Addicted to the sweet stuff? Nicole M. Avena shares her expert advice for feeding your body with healthy sugars and ditching the bad ones
If you have a sweet tooth, ditching sugar from your diet can feel like an impossible feat. With our modern food systems, working out good from bad can be tricky, especially when it comes to labels like ‘natural sugars’, ‘natural sweeteners’ and so on.
A sugar is a carbohydrate, but this doesn’t mean that sugar and carbohydrates are the same. Nor does it mean that if you are trying to reduce your added sugar intake you need to cut back on all carbohydrates, or even all foods containing sugars naturally (like fruit). Let me explain why...
Energy supply
All carbohydrates eventually are broken down in our bodies and obtain, among other nutrients, glucose (a type of sugar). Glucose is the energy that is essential for life. It is the fuel for our cells and is used throughout our bodies. Some glucose is used immediately as energy. If it is not used immediately, our bodies store glucose in a different form, called glycogen. When we need extra energy, like when we rigorously exercise, our bodies can use the glycogen stockpiles and turn it into energy. It’s a clever way in which our bodies have evolved so that we don’t have to eat non-stop to have energy – we can store it up for future use.
Some argue that since carbohydrates break down in our bodies into sugars, they should be viewed in the same way as other sugars. I don’t agree with that logic. Here is why: You could eat zero carbohydrates and your body would just make sugar as a fuel (thanks to your liver!). This occurs through a process called gluconeogenesis (translation: gluco = sugar, neo = new, genesis = make, or ‘make new sugar’). Our cells need glucose, a sugar that is a necessary body fuel, to survive. And if we aren’t eating foods that contain carbohydrates that can easily be made into glucose, our bodies will just make it from non-carbohydrate sources, such as protein, lactate from our muscles, and fatty acids.
A fine balance
Blood glucose levels must be maintained within a narrow range for good health. If blood sugar is too high, it results in tissue and organ damage. If it is too low, cellular respiration and energy production can suffer. Therefore, the ability of our bodies to ‘make new sugar’ and regulate blood sugar level is critical. The main advantage of this process is that it helps the body maintain steady blood sugar levels when food contai
