What is sugar?
Sugar is everywhere, and with the aisles in the shops full of chocolate santas, reindeers, sweets, biscuits and cake I thought now was a good time to do a blog post about sugar.
Sugar is thought to be found in 75% of the foods we consume, amounting to as much as 15% of a UK adult’s daily calorie intake – often hidden in processed foods. We all know that excessive sugar is ‘bad’ for us, but it can be overwhelming to get our head around the different types of sugar and how it affects our body – plus the fact that we actually need some sugar in our diet to survive!
The definition of sugar is as follows (Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professionals):
‘Any of several water-soluble simple carbohydrates.’
Categories of sugar
The principal categories of sugars are:
Monosaccharides are single sugars such as:
- glucose (found naturally in fruits and vegetables, as well as in sweets, syrups, honey, desserts and sports drinks);
- fructose (found naturally in fruit); and
- galactose (the main dietary source of galactose is lactose, the sugar in milk and milk products).
Disaccharides are double sugars (two monosaccharides bonded together) such as:
- sucrose (glucose + fructose), most often called table sugar and a natural sweetener derived from sugarcane or beet. It occurs in fruits and vegetables and is often added to foods during processing.
- Lactose (glucose + galactose), most often called milk sugar and found in milk and milk products.
- Maltose (glucose + glucose), found in malt beverages, such as beer and malt liquors.
Monosaccharides and disaccharides are simple sugars found naturally in dairy products, fruit and some vegetables, and in many processed foods like cakes, sweets, chocolate, pastries, breakfast cereals, sauces, dressings, tinned foods, low-fat foods, ready-made meals and soft drinks. Simple sugars are often added to foods to sweeten, prevent spoilage, or improve structure and texture.
Monosaccharides contain just one sugar molecule and as these cannot be broken down any further they get absorbed quickly by the body (hence often leading to sugar “spikes”).
Polysaccharides are sugars made up of repeating units of glucose such as cellulose, starch and glycogen, and they are the complex carbohydrates that form the fibre in our diet.
Sugar alcohols are produced by the reduction of an aldehyde or ketone of a sugar and they are artificial sweeteners like sorbitol, maltitol or xylitol for example (non they don’t contain grain alcohol).
Refined, unrefined and free sugar
We often hear the terms “refined” or “unrefined” sugar, and are let to believe that unrefined sugar is much better for us.
Whilst that is true to a degree, it is still sugar with the same energetic value, and we should treat them both the same.
Refined sugar is extracted from a natural source like sugar cane or sugar beet, and has been processed into a simple sugar like table sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Refined sugar has empty calories and no nutritional value at all. It is broken down immediately and digested quickly, leading to a rise in blood sugar levels (but without feeling full) and possible fat storage if it’s not burnt as energy. Foods high in refined sugars are also often heavily processed or packaged, which is another reason to limit or avoid them.
Unrefined sugar on the other side is the sugar that is naturally present in food, rather than being refined or added, like for example honey, coconut sugar, agave nectar and maple syrup. It’s worth noting that unrefined doesn’t automatically mean unprocessed!
Unrefined sugars contain trace amounts of some minerals and antioxidants but they are an insignificant source of nutrients (other than calories from sucrose).
The term “free sugars” refers to all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus the sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices (as defined by the WHO), and it’s the intake of these free sugars that we need to be mindful of.
What about the sugars in fruit?
Whilst it is absolutely true that fruit and some vegetables contain sugar, this is sugar that occurs naturally, hence referred to as “natural sugar”. The natural sugars in fruits are a mix of sucrose, fructose and glucose, and they are metabolised differently – the fibre in a piece of whole fruit slows down the release of the sugar for example.
Foods containing natural sugars generally come with a variety of other important nutrients, like fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and water.
The sugars in whole fruits and vegetables are also referred to as “intrinsic sugars” as they are naturally bound within the cellular structure of a food.
