healthysugars newsletter

We all are born with a soft spot for sweetness, and most people maintain this fondness for sweet foods all through their life span. In today's health-conscious society sugar has, however, been accused of contributing to more than a few illnesses from alcoholism to appendicitis, obesity, hyperactivity, and cardio-vascular ailments. Increasingly, evidence is emerging to confirm that this belief has no scientific basis. This editorial is committed to dismissing the myths about ill effects of sugar on our health and clarifying the legitimate role of sugar in a balanced diet. In this particular piece we will discuss the unfounded information that sugar is contributory to obesity. Everything described in here is supported by scientific reports and in the newsletters that follow; we shall take up other myths about sugar as a causative to disease, in progression.

In order to maintain a healthy weight in the long term, a person's energy intake from food and drink must be directly proportional to his total energy expenditure through physical activity. This, is commonly referred to as the energy balance. Weight gain occurs when the caloric intake is higher than the calories burnt each day in normal activities and/ or exercise. Eating sugar as such does not cause obesity. Sugar's linkage to overweight and obesity is in the high caloric content of many sweetened foods heavily consumed by people trying to lose or maintain weight.

To elucidate on this, let us understand the chemistry of carbohydrate (sugar) and fat storage in the body. The capacity for carbohydrate storage in the body is restricted. Intake of excess carbohydrates in the form of sugar or starch causes a rapid increase in their oxidation. This phenomenon is not observed in case of fat. To boot, conversion of sugar to fat is energy inefficient.

On the other hand, the capacity for fat storage in the body is virtually infinite and all the excess dietary fat that we may consume is readily and efficiently stored as fat deposits, thereby causing obesity.

Sugars and other carbohydrates tend to dampen down hunger pangs without delay and in an efficient manner than most other foods, especially fat-rich foods. For example, you feel more full when you eat a bowl of rice than when you finish up a packet of potato wafers. The rationale for this is likely to be that fat (9 KCal/g) has more than twice the amount of calories per gram than carbohydrate (4 KCal/g). We tend to eat approximately the same quantity of food at mealtime. If there is more fat in that mealtime food, we don't realize it and consequently eat more calories resulting in the unsolicited weight gain.

In addition, people who consume a high carbohydrate diet tend to have a higher metabolic rate. The higher the metabolic rate the more energy our bodies use even while resting. This does not apply to fats. Ironically, when people reduce their sugar consumption they tend to increase their fat consumption (sugar/fat see-saw).

SUGAR (CARBOOHYDRATE) METABOLISM	FAT METABOLISM
Luggage compartment (storage space) for this in the body for carbohydrates is limited.	Storage space for this in the body is limitless and extra fat keeps getting deposited in body.
Intake of extra carbohydrate results in its oxidation.	Intake of extra fat results in its deposition in the body, thereby causing obesity.
They dampen down hunger pangs without delay and in an efficient manner.	They do not dampen hunger pangs immediately or efficiently.
Their one gram consumption yields 4Kcal. One teaspoon of sugar has 40% fewer calories than an equal serving of fat.	Their one gram consumption yields a high of 9 Kcal which finally contributes to weight gain.
People eating more of this have a higher metabolic rate; meaning more calorie burning.	People eating more of this have a lower metabolic rate; meaning less calorie burning.

The most likely causes of the increasing trend of obesity are poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that confirms rising total caloric intake in conjunction with a lack of physical activity is the single most important factor in the development of the obesity crisis. In other words, we are eating the same amount or more of everything, but exercising less, and- not to miss, putting the blame on sugar in our diets!

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its report, "Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic," concluded that the fundamental causes of the obesity epidemic are sedentary lifestyles and high fat, energy-dense diets. It did not even name sugar!

The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRCA), reports "a number of studies have concluded that intake of carbohydrate or even sucrose has no relationship with obesity, or that the relationship may even be negative. Children and adults who ingest large amounts of carbohydrate, sucrose, or both, have been reported to be leaner than their peers."

The cornerstone of the management of overweight and obesity is the check of food intake, a long-term approach towards weight loss, and the embracing of a healthy balanced diet. Moderate levels of sugar in the diet may help one stick on to a weight-reducing diet more productively than if they were on a low-sugar diet.. Most weight loss strategies, in spite of everything, recommend low-sugar regimens.

Sugar is simply an inexpensive, natural sweetener and also a nutritive carbohydrate. It is high time that we stop accusing it of weight gain and obesity. Eating sugar and sugar containing foods only helps us make our diet more palatable and enjoyable. Consumption of sugars is vital for an active lifestyle - not only is it important for energy reserves for exercise but helps you recover from, for example, a spell of floor scrubbing. Not eating enough carbohydrates can lead to poor recovery from exercise and tiredness.

Duffy VB, Anderson GH. (1998). Position of The American Dietetic Association: Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 98(5): 580-587.

Gershoff S. (1996). The Tufts University Guide to Total Nutrition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

The Glucose Revolution Pocket Guide to Sugar and Energy
Jennie Brand-Miller ; Joint Author: Kaye Foster-Powell

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