Why Sugar Makes You Fat
Posted by Libby Babet for Health + Wellbeing - Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:25
You’ve heard it a million times… sugar makes you fat. In fact, with all the hoo-ha about evil ol’ sugar, you’re probably even beginning to believe that the devil himself comes in the form of a small, white, sickeningly sweet granule!
But what you may still be asking yourself is just why sugar is so bad for you. After all, it’s a ‘natural’ product and hasn’t got any fat in it… and isn’t it fat that makes you, well, fat?!
There are so many studies out there on the sugar/health connection but one man who sums it all up pretty well is Doctor Robert Lustig, a Professor in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, who has been a real pioneer in decoding the way sugar is metabolised in the body.
According to Lustig, “It’s not about the calories. It has nothing to do with the calories. It (sugar) is a poison by itself”.
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But why? Here's what Dr. