Sugar - is it all bad for us?

You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t heard of the - I Quit Sugar Diet.

Sugar has a bad reputation, but should we be avoiding it completely? We’ll answer that question in a moment. First let us learn a little about sugar from Accredited Dietitian and Nutritionist Molly Goode from Healthy Lifestyles Australia.

Types of Sugar (also known as Carbohydrate)

Health beneficial:- Carbohydrates, especially those containing high amounts of fibre.

Not health beneficial:- Added/pure sugars such as honey, agave syrup, brown sugar, white sugar and yes even raw sugar.

Make your sugar count – only consume sources of carbohydrate that will benefit your health. Such as those that contain vitamins, minerals and fibre. Keep reading to learn about these.

Carbohydrates/Sugar

Carbohydrates are simply long chains of sugars all stuck together. The body breaks them down into single sugar molecules. The best types of carbohydrates are those that breakdown slowly and give you long lasting energy. This is something we term Glycemic Index (GI). The following graph demonstrates the effects of quick and slow digesting carbohydrates on the sugar (glucose) levels in the blood.

So which Carbohydrates/Sugar are the best to be having?

Have in moderation (low GI, long lasting energy)

- Fruit

- Dairy

- Wholegrain cereals – rolled oats, grainy crackers

- Starchy vegetables – corn, sweet potato and some white potatoes

Avoid as much as possible (high GI, quick energy spike)

- White bread

- Cornflakes and sugary cereals

- Lollies

-White potato (The regular ones)
-White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar and honey

In terms of weight management, everything in moderation, too much of any type of sugar, whether it’s quick or slow digesting, will cause weight gain.

So why not just give up sugar?

Our bodies need some carbohydrate/sugar to function at optimal health. In most instances the brain and nervous system cannot use any other substance apart from sugar for energy. Therefore, without carbohydrate/sugar, our brain and nervous system may not function at 100%. Our bodies shift into fasting mode; this means your metabolism decreases and your muscles and fat are broken down into ketones. These ketones are used to fuel the brain because they act like sugars. This is okay in the short term, you’ll experience temporary symptoms of slow thinking, bad breath and fatigue. But in the long term you can experience long term muscle mass loss and potentially kidney damage1.

So not too much, and don’t have none. How much are you consuming?

The National Health Survey has shown that, on average, Australians consume the equivalency of 23 teaspoons of added sugar per day (ABS national health survey). These are the sugars with no health benefit. Clearly we are not choosing the right sources of sugar in Australia.

Overall message

So back to the question should I avoid sugar? The short answer is no, but we need to make sure we’re consuming the right types.

Have a moderate amount of sugar from high fibre and health beneficial carbohydrate sources. For more information about the dietary guidelines visit www.eatforhealth.gov.au. To know how much sugar is the right amount to for you and how to optimise your health, come and see one of our expert Dietitians.

Molly Goode (Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist)

References:

1.Paoli, A., et al. (2013). "Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets." Eur J Clin Nutr 67(8): 789-796.