Refined Sugar: Sneaky, Addictive, and Toxic

Refined sugar is now recognized as a major culprit for obesity and chronic disease in the United States and across the globe. The industrialization of the food system led to a dietary transition away from fruits and vegetables towards processed foods high in calories, saturated fat, salt, and sugar. In the 1980s, the low-fat movement created heavy reliance on sugar for flavoring in processed foods. This increase of sugar in the food supply corresponded with rising rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and diet-related cancers. Today sugar remains ubiquitous, trapping many people in a cycle of addiction and disease.

The processed food industry spends millions upon millions of dollars to convince the American public that “a calorie is a calorie.” This is simply untrue. Science shows us that calories are not created equally, with those from refined sugar being particularly dangerous. In fact, studies show that regularly eating excessive amounts of sugar can cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, and accelerated aging. This has prompted doctors and nutrition experts to label sugar as toxic. Moreover, scientific evidence reveals sugar as an addictive substance, making it difficult for individuals to control how much they eat. To learn more about sugar and its effects on health visit SugarScience.org.

What about sugar makes it so dangerous?

The answer lies in how it is broken down for energy in the body. Carbohydrates (starches and sugars), proteins, and fats are all macronutrients that provide energy (calories), but the body metabolizes them each differently. After being digested and absorbed, carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to spike upwards whereas protein and fat have little impact. When blood sugar levels rise, the body releases the hormone insulin to turn sugar into energy and store excess energy as fat. When an individual habitually consumes high amounts of sugar, muscle, fat, and liver tissues slowly become resistant to insulin. Our body responds by producing higher and higher amounts of insulin, which leads to an accumulation of fat around organs in the body that paves the way for obesity and disease. The addictive nature of sugar creates a dangerous cycle where the more one eats, the more one craves, and the sicker one becomes.

Refined sugar hides in three-quarters of packaged foods found in grocery stores. There are expected sources, like sweet beverages and desserts, but sugar also sneaks into many other foods, such as baked goods (breads, crackers, etc.), ketchup, pasta sauce, and processed meats. What’s worse is that sugar can be difficult to recognize on ingredient lists. There are over 50 different aliases used for sugar, and then there are sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners to consider (see list below). Sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners are low to no-calorie sources of sweetness that are substituted into processed foods. The safety of many artificial sweeteners is questionable and sugar alcohols can lead to digestive upset. Further, these reduced-calorie sweeteners may confuse the body and contribute to insulin resistance and weight gain. The natural sugars found in fruits do not lead to negative health consequences because plant food matrixes also contain fiber, which slows the release of sugar into the blood stream. Watch this video to learn more about where sugar is hiding in packaged food products.

The World Health Organization, American Heart Association, and Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that refined sugar intakes remain below 5% to 10% of your total daily calories. This equates to 25 to 50 grams per day, or 6 to 12 teaspoons. According to a national study from the Center for Disease Control, between 2005 and 2010, adult men and women ate on average 84 and 60 grams of refined sugar per day, respectively. This means that within one year American adults eat 48 to 68 pounds of sugar. These numbers are shocking, but understandable considering that one 12-ounce can of soda contains 39 grams of sugar.

The public health burden of sugary processed foods and related disease is staggering. As of 2007, it is estimated that the total economic impact of chronic disease was $1.3 trillion each year ($1.1 trillion in lost economic productivity and $277 billion in health care spending). In order to stop the obesity epidemic and curb chronic disease rates, drastic changes to the America food system are necessary to remove addictive and dangerous sugar and support a return to a whole foods-based diet. To learn about options for regulating sugar and improving the food system watch these TED Talks by Dr. Robert Lustig and Mark Bittman, visit the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Food & Agriculture page, and read a few Michael Pollan articles (1, 2, 3). Also, check out our blog post on superfood groups to learn about health-promoting, whole foods to include in your diet.

LIST OF SUGARS AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES

• Sugars
  • Agave nectar
  • Barbados sugar
  • Barley malt
  • Beet sugar
  • Blackstrap molasses
  • Brown sugar
  • Buttered syrup
  • Cane juice crystals
  • Cane sugar
  • Caramel
  • Carob syrup
  • Castor sugar
  • Coconut sugar
  • Confectioner’s sugar
  • Corn syrup
  • Corn syrup solids
  • Crystalline fructose
  • Date sugar
  • Demerara sugar
  • Dextran
  • Dextrose
  • Diastatic malt
  • Distase
  • Ethyl maltol
  • Evaporated cane juice
  • Florida crystals
  • Fructose
  • Fruit juice
  • Fruit juice concentrate
  • Galactose
  • Glucose
  • Glucose solids
  • Golden sugar
  • Golden syrup
  • Grape sugar
  • High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
  • Honey
  • Icing sugar
  • Invert sugar
  • Lactose
  • Malt syrup
  • Maltodextrin
  • Maltose
  • Maple sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • Molasses
  • Muscovado
  • Nectar (many types)
  • Organic raw sugar
  • Panocha
  • Raw sugar
  • Refiner’s syrup
  • Rice malt
  • Rice syrup
  • Sorghum syrup
  • Sucrose
  • Sugar
  • Treacle
  • Turbinado sugar
  • Yacon syrup
  • Yellow sugar

• Sugar Alcohols
  • Erythritol
  • Glycol
  • Glycerin
  • Iditol
  • Isomalt
  • Lacitol
  • Maltitol
  • Mannitol
  • Ribotol
  • Sorbitol
  • Xylitol 

• Artificial Sweeteners
  • Aspartame
  • Acesulfame-L
  • Equal
  • Nutra-Sweet
  • Saccharin
  • Splenda
  • Stevia
  • Sucralose
  • Sweetleaf
  • Sweet-N-Low
  • Truvia

Dr Kara

My journey to find a balanced way of living led me to a Ph.D. in Nutrition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s in Public Health at the University of California-Berkeley. My studies and experiences afford me a deep understanding of diet and lifestyle factors that contribute to optimal health. I contribute to projects in the U.S. and abroad that improve the health of individuals and families through nutritious foods. I believe the foods we eat impact our lives in so many ways, ranging from nourishing our body’s cells and tissues, to supporting emotional, physical, and social wellbeing. I am thrilled to be a part of the Moxy Kitchen team and support the development of flavorful, easy-to-use food products that add a nutrient-dense punch to daily meals.