Sugar 101

I woke up this morning to some good news. They fellow I told you about yesterday FINALLY took my advice and went to the doctors. The not so good news is that his doctor diagnosed him with diabetic neuropathy. He is really down about it and unaware of the facts. I emailed him this morning with some words of encouragement.

Diabetic neuropathy is a very common diabetic complication. It is when the nerves are damaged by too much sugar in the blood (Hyperglycemia). The only treatment is to get tight control over your blood sugar levels. Most of the time it is not reversible, although I have heard of some cases where the diabetic got such good control over his blood sugar levels that the nerve endings actually started to heal.

Who knew sugar could cause such a disaster! The fact is, too much sugar can really be dangerous for your health. Sugar has been known to feed cancer cells, trigger weight gain, and cause premature aging (are you listening ladies?).

Here are some crazy facts for you:
In 1700, the average person consumed 4 pounds of sugar per year.
In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.
In 1900, individual consumption increased to about 90 pounds of sugar per year.
In 2009, more than 50 percent of Americans consume one-half pound of sugar per day, that is an average of 180 pounds of sugar per year.

Now for a visual... Imagine that you are the grocery store and you saw someone pushing a cart with 36, 5 pound bags of sugar. You would look at them like they are crazy right? Now go look at yourself in the mirror because their is a huge chance that you consumed that whole shopping cart of sugar last year alone.

It is easy to become confused by the various sugars and sweeteners out there today, so here is a quick overview:

Dextrose, fructose and glucose are all monosaccharides, known as simple sugars. The primary difference between them is how your body metabolizes them. Glucose and dextrose are essentially the same sugar. However, food manufacturers usually use the term “dextrose” in their ingredient list.

The simple sugars can combine to form more complex sugars, like the disaccharide sucrose (table sugar), which is half glucose and half fructose.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose.

Ethanol (drinking alcohol) is not a sugar, although beer and wine contain residual sugars and starches, in addition to alcohol.

Sugar alcohols like xylitol, glycerol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, and erythritol are neither sugars nor alcohols but are becoming increasingly popular as sweeteners. They are incompletely absorbed from your small intestine, for the most part, so they provide fewer calories than sugar but often cause problems with bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.

Sucralose (Splenda) is NOT a sugar, despite its sugar-like name and deceptive marketing slogan, “made from sugar.” It’s a chlorinated artificial sweetener in line with aspartame and saccharin, with detrimental health effects to match.

Agave syrup, falsely advertised as “natural,” is typically HIGHLY processed and is usually 80 percent fructose. The end product does not even remotely resemble the original agave plant.

Honey is about 53 percent fructose[2], but is completely natural in its raw form and has many health benefits when used in moderation, including as many antioxidants as spinach.

Stevia is a highly sweet herb derived from the leaf of the South American stevia plant, which is completely safe (in its natural form). Lo han (or luohanguo) is another natural sweetener, but derived from a fruit.

By now, you should have a nice sugar high :) Remember that buggy full of sugar today when you are sitting down at the table for a meal. Too much sugar is no good, no matter how sweet you are!!

Sweet and Sassy!
-Kimberlee