The BitterSweet Truth Behind Added Sugar
For a long time now, we have known of the health issues that can arise when we overeat on added sugar, that is by now found in almost all processed and packaged foods, whether sweet or salty. With the globalization and industrialization of the world, sugar has become more accessible, easier to trade and increasingly more processed. We now have and use different types of added sugars, whether that is sugar which comes from sugar cane or other sources such as beets, artificial sweeteners and various syrups made from plant material. Either way, no matter what kind of added sugar we are talking about, we are consuming a lot of it.
Although between the years of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, the world sugar consumption had slightly declined from 172.6 million metric tonnes to 171.6 million metric tones, the average American is still consuming about 70 grams of added sugar per day - in any form - which is about 17 teaspoons per day that adds up to a staggering 60 pounds or roughly 30 kilos of added sugar consumed in a single year by a single individual.
This is heavily out of proportion to what is the recommended upper limit of our added sugar intake, which is why we have to be aware of how excessive added sugar consumption impacts our longterm health, be able to identify the hidden sources of added sugar in our diet and learn how we can eat less of it.
WHAT ARE ADDED SUGARS?
To those who may not yet be familiar with the term "added sugar", added sugars are simple sugars that are not naturally present in our food, but have to later be manually added into our food for various reasons during the processing of the food. Added sugars are the opposite of natural sugars, which are naturally found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains, legumes and starches.
Sugars, whether added or natural in their simple form are all eventually broken down into simple carbohydrate molecules by our bodies enzymes and biochemical reactions, which enable us to use the food we ingest as energy. Because added sugars are primally sourced from processed foods, they are high in calories without having a great nutritional profile since they lack the intrinsic nutrients such as water, fibre, vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients.
Some examples of added sugars include:
Syrups (High Fructose Corn syrup, malt, maple, agave)
Artificial sweeteners
Honey (Even-though honey is technically a natural sugar because it comes from a natural source, it is still regarded as an added sugar as it is often used as an additive in our food to sweeten the flavour)
DIETARY SOURCES
As previously mentioned, added sugars are mostly obtained from processed foods, which is nowadays more available than ever before, meaning that it is very easy for us to overeat on sugars if we are not mindful of what and how much we are consuming. Sugary drinks such as sodas, fruit juices and sports drinks are all heavily sweetened either with syrups or artificial sweeteners, which makes them a major source of added sugar in our diet.
To put things into perspective, a 12oz or 350ml can of Coca Cola has 39 grams of sugar which is a single serving surpasses what is the maximum recommend a daily intake of added sugar for us. And 39 grams is only from a small can that can easily drink in one sitting, so you can only imagine how much sugar you can easily consume by drinking more than one can.
Secondly, after sweetened drinks, are processed snacks and cereals such as highly processed breakfast cereals, granolas, chips and crackers. Although plenty of snacks are savoury and salty, sugar is still added to them to balance out the flavours and make the taste more addicting, to get us to buy more.
Lastly, we also get added sugars from deserts such as cakes, cookies, pastries, ice creams and even yoghurts - many of which claim to be "natural" and "healthy" but can often be loaded with extra sugars.
WHY SO MUCH ADDED SUGAR?
While sugars are obviously added to food to sweeten them and make the taste more appealing to consumers, there is also plenty of other reasons why food manufacturers use more sugar.
Apart from improving taste, adding sugar improves the texture, colour and general appearance of the food. Just like salt, it also acts as a preservative in foods such as jams and jellies, as well as providing the energy for bacteria that enables the process of fermentation to begin, which allows for the making of bread, pastries and beer. Besides that, it also increases the size of food by acting as a bulking agent and lastly, sugar has the property of reducing the acidity of food, such as food counting tomatoes or vinegar.
PROBLEMS OF ADDED SUGARS
POOR NUTRITIONAL PROFILE
Since added sugars are predominantly obtained through the processing of food, they lack important nutrients while being heavy in calories. Because they lack nutrients such as water and fibre, it is easier for us to overeat on them, since they do not satiate our hunger for long.
