Is Sugar Really Bad For You?

This is not the first time I’ve talked about sugar, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last. Many people mistakenly believe that all sugar is bad and leads to diabetes, heart disease, or other metabolic conditions, based on faulty reasoning.

The real issues often stem from terminology. If we can clarify what sugar is and its role in our bodies, we can hopefully dispel some misunderstandings.

Sugars are a type of carbohydrate, one of the three main macronutrients in our diet, along with protein and fat. The three primary types of carbohydrates are sugar, starch, and fiber. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that gives food a sweet taste; it is naturally found in fruits, dairy, honey, and cane sugar. Starch is a complex carbohydrate produced by plants for energy storage, predominantly made up of glucose, and is found in vegetables, legumes, and grains. Fiber is also a complex carbohydrate that isn’t fully digested; instead, it is fermented by the bacteria in our gut.

Carbohydrates are crucial for providing energy to the body and brain, supporting proper function and helping our microbiome and digestive system thrive. Carbohydrates, including sugar, are not inherently bad for your health, even though you may have heard otherwise.

Carbohydrates, like sugar and starch, are broken down by your digestive system into their simplest form: glucose. This glucose enters your bloodstream, prompting an increase in insulin to signal cells that need energy or energy storage.

Some carbohydrates cause glucose spikes more quickly than others. For example, simple sugars lead to a more rapid glucose spike than complex carbohydrates. This process is normal, and your body can handle these spikes, assuming you’re not suffering from a metabolic disease like diabetes.

Many people attempt to demonize this natural process. Continuous glucose monitoring has gained popularity as a result. While there’s nothing wrong with monitoring glucose, it’s unnecessary to eliminate glucose spikes entirely or avoid sugar altogether. Instead, use these tools to see how different foods affect you and determine which may not be the best fit for your body.

Trying to eliminate sugar from your diet to avoid glucose spikes misses the point. It’s akin to saying that since exercise raises blood pressure, you should never exercise because high blood pressure is bad. Yes, your blood pressure increases significantly during exercise to help your body cope with the stress, but it then recovers and tends to lower blood pressure throughout the day. The same principle applies to glucose spikes: when you consume carbohydrates, glucose is released into the blood, and your body responds appropriately.

The real issue lies in the amount of sugar consumed. In the typical American diet, large quantities of carbohydrates and simple sugars are consumed daily, often alongside low activity levels. Remember, the primary role of sugar is to provide energy to the brain and body. If you are not very active, your body requires less sugar, and therefore, less should be consumed.

Chronic overconsumption of sugar, leading to constant glucose spikes, can indeed become problematic. When your body doesn’t need the extra glucose, insulin becomes less effective at driving glucose into cells. The excess sugar is converted to fat, which can increase body fat over time, heightening the risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

So, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, too much sugar is a bad thing, but this doesn’t mean that no sugar in your diet is good. The truth lies somewhere in between. If you are more active, you can tolerate consuming more carbohydrates; if you are less active, you need to reduce them. Depending on your activity level, somewhere between 30-50% of your total dietary intake should come from carbohydrates.

When possible, stick to whole food sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, legumes, and honey. If you’re trying to avoid sugars, pay attention to added sugars. These are listed on labels and refer to sugars added to food products to enhance sweetness, such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, and other sweeteners.

The American Heart Association recommends that men consume no more than 36g of added sugar and women no more than 25g. This might be where some confusion arises—these are recommendations for added sugars, not total sugars. For someone on a 2000-calorie diet, that would translate to 150g-250g of carbohydrates per day.

Finally, let’s not forget that we don’t just consume calories, sugars, proteins, and fats. Food is composed of other nutrients essential for our health.

For instance, while fruit is higher in sugar, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Comparing a serving of grapes with 15g of sugar to a serving of a milk chocolate Hershey’s bar with 17g of sugar, are these equal in terms of nutrients? Of course not. Grapes are rich in polyphenols that benefit your health, despite their sugar content.

Avoiding sugar can lead to a narrow view of nutrition. Instead, let’s adopt a more holistic approach and consider how calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients collectively benefit our bodies. Foods like fruits, vegetables, tubers, whole grains, rice, pasta, and legumes are higher in carbohydrates, just as pastries, cakes, cookies, ice cream, sodas, and juices are. Does it make more sense to seek sugar-free versions of the latter or to consume sugar in the form of whole foods?

I hope this helps clarify some of the fear and confusion surrounding sugar.  If you are looking for a nutrition plan to help you control your sugar levels and make sure you are getting high quality, nutrient dense food in, check out our 28 day challenge program.

Mike Deibler
San Diego Premier Training