Are All Sugars Created Equal?

I'm sure you've heard that sugar isn't good for you. You may have even heard that the sugar in fruit isn't good for you either. In fact, everywhere you turn, you are filled with the fears of eating sugar and because of this, you've even avoided the good stuff.

In this article, I will be clearing up the confusion and helping you to understand the difference between added sugars and naturally reoccurring sugars.

Sugar isn't inherently bad for you. Yes, this includes both added sugars and natural sources of sugar. However, when added sugars are over consumed consistently, it can be a bad thing. Let's look at the different types of sugars. Naturally reoccurring sugars are sugars that are found in sources like fruit (Fructose) and milk (lactose) vegetables and other whole sources of foods. Added sugars include any sugars or sweeteners that are added to foods or beverages during processing or preparation.

Natural sugars are also packed with nutrients that your body needs. When it comes to added sugars, they are usually void of nutritional value other than containing calories.

Added sugars and natural sugars metabolize differently. Unlike natural sugars, added sugars are known to lead to crashes. This is when you experience extreme fatigue shortly after consuming them. This is caused by a rapid drop in your blood glucose levels.

Natural sugars have the opposite effect. Natural sugars are processed by the body at a much slower rate. Typically you will not experience those spikes in glucose or crashes.

The most significant difference between added and natural sugars is that added sugars are linked to the development of obesity and other health related issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and inflammation just to name a few.

This does not mean that you can't consume added sugars, it simply means that you need to be mindful of the amount of added sugars your consuming daily.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to (25 grams or 100 calories) per day for women and (36 grams or 150 calories) per day for men.

When you consider that a can of soda contains 30 plus grams of added sugar, you'll soon realize that it does not take much to have a full days worth of added sugars in just a few sips.

Here are a few tips: Eat primarily whole sources of natural sugars to help curb your sweet tooth and read those nutrition labels. Remember, you're not looking for total sugars, you're looking at the "ADDED SUGAR".

I hope this helps

Coach E.

Coach E. is a certified Nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer who helps women learn the importance of nutrition and getting in daily movement to improve their quality of life. She's the founder of EGFIT (A platform that helps women experience a complete transformation, mind and body.