Nutrition III - Nutrition and Lifestyle - Food and Beverages to Avoid; Sugar and alternatives

Question 1

Refined sugar

Answer 1

Sugar is the most destructive substance in our diets today
* White sugar has no nutrients, no vitamins and no minerals
* Sugar causes the release of dopamine in the brain (creating a sense of reward), making it a highly addictive substance
* A high intake of sugar is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases including Type II diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s.
* Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates

Question 2

Obesity and cardiovascular disease

Answer 2

Refined sugar, obesity and cardiovascular disease:
* Sugar (sucrose) is broken down into glucose and fructose
* Excess glucose and fructose are converted to glycogen for storage in the liver
* If glycogen stores are full, the residual carbohydrates are converted into fat
* High sugar intake leads to obesity
* Simple sugars raise triglyceride levels which are linked to cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis) and pancreatitis

Question 3

Diabetes

Answer 3

Refined sugar and diabetes:
* Sugar is rapidly absorbed and raises blood glucose levels, stimulating the release of insulin, which is needed to transport glucose into cells
* If blood glucose levels spike erratically, insulin receptors become less responsive to insulin leading to a state of ‘insulin resistance’, which is a feature of Type II diabetes, PCOS and many other diseases including Alzheimer’s.
* High blood glucose and high triglycerides are key factors in metabolic syndrome (a cluster of signs and symptoms that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type II diabetes)

Question 4

The damaging effects of sugar

Answer 4

The damaging effects of sugar:
* Candida overgrowth and dysbiosis, leading to inflammation and intestinal permeability, as well as immune compromise.
* Mood changes and depression
* Fatigue and headaches
* Cancer – sugar plays a major role in cancer pathogenesis. The metabolism of cancer cells relies heavily on glucose
* PCOS and impaired sexual performance
* Accelerated ageing and tooth/gum diseases

Question 5

Artificial sweeteners

Answer 5

Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame K):
* Raise insulin levels and affect insulin sensitivity
* Over-stimulate sugar receptors, making healthy, less sweet options such as fruit and vegetables unappealing
* Are addictive and increase cravings for sweets foods
* Can induce DNA damage (mutations)
* Often used in combination to balance taste, heightening the toxic potential
* They are toxic substances and considered cellular poisons!

Question 6

Healthy alternatives to sugar: Xylitol

Answer 6

Xylitol:
* Naturally occurs (as xylose) in some fruits and vegetables
* Usually extracted from birchwood
* Contains 2.4 calories / gram (sugar has 4 calories / gram), tastes like sugar and has the same sweetness as sugar
* Slowly absorbed so doesn’t spike blood sugar levels
* Can reduce tooth decay by decreasing levels of bacteria in saliva
* In higher amounts (>40g / day) can cause GI symptoms including nausea, bloating, colic and diarrhoea
* Most xylitol is produced by hydrogenating xylose using a catalyst such as nickel. Safety of this process is not known
Xylitol = very toxic to dogs

Question 7

Healthy alternative to sugar; erythritol

Answer 7

Erythritol:
* Similar to xylitol – both are sugar alcohols (not ethanol – does not make you drunk)
* Naturally occurring in fermented foods such as cheese, beer and wine
* Provides minimal calories – 0.24 / gram
* May cause digestive upset but less commonly than xylitol as most is absorbed into the bloodstream and excreted unchanged in urine.
* Less sweet than sugar – about 70% of the sweetness
* Made by fermenting glucose with a specific yeast. Offer, the glucoses derived from GM cornstarch.
Erythritol = toxic to dogs

Question 8

Healthy alternatives to sugar; coconut sugar

Answer 8

Coconut sugar:
* Extracted sap from the stem of coconut palm flowers, not from the actual coconut
* Contains a high amount of fructose, the same amount as white sugar which doesn’t make it a good substitute sugar
* Remember fructose, unlike glucose, can only be broken down by liver cells – it converts readily too fat
* Coconut sugar does contain trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients along with the fibre ‘inulin’, which supports healthy gut bacteria by acting as a prebiotic
* It provides equivalent calories to sugar and has a similar effect on blood glucose

Question 9

Healthy alternative to sugar; Stevia

Answer 9

Stevia:
* Stevia has no calories, no fructose, no glycaemic index and does not affect bodies glucose levels
* It is very sweet (50 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose)
* Stevia can be used to add sweetness to beverages and food. It is not always suitable in recipes where sugar is central to the texture or structure of the food; e.g. it does not caramelise as sugared does
* 225 ml of sugar = 2 tbs of Stevia powder (depending on concentration)
* Stevia can have a bitter aftertaste and is often mixed with other sugar substitutes which are not always healthy
* Read labels to find Stevia-only products
* Bitter taste can be related to different processing methods. Try different brands
* Dry your own stevia leaves and grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle
* Use Stevia in moderation for a safe sugar alternative

Question 10

Healthy alternative to sugar; honey and maple syrup

Answer 10

Honey:
* Honey (ideally raw) and 100% maple syrup contain sugar but are less processed and less exposed to chemicals than white sugar and the many sugar alternatives
* Raw honey and 100% Maple syrup also have additional minerals present

Question 11

Sugar: take home message

Answer 11

• Avoid high fructose sweetness (inc. agave), artificial sweeteners and highly processed natural sugar substitutes such as xylitol.
• You Stevia in moderation
• Use small amounts of them naturally occurring sugar sources
• In general, keep sugar to the very minimal

Question 12

Sugar: labels

Answer 12

Read labels – the nearer the beginning of the ingredient list the sugar is, the more sugar the product contains
* Look for the ‘carbohydrate of which sugars’ amount on the label to find total sugar content of the product
o Over 22g of total sugars per 100g is high!
o 5 g of total sugars or less per 100g is low
* Adults should not eat more than 30 g sugar/day
* Children: 7– 10 years, 24g; 4–6 years, 19g
* Refined sugar has no nutritional value – it is a cellular poison
* Cigarettes contain high amounts of added sugar. This increases the addictive potential of smoking