Types of Sugar and Our Body
Types of Sugar and Our Body
We hear so much about sugar these days. Our body uses two different types of fuel sources. If you’re not using ketones as fuel, as on a ketogenic diet, then you’re burning glucose as fuel. Carbohydrates are long-chain sugars and sugar is a carbohydrate. As we know, carbohydrates provide energy for our bodies. They’re a fast burning energy, especially when compared to ketones, which are a slower, cleaner burning energy. All carbs are turned into glucose by the body to be used as a fuel source. Keep this in mind when eating products like noodles or bread that do not list sugar as an item in the ingredients list. I reiterate, carbs are turned into sugar by our body.
Our brains require about 130 grams of glucose every single day to keep functioning normally. More than this, can actually cause problems and diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Conversely, our brains actually prefer to use ketones as its source of fuel, but that’s for a different blog.
Here’s the thing. Added sugars are a huge problem in the typical American diet. Our bodies cannot differentiate between all the different sugars. Although the sugars are broken down and used by the body in different ways, it cannot tell the difference between the sugar in an apple or the sugar you keep in the canister in your pantry. The biggest difference is when we eat fruit for instance, the sugar cell is wrapped in fiber. When that cell hits our liver, it’s a slow burn to get that sugar molecule unwrapped. Then it is released. The pancreas then, sees the sugar and shoots out insulin to take care of it and get it out of the blood. (Think of this as insulin sensitive.) When added sugar, like from cakes, donuts, waffles, pancakes, etc., hits the liver, there isn’t a nice wrapping of fiber. That sugar is released right away, the pancreas sees it and is now shooting out tons of insulin in the body to get rid of the sugar in the blood. It panics and starts shoving all that glucose into fat stores for later. (Think of this as insulin resistance.)
Here are some of the common types of sugars.
Fructose and Glucose – These types of sugars come in naturally packaged foods like fruits and vegetables, and honey. These foods are calorie-dense and loaded with fiber.
Lactose – This type of sugar is found in dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt.
Maltose – This type of sugar comes from grains and is found in beer and malted drinks.
Sucrose - Sucrose is found in fruits and vegetables as well, but also in sugar cane (highly processed) and sugar beets (gmo crop). This type of sugar is processed and sold in the grocery stores and is used for baking, mixing in drinks, sprinkling on foods, etc. Granulated sugars have no fiber and contain empty calories.
The most serious offenders to our health to look out for would be high fructose corn syrup (or any version of this name), sucralose, aspartame, and saccharine.
How much sugar should we be eating daily?
“According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are: Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons) Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).” I personally think this is still quite high. I like to keep it at 15 grams or less. I learned this from the Belly Fat Cure. If you’re a person on the healthy ketogenic diet, the goal is to be at 0 grams of sugar daily.
What about sugar substitutes?
Stevia - I personally use an organic Stevia product, however, I don’t always like the taste of Stevia. I think it may be an acquired taste because I have gotten more used to it over the years. Stevia is made from the leaves of the Stevia plant and is 200 to 400 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia does not affect blood or insulin levels. It is said that Stevia does not contribute to dental cavities like regular sugar does. This may be a sugar substitute you would want to think about.
Monk Fruit Sweetener – Monk Fruit sweetener comes from monk fruit, also known as luo han guo or “Buddah fruit”. It is about 10 to 250 times sweeter than sugar. This sweetener does not raise insulin levels as the sweet taste actually comes from antioxidants called mogrosides.
Swerve Sweetener – This sweetener is non-GMO and non-glycemic, which means it does not raise insulin levels. This makes a great sugar substitute because it is an equal one-for-one measurement to regular sugar. This can be a game changer for some of your favorite sweet treats!
FIFTY-NINE NAMES FOR SUGAR:
1. Agave nectar*
2. Aspartame
3. Barbados sugar*
4. Barley malt
5. Beet sugar*
6. Blackstrap molasses*
7. Brown rice syrup*
8. Brown sugar*
9. Buttered syrup*
10. Cane juice crystals*
11. Cane sugar*
12. Caramel*
13. Carob syrup*
14. Castor sugar*
15. Confectioner’s sugar*
16. Corn syrup
17. Corn syrup solids
18. Crystalline fructose*
19. Date sugar*
20. Demerara sugar*
21. Dextran
22. Dextrose
23. Diastatic malt
24. Diatase
25. Ethyl maltol
26. Evaporated cane juice*
27. Florida crystals*
28. Fructose*
29. Fruit juice*
30. Fruit juice concentrate*
31. Galactose
32. Glucose
33. Glucose solids
34. Golden sugar*
35. Golden syrup*
36. Grape sugar*
37. High-fructose corn syrup*
38. Honey*
39. Icing sugar*
40. Invert sugar*
41. Lactose
42. Malt syrup
43. Maltose
44. Maple syrup*
45. Molasses*
46. Muscovado sugar*
47. Organic raw sugar*
48. Panocha*
49. Raw sugar*
50. Refiner’s syrup*
51. Rice syrup
52. Saccharine
53. Sorghum syrup*
54. Sucrose*
55. Sucralose
56. Sugar*
57. Treacle*
58. Turbinado sugar*
59. Yellow sugar*
*Contains fructose
Want to learn more? Check out my Living Naturally Masterclass!!
Source: https://makingsenseofsugar.com/healthy-eating/sugars-and-the-body/
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/sugar-101
https://www.meandjorge.com/2009/12/how-belly-fat-cure-works-for-me.html
http://kaseysfit.blogspot.com/2010/09/belly-fat-cure-156-value-key-to-success.html
https://foodinsight.org/what-is-monk-fruit/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/swerve-sweetener
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/56-different-names-for-sugar