugar” so it easier to know just how much is added versus naturally occurring. The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease— are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.