It’s certainly worth being aware of the sugar content in fruit, and always choose whole fruits over fruit juices for example. When it comes to your number of fruit and vegetable portions per day I always recommend for the vegetable intake to be higher – for example two portions of fruit and 5 portions of vegetables.
Sugar and our health
Whilst we do need sugar / carbohydrates for energy and to live many people consume far too much added sugar in the form of refined sugars and foods with added sugar like sweetened beverages, sugary cereals, sweet snacks, processed or ready-made meals and desserts.
Consuming too much added sugar may take a toll on our health, and diets high in added sugar are strongly linked to medical conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease, a greater risk of depression and damaged oral health. Persistent high blood glucose can have detrimental effects on microvascular and microvascular systems over time.
A high intake of sugar also depletes some minerals including magnesium and calcium, it degrades stores of vitamin D and can lead to decreased absorption rates of vitamin C as high glucose levels inhibits vitamin C from entering our cells – all of which can have wide-spread effects on our health.
We do need sugar to live!
With sugars being a type of carbohydrates, they supply four calories per gram and are our body’s preferred source of energy.
Some glucose is essential for the brain, the central nervous system and red blood cell functionality.
Low levels of glucose lead to decreased levels of insulin, which has a negative impact on the body as it needs healthy insulin levels to function properly.
We do generally get enough sugar from a balanced diet that includes fruit, vegetables, dairy products and other sources of carbohydrates, and the body requires no added sugars to function properly.
Sugar and inflammation
There is plenty of research highlighting the link between excessive sugar intake and inflammation. In short, sugar promotes the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This is down to our bodies having difficulty processing artificial ingredients, seeing sugar as a toxin or foreign body that needs to be attacked and then expelled.
As detailed in my blog post about inflammation and the benefits of anti-inflammatory foods, inflammation is triggered when a foreign substance invades the body, and that’s exactly what happens here.
It’s also good to be aware of artificial sweeteners, and the emerging evidence that these could cause inflammation due to disrupting the gut microbiome and its role in regulating inflammation.
Sugar addiction
If you feel like you have got a sugar addiction that feels impossible to break there might be some explanations for this, including microbial imbalances and yeast overgrowth.
Yeast feed off sugar, and they make us crave sugary foods in order to survive, which is why eliminating these foods is the best way to get rid of them (ie let them starve!).
Common reasons that can lead to yeast overgrowth include antibiotics (which wipe out both the bad and good bacteria, creating an environment for yeast to thrive), a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, impaired digestion and stress.
Always check the labels
The best way to reduce your sugar intake is to consume whole and minimally processed foods, and avoid the hidden sugars.
If you buy any pre-packaged foods I always recommend to check the label for the sugar content and be aware of the different names that sugar goes by, including but not limited to the following:
- raw sugar
- corn sweetener or syrup
- high fructose corn syrup (HCFS)
- brown sugar
- coconut sugar
- fruit juice concentrates
- agave nectar
- honey
- molasses
- maple syrup
- invert sugar
- malt sugar
- treacle sugar
- dextrose
- anhydrous dextrose
- maltodextrin
- fructose
- glucose
- maltose
- sucrose
- lactose
- syrup (various)
Final words
It’s worth bearing all of the above in mind when reaching for unnecessary sugary foods over these next few weeks (and all year round), and to be mindful of foods that contain lots of added sugar.
Saying that, you don’t have to avoid sugar completely and you should not feel guilty for enjoying the odd sugar-containing treat – just try and make sure to have a healthy, nutrient-dense diet for the majority of the time in order to give your body all the nutrients it needs for optimal health.
Sugar is also just one component of our diet and it is not solely responsible for obesity and other conditions in our society.
Work with me
As always, if you have any questions or comments regarding this post then please feel free to get in touch or check out my 1:1 consultation package if you interested in a personalised programme to address any of your own health concerns.
I’d love to have an initial chat on the phone / via Facetime or Zoom with you to answer any questions about Nutritional Therapy and how we can work together on optimising your health, just get in touch!
Thank you for reading and keep well x
