How Much Sugar is Too Much?

It’s a confusing time to follow nutritional guidelines with so many misconceptions, manipulated information and contradicting theories. But one thing is safe and that’s the fact that added sugar is never a good thing.

The addictive substance is at an all-time high and the epidemic of sugar isn’t something that should be scoffed about. The worst part about it is that many of us are completely unaware of the effects and what foods actually contain added sugar or sugar of another kind. We try to address this issue and help with numerous tips and the detrimental effects caused by sugar.

Important Tips When Addressing Your Sugar Intake

There’s a big difference between naturally occurring sugars and added sugar. You can expect to find sugar in bananas and many exotic fruits too, it’s probably best not to go overboard on these fruits but it’s not a main concern. When looking to reduce your sugar overload, the fruit in your diet should be the last aspect that you look to tackle. It’s good to become more mindful and know what choices you are making, this way you don’t have to make drastic changes but you will finally see why you may not be getting the desired benefits you’ve been looking for.

·      Check your foods for added sugar, you’ll find many cereals, pasta and bread with added sugar.

·      Sugar can be added via another name such as agave nectar, corn syrup, honey, sucrose, fructose, corn sweetener, dextrose, molasses, glucose and sucrose.

·      You’ll be able to break down the sugar content on the package, it will say ‘of which sugars’ and then reveal the amount of sugar in that particular food.

Food & Drinks You Were Unaware Contained High Sugar

Some of the aforementioned tips pinpoint how sugar unsuspectingly finds its way into our foods. The fact it might be labelled as no added sugar can’t always guarantee that other damaging sweeteners haven’t been labelled in there. There are a number of foods and convenient snacks that have a heap of sugar too. That’s why it’s always best to prepare your own food.

·      Fizzy Drinks

·      Energy Drinks

·      Fruit Juice

·      Coffee/Capuccino

·      Sandwiches

·      Pasta Meals

·      Salad

·      Cereal

·      Tins of Fruit

These companies are running a business and by simply providing a tasty meal they will no doubt attract your custom once again. But you were probably completely unconscious to these sugary products. A lot of energy drinks and fizzy drinks contain a ridiculous amount of sugar and that’s why they are so bad for our health. Your typical can of coke provides you with 39 grams of sugar, which equals over 9 teaspoons. Coffee is generally okay if you make your own or opt for black Americano but those who favour a full cappuccino or hot chocolate shouldn’t be disillusioned by this choice. Like most things, they are great to enjoy in moderation but it’s good to be aware of these choices.

Effects On Our Health

 Our body endures a number of bad effects when we consume too much sugar and we can often put on weight, suffer from diabetes or even be more likely to fall victim to a heart disease.

Diabetes

The primary function of insulin is to pump the glucose from bloodstreams to cells. But when maintaining a poor diet high in sugars, we can become resistant to insulin and that subsequently increases the amount of insulin created by our pancreas. A huge 300 million worldwide suffer from diabetes, predominantly in Western countries, this is down to the damage done to insulin in our bodies that is a consequence of too much sugar.

Obesity

The previous point about the damage done to how insulin carries our glucose is also a factor that affects our weight. Obesity can be caused by all of the insulin stored by our pancreas. Too much sugar also creates leptin resistance, which is another way that we can gain a lot of weight. Another reason it can lead to weight gain is down to the fact that there’s no satiety in sweeteners, they just make us eat more.

Heart Disease

Sugar raises the bad cholesterol in our body and can cause various issues that essentially lead to heart disease. There are a number of triglycerides and insulin sensitivity which all has a knock-on effect to our heart health.

Addiction

It’s not something to be dismissed, the public are now desensitised to sugar and seem to overlook the importance of reducing our intake. It’s highly addictive and those weaning off it will have withstand headaches, aches and mood swings. Many have laughed at the drug comparison but it releases chemicals in our brain just like cocaine. The dopamine released keeps us coming back to this strong white stuff and as funny as it may sound it is likely that you are addicted to this additive.

Improve Your Health

Sugar, fructose and glucose are part of a complex subject and one that can’t be comprehended on the first read. If you’re attempting to fathom how sugar works in the body then start looking up the role of insulin, triglycerides and other key points mentioned in this article. Don’t be afraid to eat fruit, but do start to make some of the transitions as you look to reduce the sugar in your diet. Get items with no added sugar or pick up all the ingredients you need with Sainsburys promo codes, Waitrose discount codes and Tesco promotional codes.

 By Daniel Treasure, 3rd October 2016