Also, because we have established that added sugars are most commonly found in heavily processed food, if we eat a lot of added sugars, it means we are consuming more of already packaged foods that besides from being high in sugars are also high in sodium, artificial additives, chemicals and other substances that our bodies do not thrive on.
HEART DISEASE
More and more research is coming out, indicating a relationship between high added sugar consumption and a greater incidence for developing heart disease.
One study concluded that adults who ate 12-30 teaspoons of sugar each day had a one third increased risk for developing heart disease, while adults who consumed more than 30 teaspoons of sugar in a single day, had a three times higher risk for dying from heart disease. What was interesting however is that age, gender, physical activity or their BMI, had no effect on the risk of developing heart disease; meaning that you could have been otherwise a healthy individual who was active, fit and had no health conditions, but if you added sugar intake surpassed a certain level, your incidence of heart disease was much greater.
This tells us that lifestyle factors are one part of the equation, but the main part is reducing our added sugar intake
Exactly why added sugar contributes to more instances of heart disease is still being researched with many open possibilities currently circulating as explanations.
One explanation is that when we eat high amounts of sugar, our liver metabolizes that sugar into fat for storage (if there is not enough sugar being needed by the body at the moment). When our liver stores too much fat, it turns into a health condition known as Fatty liver disease that not only makes you more prone to developing diabetes but you guessed it; also heart disease.
Another possible explanation is that when we over a long period of time consume too much-added sugar, it increases our blood pressure and with that, inflammation in our bodies, both of which ave been correlated with developing heart disease
Additionally, a third explanation has arisen which states that excessive added sugar consumption through our diet increases the prevalence of triglycerides in our bloodstream which are specialized fat molecules that circulate through our blood and if we have too many of them, they overtime cause our arteries to stiffen and contract, which increases our chances for stroke or heart disease.
Before, when talking about the sources of added sugars in our diet, we have mentioned High Fructose Corn (HFC) syrup that by now is found in almost all commercially processed foods, and has been shown to be linked with diabetes, fatty liver disease, weight gain and later on even heart disease. HFC syrup is a sweetener derived from corn starch and is by composition, roughly half in fructose and half glucose, that makes it an ideal sweetener for beverages and food. Because of the high concentration of fructose that we are ingesting with heavily processed foods containing HFC syrup, our liver converts and stores more of that fructose as fat, making us more likely to develop fatty liver disease and heart disease.
DIABETES
Researchers have said that drinking 350 ml of any sugary soda every single day increase your risk for diabetes by 26% as well as your risk for high blood pressure, which has also been linked with higher instances of heart disease
Fructose from processed foods that lack fibre, water and micronutrients, as opposed to fructose naturally found in whole foods, is one of the main factors in escalating your risk for developing diabetes. As previously said, when our body is flooded with fructose, our liver metabolizes it into fat and stores it, which over time leads to fatty liver disease, inflammation as well as insulin resistance - that is greatly linked with type 2 diabetes. If we are insulin resistant or prone to becoming insulin resistant, our chances of getting diabetes are very high - especially if we continue to make poor lifestyle choices.
WEIGHT GAIN AND OBESITY
it is also worth mentioning that food and drinks that are high in added sugar make our blood sugar levels spike soon after ingestion, but also make them plummet not long after that, which makes us reach for another cookie or another can of soda to get our energy levels back, but that only worsens and repeats the cycle of rising and falling blood sugar levels.
As general information, carbohydrates such as white sugar and syrups carry about 4 calories worth of energy for every gram. Previously where we used Coca Cola as an example, we saw that roughly a 350 ml bottle contains 39 grams of sugar which adds up to around 150 calories per can - almost all of which is from added sugar.
With processed food being so widely available today, it is easier than ever to overeat on sugar. This is not only observed in the adult population but also in the younger demographic where we are seeing increasingly more younger children becoming overweight, obese or even developing chronic health conditions that usually appeared later on in life.
Besides the satiety factor that processed food lacks, the fructose which we ingest via processed food encourages our liver to metabolize and store more of it as fat, that makes it easier to put on weight, but much harder to put off.
