Sugar 101 (and 3 Easy Swaps)
If you were to take only one piece of health advice from me, it would be to stop eating sugar.
I’m willing to bet you don’t think you consume sugar unless it’s in the form of desserts, pastries, or candy. We are lead to believe that sugar only goes by a few names, and only appears in the usual suspects, like soda, cookies, donuts, cake, and the like. People assume if they avoid these foods, they are eating a low-sugar diet. Some might even go as far as to say they don’t eat sugar at all and don’t have a sweet tooth. Unfortunately, there is hidden sugar in almost every category of packaged food, even so-called “health foods” like yogurt, fruit juice, and granola. It is likely you have no idea how much sugar you’re taking in daily.
SUGAR 101:
What does sugar do to the body? Putting it extremely simply, sugar, or pure glucose, has a value of 100 on the glycemic index, meaning it enters the bloodstream very fast (a spike in blood sugar). The body then has to work hard to produce insulin in order to stabilize blood sugar levels. If we consume more and more sugar over time (or in very concentrated doses), our body’s ability to do this can diminish. This is called insulin resistance, and it is the first step towards diabetes, obesity, and chronic disease.
The effects of excessive sugar consumption are catastrophic. The problem is the QUANTITY we are consuming—sugar isn’t just “sugar” anymore. We have new, highly processed, cheaper and more dangerous versions like “high fructose corn syrup” (aka sugar on steroids), capable of delivering such an enormous and concentrated dose of fructose into the bloodstream, and so quickly, that our bodies’ are not evolved or equipped to handle it. Not to mention it has become highest source of calories in the American diet. Enter: insulin resistance, diabetes, over 60% of Americans being obese, the first generation of children with a shorter life expectancy than our parents, disrupted gut microbiome, inflammation, increased risk of Alzheimer’s, and rapidly rising rates of all types of chronic disease every year.
This is a uniquely American problem. Almost every other country has banned the excessive and reckless addition of sugar products, specifically high fructose corn syrup, to packaged foods. See below the comparisons between ingredients in America and in France in everyday products like ketchup and orange juice. Other countries do not consider ingredients like this safe for public consumption.
How is it that Prego tomato sauce has the same amount of sugar as Oreos? And orange juice the same as Coca-Cola? Whole grain cereal and a Snickers? We deserve real food standards, but since we have no sign of ever receiving these protections, it means taking ingredient safety into our own hands.
Blood sugar, hormones, and many other detrimental aspects of excess sugar consumption will be covered separately. There’s just too much.
HOW IS SUGAR ADDICTING?
We are biologically programmed to seek out sugar. Sweet flavors signal to our brains “safe to eat”, and bitter flavors signal “poison”. Our ancestors faced famine and food shortages, so our bodies’ store sugar as fat for times when food is scarce. It is an evolutionary survival mechanism, but one that might be killing us today. Today, sugar is cheap, dangerously available, and hidden in plain sight.
Sugar is known to be eight times more addictive than cocaine. In one study, rats were given the option of both and they always chose the sugar, even going back for more and more despite getting shocked.
“We are so fat because food is addictive. We are not just lazy and weak… We live in a toxic environment, like an alcoholic living inside a bar. Food brands purposefully create addictive foods, like Big Tobacco. It is a trillion dollar food industry… a Sugar Economy… 37% of ‘skinny kids’ have pre-diabetes. [Sugar] didn’t make them fat but sick… Addictive foods like sugar have the effect of opioids on the brain, stimulating dopamine, the pleasure center. Obese and cocaine-addicted brains look the same. Food and Drugs have the same level of addiction danger, yet food is completely unregulated in terms of marketing, especially to kids… Everyone is eating sugar. Go to an AA meeting and you’ll understand. ” - Mark Hyman, MD
Foods are specifically designed to be craved. Big Food conglomerates like Coca-Cola and Kraft-Heinz have entire teams of scientists, engineers and other experts whose only job is to design food products that give consumers an experience coined the “bliss point”—the right combination of sugar, salt and fat—to keep their hand returning to the bag again and again. It’s not just arbitrary—it’s specifically triggering a mechanism in our evolution that can’t say no. That is why it’s so hard to stop eating these foods—they are formulated in a lab to make it so.
The worst part is that these companies sell addictive foods, get customers hooked, and then market to the most vulnerable population: children. It’s pretty wild if you think about it… we’ve banned the marketing of Big Tobacco (now known to cause cancer and death), but we’re totally fine with Kendall Jenner marketing Coca-Cola, Serena Williams promoting Oreos, and athletes plastered on sugar-laden cereal boxes made for kids. Sugar in its modern form is just the newest iteration of addictive, money-making, and detrimental drug to long-term health that our country has chosen to turn a blind eye to. Government agencies and experts are aware of the dangers of sugar, but it has gone largely ignored. Instead, the chokehold this substance has over the public is used to sell more food that makes us sicker.
