Ask Dr. Vicki: Sugar Sugar Sugar

Vicki Rhoades, ND

By Vicki Rhoades, ND

Sugar. Let’s discuss it. If you are truly attached to your sugar, just move along to the next article, and leave the editor alone. I’m not trying to grab it out of your very hands. I’m just giving you some facts to consider.

We all know that we eat it, and mostly we eat too much of it. Sugar may not be entirely responsible for the epidemic of obesity in America, but it’s a major player. Sugar is everywhere. It’s in fast foods and prepared foods – not just in desserts and soda pop, but in everything from most spaghetti sauces to granola bars and breads and beyond. It’s amazing what you find when you read labels.

What is sugar, exactly? Sugars are compounds that contain certain chemical elements that make them sweet – the chemical name ends in “-ose.” Sucrose, glucose, and fructose are all sugars from natural sources. If you read a label and there is an ingredient ending in “-ose”, it’s in the sugar family. Sometimes, it’s an artificial sugar, such as Sucralose, made to taste sweet while minimizing calories – that doesn’t make it healthy, just calorie-free. Lactose (as in “lactose intolerant”) is milk sugar. Sugars are sometimes called “simple carbs” or “simple carbohydrates.”

Plain white sugar is refined from sugar cane and has virtually no other nutrients in it. Other sugars, like brown sugar, honey, and syrups, contain trace amounts of vitamins and minerals as well as sugars, although the amount of these other nutrients is truly small. Mostly, these sweeteners contain nothing other than sugars.

High fructose corn syrup is a cheap sweetener that is used in a lot of pre-made products – as the name implies, it is high in fructose (a sugar). Manufacturers use it because it’s cheaper.

Fruit contains sugars (fructose). Fruits – especially ripe fruit, is sweet, and contains plenty of vitamins, some minerals, and fiber. We are genetically programmed to like sweet foods, because fruit is sweetest when it’s ripest and therefore has the greatest amount of nutrients. When we eat fruit, we are getting nutrients. Juices have little to no fiber, and our bodies process the fructose much more quickly; however, other nutrients remain in the juice.

There are some natural sweeteners that are touted as healthier – agave, xylitol and stevia, for example. While there are some data on the health claims for these sweeteners, they are probably best used occasionally. Agave and xylitol are expensive, and some people find stevia to have a bitter aftertaste (although it can be used to sweeten foods with strong flavors, like cinnamon, and the bitter flavor is masked). Additionally, they reinforce our taste for sweet foods.

Closely allied to sugars, are refined starches, such as white flour and white rice. Gluten free flours frequently falls into this category as well. These refined starches have had fiber (and other nutrients) removed, making their conversion to sugar faster, and their absorption into the bloodstream faster as well. As a double whammy, refined starches are frequently combined with sugars to make cakes, pies, pastries, and so on. The good news is, breads and pastas made from whole grain, contain more fiber (slowing down sugar’s absorption) and more vitamins and minerals as well. I include refined starches under the general heading of “sugary foods,” because they are broken down and absorbed quickly, nearly as fast as actual sugars.

Why are sugars a problem in our diets? Sugars are a problem partly because we eat sugary foods instead of nutrient-rich foods, so we miss out on needed fiber, vitamins and minerals. Plus, sugary foods may be eaten in excess of our total calorie needs – our diets may be otherwise healthy, but adding the sugary foods means that we are eating too many total calories, resulting in weight gain.

To be clear, we need sugar in our bloodstream, specifically, glucose. Not too much, not to little – either extreme is dangerous. But just the right amount; and we don’t need to eat straight sugar to get it, either. We can make our blood sugars from the starches in some vegetables and whole grains, the fructose in fruits, even from proteins. These sources are far less likely to cause sudden increases in blood sugar.

Sugary foods raise our blood sugars more quickly. Elevated blood sugars can be harmful to internal organs; to protect these organs, the pancreas releases insulin when blood sugars are high. This insulin unlocks the “door” to the fat cells to let the sugar in and be converted to fat, which lowers the blood sugars to safer levels. Unfortunately, the pancreas can over-react to these sudden surges in blood sugar, and release too much insulin. Our blood sugars drop too far, and our brains don’t have enough sugar to operate efficiently – this is called “hypoglycemia”. This condition leaves us shaky, moody, and perhaps even feeling faint. And what do we crave to fix low blood sugars? MORE SUGAR.

Is this a familiar pattern of sugar-induced highs and lows? Many people start the day with a latte (those syrups add sugar), a pastry (sugar plus refined white flour), and perhaps juice (remember, less fiber and the fruit sugar is taken into your body more like sugar). They get tired around 10 am. What’s in the vending machine at work – candy? Then by lunch time, get a sandwich, and another latte (make it a vente, a lot of the day is still left) and maybe a cookie. A mid-afternoon can of pop with high fructose corn syrup. Then comes dinner – time for some healthy food – pasta is healthy, right? Well, it is usually made from refined flour. And ice cream for dessert.

Don’t get me wrong – no single element in that day is horrible. The total amount consumed, day after day, is the problem. If this sounds like your routine, you may want to break it up with less sugar and refined flour – substitute in some vegetables, or a piece of fruit, and a protein source, and you will find that as you add fiber, vitamins, and minerals into your diet, that you are more satisfied with what you eat. Have a whole grain sandwich with lettuce and tomato and turkey slices, and that’s a gain over a plain white bread sandwich with turkey. Aim for real food – not fake food. As a simple definition, fake foods come from factories. Real food comes from plants and animals. I wish you all well.

Do you need more help? Start by reading Michael Pollans’ book, 'In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto.'  If you need additional help, I’m happy to help you out – just book an appointment. No, I don’t eat perfectly. And I love food, all food; but I do my best to eat real food and not fake food.