TOOTH DECAY
Since the day that you first grew teeth, you were encouraged to wash your teeth properly and not eat too many sweets, because you were told that it is bad for your dental health - and that still holds true.
Studies done on the dental health of American adults showed that adults who drank 1-2 sugary drinks each day had 30% more dental diseases as in comparison to adults who consumed no sugary drinks.
If we have poor oral and dental hygiene as well as consume large amounts of added sugar, it promotes bacteria in our mouth to multiply and feed off any sugary debris that is left in our mouth. While feeding on sugar, they release acids that corrode our teeth and result in dental cavities. One thing you can directly do is take proper care of your teeth, while also being mindful about how much processed sugar you consume.
IDENTIFYING ADDED SUGARS
On modern-day nutrition labels, added sugars come disguised under many different names and forms that we initially would not even recognize as being sweetening agents.
Here are some general rules for locating added sugars on food labels:
Any mentioning of "syrup"
Words ending in "ose", such as maltose, fructose, dextrose, galactose etc.
Various juices like cane juice
Evidence of direct sugars such as palm sugar
Syrups, most commonly in the form of High Fructose Corn syrup, agave or maple syrup
Honey
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE EAT?
Now that we are aware of all of the main ways of how added sugars impact our health, where they are found and under what names they come hidden as, how much is actually advised to eat? How much is too much?
First, let’s establish that our body can live perfectly well without added sugar. If we are obtaining our carbohydrates or sugars in their whole natural form we are not only getting more natural sugar varieties but we also plenty of other nutrients along too, such as water, fibre and micronutrients. However, if we treat ourselves every so often to a serving of added sugar whether that be cake, ice cream or something savoury it’s not an issue as long as it doesn't become a habitual practice that quickly leads us to consume more than what is advised for our well being.
The maximal recommended serving of added sugar is varied, where there is no exact single recommend serving size, as different health association around the world will recommend different amounts. For example, the American Heart Association states that the maximum amount of added sugar that should be consumed in a day is 36 grams (9 teaspoons) for men and 24 grams (6 teaspoons) for women. The Dietary Guideline for Americans says that added sugar should not exceed 10% of your daily calorie intake, which comes to about 12 teaspoons for a diet that is 2000 calories.
As a general rule of thumb, the less you can eat the better but exceeding the limit of 9 teaspoons per day seems to be regarded as being harmful to your health. Be mindful and aware of how much you are consuming, especially since sugar has now become so well hidden in our food culture.
HOW TO DECREASE YOUR SUGAR CONSUMPTION
Replace store-bought ketchup with salsa and swap out sugary salad dressings with homemade healthier varieties
Switch out sodas for sparkling water, normal water, flavoured water with fruit and herbs, tea or even coconut water
Sweeten your deserts with apple sauce, whole fruit or dates
Instead of using sugary condiments, use half of an avocado or a dollop of humous that can satisfy your cravings just as much
Store-bought cereals and granolas can often be loaded with sugar, so try out more natural varieties like muesli, plain oats or even making your own granolas at home for several servings
The environment around you is key, so if it is hard for you to initially build a responsible relationship with sugar, get rid of it completely in your kitchen cabinets or replace it with better alternatives such as honey
Try dark chocolate instead of milk. Start at around 70% cacao and work your way up as you start liking the taste
Buy full-fat yoghurts, dressings, sauces or any other product, because often when a product is reduced in fat, it is higher in added sugars to compensate for the loss of appealing flavour that fat brings
Start incorporating more whole foods into your diet instead of heavily packaged foods
Learn how to read nutrition labels and identify all the various names that sugar hides behind
Try out natural artificial sweeteners such as Stevia, Erythritol and Xylitol, which do not cause an increase in blood sugar spikes but still provide a sweet flavour
Get enough sleep. Sleep has been shown to be a critical component to balancing your hunger and satiety hormones that control your hunger signals during the day
Don't shop for food when hungry because then you are much more likely to make impulsive food purchases that are often higher in sugar and generally worse for your health