OKAY, WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Get into the habit of checking your labels. Go through your pantry. Avod any products with added sugar. My rule of thumb is stay under 15 g of NATURAL sugar per day, but ideally less. The sugar I’m referring to here is NOT from sources like “cane sugar” — that is to be avoided as much as possible. It is easy to hit our daily allotment of sugar from natural sources like cold-pressed juice, fruits, dairy and unrefined sweeteners. The "sugar" we consume should ideally be low on the glycemic index. Acceptable sweeteners (in moderation) are raw honey, organic maple syrup, dates, monkfruit, stevia, and xylitol. The jury is out on coconut sugar for me, but I usually avoid it. The only sweeteners from this list that do not spike blood sugar are monkfruit, stevia and xylitol. Some people find that stevia has a strange aftertaste, but it is the sweetener I use most frequently.
WHERE IS SUGAR HIDDEN?
Sugar has all kinds of code names, but some of the most common are:
cane sugar, cane syrup, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, confectioner’s sugar, invert sugar
syrups: brown rice syrup, carob syrup, malt syrup
corn syrup, corn syrup solids, HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
-ose’s: sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose solids, dextrose, polydextrose, maltose
maltodextrin
barley malt extract
evaporated cane juice
fruit juice concentrates, concentrated fruit juice sweetener (be careful with these—check sugar content don’t just give it a go because it sounds approved)
fruit juice “cocktail”, I.e. cranberry
pectin
zero-calorie sweeteners: mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol, erythritol, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame
sugars trying to seem “healthy”: beet sugar, maple sugar, agave (see below), date sugar, sorghum syrup. It is always best to eat the WHOLE food rather than any processed or concentrated version, even if it is technically “derived from” something real. The concentrated form is much more likely to spike blood sugar.
agave — this is a bad one because it is marketed as being healthy, but it is the same as pure sugar and is oftentimes much more processed, causing quicker blood sugar spikes. A margarita with agave is still the same calories and sugar as one with Triple Sec or Cointreau. Sometimes it is even added to smoothies — watch out.
The best options are… stevia, monk fruit, whole dates/figs, maple syrup, molasses, honey, coconut sugar, and ACTUAL FRUIT.
CULPRIT #1: GRANOLA & GRANOLA BARS
There is a generally held belief that granola is healthy across the board because it is marketed as an alternative to processed breakfast cereal. Unless you’re buying gluten-free or grain-free granola with less than 6 grams of sugar per serving from ingredients like dates, honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar, then you may be consuming the equivalent to a candy bar for breakfast. There are certainly other foods out there with more sugar, but granola is deceptive BECAUSE it is marketed as healthy. Granola bars are even worse; the government gets away wild wild health claims on packaging. “Whole Grain” means nothing.
I don’t like the phrase “empty” calories because I feel like it misleads us into thinking a calorie can be neutral. Calories are good or bad (not speaking about calorie density). If all there is in your cereal is refined grains, sugar, and inflammatory oil, it is worse than “empty”—it’s wreaking havoc and leaving you with less than you started with.
Swap these...
KIND
Bear Naked
Quaker
Nature Valley
Kashi Go Lean Crunch
For THESE:
grain-free, uses coconut oil, organic, sweetened with honey and maple syrup
pumpkin fig…and vanilla cinnamon..so good
sprouted, organic, sweetened with maple or honey or fruit
This brand uses coconut sugar which is low on the glycemic index.
grain-free/paleo/keto options are best, organic, and uses coconut oil instead of inflammatory alternatives
Steve's Paleo Goods Paleokrunch Granola
love the original and cinnamon. avoid apple pie--16 grams of sugar.
simple ingredients, grain free, uses coconut oil, sweetened with honey
Nature’s Path Grain-Free Granolas
vanilla poppy seed and maple almond. make sure to get grain-free kind
Just check your labels to make sure it follows the guidelines listed above.
CULPRIT #2: CONDIMENTS.
Salad dressing, ketchup, soy sauce, and hot sauce, to name a few. Not only is sugar an issue, but most are laden with inflammatory vegetable and seed oils like vegetable, canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed oil and more.
Swap these...
