Dig into the Sweet stuff, but is it all bad??

Sugar is widely seen as the devil in the Health industry these days, and in many cases rightly so! It’s hidden and disgusted, engineered and masked by bro-science.

That said, sweet taste create a pleasure response that is hard-wired into the brain. The taste sensation of sweet foods paired with their ability to alleviate stress and even reduce symptoms of pain and depression make it very difficult for some to control their sugar intake.

Despite the psychological benefits, the key with sugary foods is indeed mindfulness and moderation.

Much like this blog post, personalised & effective understanding with good timing is key. As well as moderation!

Over-consumption, especially of the wrong kinds of sugar, comes with a whole host of health problems including obesity, cardiovascular disease, skin issues, and more.

So, what Is Sugar?

Sugar is the common name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates more commonly these days refined sugar.

Sugar naturally occurring in foods we have been consuming since forever, modern, processed foods often contain refined added sugars that are anything but natural. These processed sugars, are especially easy to over-consumed, can lead to a number of long-term health disorders.

Sugar comes in a few forms scientifically - sucrose, fructose, and glucose.

Sucrose is the scientific name for table sugar, which is made up of fructose and glucose.

Glucose and fructose are the sugars found in foods ranging from fruits and vegetables to dairy, grains, and processed foods.

Although all three are considered ‘sugar’, their chemical structures vary wildly, and the way that your body digests and metabolises them dictates, well everything.

Understanding the difference between types of sugars and their impacts on the body is imperative to incorporating sweetness into your life without harming your health.

In terms of health benefits, sugar can be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depending on where it is derived from, how it was processed, and how much is consumed. When sugar from unhealthy sources is eaten in excess, it can definitely say it could lead to negative health effects such as metabolic disorders and weight gain. On the other hand, healthy forms of sugar, when consumed intelligently and at the right times (perhaps post exercise, for example), can be incorporated into a balanced diet, and even used to optimise an athlete’s performance & recovery.

Not All Sweetness is Created Equal

Whether or not a specific source of sugar is healthy depends on where it comes from, how it was made and the nutritional profile. Fructose to glucose ratios, glycemic index, etc.

the Unhealthy?

Glucose and fructose are the building blocks of carbohydrates, and they are found naturally in whole foods like fruit, honey, and starchy vegetables. Although they can contain varying amounts of fructose and glucose, all whole-foods naturally contain a combination of the two.

Glucose and fructose are also found in processed foods, but often in their refined, isolated forms (like high-fructose corn syrup, which is a highly concentrated fructose derived from corn).

The highly-processed, isolated sugars are typically associated with health issues. For example, excess pure fructose consumption is linked to serious health issues such as dyslipidemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and even type 2 diabetes.

Also highly-processed sugars lose much of their nutritional density, which means you are left with all the calories and few, if any, of the nutritional benefits. Compare refined white sugar and coconut sugar, both of which are indeed processed sugars, but the degree of processing is vastly different and so the is the impact on the body. Coconut sugar has a glycemic index nearly half that of white sugar (35 vs. 65) and is loaded with minerals and vitamins lost in the processing of white sugar… expect blood sugar spikes, energy crashes, mood, and negative effects on body composition.

In short, avoid heavily processed sugars that are void of beneficial nutrients and are more likely to have negative health effects.

the Healthy?

By preserving nutrients, natural sugars become more than a simple macronutrient. Actually this could be a nice rule in our personal nutritional guides we all live by!

Vitamins and minerals perform literally hundreds of roles in the body. Everything from healing wounds to boosting the immune system, to converting food into energy and repairing cellular damage – opting for nutrient-dense sugars has positive benefits on your health, without the negative impacts of refined sugar.

The Best Natural Sweetener?

Honey has a unique metabolic effect on the body that is far different than refined sugars, despite its high fructose content. Raw honey contains enzymes and other proteins, trace minerals, B vitamins, antioxidants, prebiotics, probiotics, flavonoids, and other polyphenols (antioxidants).

The key with honey is to only use real honey, because studies have demonstrated that artificial ‘honey’ has the complete opposite effect on the body. This honey impostor is commonly found on supermarket shelves so it’s important to read labels.

But honey, fruit, and stevia aren’t the only healthy, natural, and nutrient-dense sweeteners. Other options include:

Eat Responsibly

Picking a healthy sugar source is only half the battle, It also matters when and how you consume it.

The hardcore anti-sugar craze that is sweeping the health world is extreme. No-carb can result in yo-yo style deprivation - into a sugar binge.

A responsible amount of sweetener would depend on your level of activity and lifestyle, as well as your goals. Someone who is more active can typically take in more sugar, as they’re depleting glycogen stores through frequent physical activity.

To find your ‘sweet’ spot (pun intended), keep an eye or a note on your energy levels and cravings around sugar timings and usages.

Replenishment After Exercise

Glycogen is a form of glucose that is stored in your liver and muscles. This reserve energy is depleted throughout the day simply by living and rapidly depleted when you exercise vigorously. When glycogen stores are depleted, exercise becomes more difficult as fatigue sets in.

Sugar is one of the quickest ways to replenish glycogen stores, and consuming sugar when glycogen is low gives the sugars somewhere to go. Incorporating sweetness into your diet post-workout is a way to harness the power of sugar without over-saturating your blood with glucose and causing an insulin response.

For the same reason that you want to cross-train, incorporating diet variation can prevent a plateau and continue growth.

Diet variation can be executed in multiple different ways. Common variations include:

• Daily, weekly, or monthly carbohydrate refeeds, depending on your individual activity levels, health status, and goals. For women following a lower-carb diet, a monthly refeed where you spend an entire week eating more carbohydrates can work very well during the week of the menstrual cycle, as the body is more efficient at metabolising glucose.

• Finally, why not try a seasonal variation? It is probably the most ancestrally relevant, whereby winters are spent lower carb, and summers (where there is an abundance of fruit) is higher carb.