• I’ve cut out sugar. Gurus on social media say it’s fattening, a waste of calories, and toxic.
• I have a sweet tooth. Given the choice of eating more dinner or having dessert, I’ll always choose dessert!!!
• Is Coke healthier if made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup?
If you are like most of my clients, you are confused about the role of sugar in your daily sports diet. The anti-sugar “experts” (who speak to the general public, not specifically to athletes) report sugar is health-erosive. Sports nutrition researchers claim sugar enhances performance. Does that leave you wondering: Is sugar friend or foe for athletes? This article addresses both sides of the sugar debate.
Sugar: Avoid it!
- Limiting sugar intake does not harm anyone. Sugar is not an essential nutrient. Our bodies can make sugar (glucose) by breaking down muscle and fat tissue, or by converting fat and protein that we eat into glucose.
- The average American consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day (60 pounds a year). That’s a lot of empty calories. Populations with a high intake of added sugars tend to have health issues. By reducing added sugar to less than 10% of total calories, they can reduce tooth decay and the risk of overweight, obesity, and associated health issues.
- Dietary sugar can drive up blood sugar. The risk of diabetes increases by 1% in those who routinely consume the sugar-equivalent of a can of soda a day.
- Drinking Coca-Cola made with cane sugar is no better for you than Coca-Cola made with high fructose corn syrup.
—Cane sugar (also called sucrose) is comprised of 50% glucose, 50% fructose.
—High fructose corn syrup is 45% glucose, 55% fructose.
Both are metabolized similarly. Although Pres. Trump says all-natural cane sugar “is just better,” science does not support that belief. Both contribute to health problems. Drinking Coke made with cane sugar will not make America healthier.
- With very high sugar consumption (sports drinks, gels, soda, candy), one could become nutrient-depleted. Empty-calorie sugar offers no nutritional value yet displaces nourishing food, which can make a lackluster sport diet.
Sugar and athletes: Moderation!
- Sugar consumption increased from less than 10 pounds per person a year in the late 1800’s to about 100 pounds per person a year by 1945. It remained relatively flat until 1980. Yet, our health improved between 1880 and 1980. We can’t blame just sugar for health problems. Low exercise, high stress, and poverty are also health-erosive.
- Sugar (a “carb”) is in breast milk, dairy food, fruit, vegetables, honey, potato, corn, quinoa, and all grains. People around the globe have consumed these foods for years. So why now are sugar and “carbs” deemed responsible for creating human obesity and diseases?
- The fear-mongering terms of unhealthy, poisonous, toxic are simply unscientific. People who lack knowledge of physiology fail to understand sugar is not inherently fattening, nor is one food healthy or unhealthy. Note: An apple is a healthy food; a diet of all apples is a very unhealthy diet.
- Our present state of poor health is not because we consume sugar and our diets are unhealthy. Rather, we are physically inactive. Too little exercise reduces our ability to metabolize sugar optimally. That, along with environmental factors, endocrine disrupters, stress, etc., explains the fundamental causes of obesity and metabolic disease.
- In terms of diabetes prevention, you should be concerned about blood sugar, not dietary sugar. A rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating is not pathological—unless unfit muscles and liver fail to take up the sugar. It’s not what you eat, but what your body does with what you eat.
- With inactivity, the body becomes less able to transport sugar out of the blood and into the muscles. This erodes metabolic health. Also with inactivity, a person can easily overeat because energy intake gets dissociated from energy expenditure.
Remember: athletes’ bodies are metabolically very different from sedentary bodies. You want to stay active to preserve your ability to enjoy some sweets without hurting your health! - Sugar cravings happen when the body needs fuel. If you eat before you run out of fuel, you will tame your sweet tooth. Have a second lunch when you are droopy and low on energy in the afternoon instead of devouring sweets in the evening. That said, s desire for sweets can also be a genetic preference.
Concluding comments
Lack of physical activity is the bigger threat to health than sugar. For people who are overfat and underfit, a diet low in sugar and starch is likely a wise idea. But for athletic people (who are at lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity), sugar and carbs are not toxic; they are an important fuel for enhancing athletic performance.
The one-size diet does not fit all. No one is suggesting that athletes should eat more sugar. Rather, understand that as an athlete, you can embrace a sport diet that includes an appropriate balance of sugars and starches (carbohydrates) in each meal. Strive for a healthy eating pattern that offers 85% to 90% quality foods and 10% to 15% fun foods, such as apple pie instead of an apple.
If you are fearful that sugar will harm your health, note that fear-mongering relies on cherry-picked research that can prove what the “expert” wants to prove. Fear-mongering “experts” have created distrust of the food industry and have shaped opinions that support raw foods, super foods, whole foods, organic foods, and clean eating. Confusion reigns!
My suggestions are:
—Enjoy a variety of foods to get a variety of nutrients.
—Limit added sugar to less than 10% of your total calories (~250 sugar-calories/day for an active woman; ~300 sugar-calories for an active male).
—If you currently limit your sugar intake to a weekly “cheat day,” try this experiment: Enjoy a small sweet daily as a part of lunch or afternoon snack. This can curb your urge to binge on sweets in an unhealthy way on a cheat day. Sugar binges are what gives sugar a bad name…
Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (617-962-4382). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.