KETCHUPS: Heinz Original Ketchup (high fructose corn syrup.), Heinz Organic Ketchup (sugar), Annie's Naturals (sugar), Del Monte (high fructose corn syrup), Hunt's (HFCS), Trader Joes Ketchup (sugar), Muir Glen Organic Ketchup (sugar), Whole Foods 365 Ketchup (sugar), and Organicville Ketchup (agave--same as sugar).
DRESSINGS: Ken's Steakhouse, Annie’s, Hidden Valley, Newman's Own, Wish-Bone, Marzetti, Kraft, Brianna's (yes), Litehouse, Good Seasons, Girard's, Emeril's, and many more.
HOT SAUCE: Huy Fong Sriracha Chili Sauce (sugar)
BBQ/STEAK: Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce (high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar), A1 Steak Sauce (corn syrup), Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (sugar)
MAYO: Hellman’s, Heinz, Sir Kensington's
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce (sugar)
For THESE:
Primal Kitchen Unsweetened Ketchup: don’t worry, it tastes exactly like ketchup. Ketchup just doesn’t need sugar.
Primal Kitchen Dressings and Marinades: Honey Mustard, Oil & Vinegar, Ranch, Caesar, Italian, Greek Goddess, Balsamic, Greek, Sesame Ginger, Lemon Turmeric, Thousand Island, Cilantro Lime, BBQ Ranch, and more (sugar free, avocado oil)
Yellowbird Organic Sriracha (date sweetened, avoid agave version)
Steve’s Paleo Goods Sriracha Sauce (honey-sweetned)
Vermont Maple Sriracha (maple-sweetened)
Primal Kitchen Barbecue Sauces: Classic, Golden and Mango Jalapeno (avocado oil, no added sugar, all clean)
Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayos (no soybean oil)
Organic Tamari (same as soy sauce just with gluten removed)
Coconut Secret's Coconut Aminos (another soy sub that is healthier given no soy)
CULPRIT #3: YOGURT.
Your cherished Chobani and fondness for Fage must meet their end. Unless you are purchasing strictly plain (and if so, opt for organic anyway), your favorite brands have lots of added sugar. Gone are the days of thinking sugar only comes in Go-Gurt and YoCrunch packages.
Examples:
Chobani Greek Yogurt, Strawberry = 16g of sugar
Yoplait’s sea salt caramel yogurt = 24g of sugar (same as Ben & Jerry’s)
The Greek God’s yogurt, Honey flavor = 21g
Wallaby Organic Low-Fat Vanilla = 21g
Stonyfield Organic Low-Fat Chocolate Yogurt = 19g
Coyo Dairy-Free Mixed Berry = 12g
Dannon Low-Fat Vanilla = 22g
SoDelicious Blueberry Coconut Yogurt = 17g
Noosa Apple Cinnamon Yogurt = 34g
Surprisingly, dairy-free yogurts are some of the worst culprits in terms of added sugar. The only fruit-flavored yogurt brand I know of that doesn’t include added cane sugar is Culina coconut yogurt, and it is sweetened with maple syrup.
Swap these...
Fage fruit-flavored yogurts (11g of sugar, corn starch)
Yoplait Original and GoGurt (18 grams of sugar, corn starch
"Yoplait Light", the Diet Coke of yogurts (less sugar and calories but includes Aspartame)
Chobani (plain is fine, avoid Fruit on Bottom)
Activia (sketch additives like modified food starch, modified corn starch, natural flavors, sucralose, sugar, and other garbage)
Brown Cow (plain has pectin which adds 8g sugar, vanilla has sugar)
Kite Hill Dairy-Free Yogurt (plain has cane sugar like what…)
Silk Dairy-Free Almond Milk and Soy Yogurt (plain has cane sugar, pectin, natural flavor, additives, vanilla has 21g of sugar, thickened with rice and corn starch)
SoDelicious Yogurt Alternatives (lots of additives, thickeners, preservatives, and flavored varieties have 18-21g sugar)
Soy yogurts (like Nancy's)
For THESE:
This plain yogurt has probiotics and tastes the most like regular yogurt in my opinion. The flavored yogurts are all organic and sweetened with maple syrup.
The Coconut Cult's Probiotic Coconut Yogurt
This stuff comes with a MIGHTY price tag, but it's worth the investment if you eat yogurt regularly. With the most powerful probiotics on the market, this yogurt comes in many new flavors, and it is one of the healthiest things you can eat.
Between 1-2 grams of sugar per serving (from organic mangos and organic orange juice)
Basically a living, breathing organism with 800 billion probiotics per quart.
Long story short, check your labels. The longer the label, the quicker you should put it down. If it's a paragraph long, don't even finish reading.
If you made it to the end of this post, honestly good for you.
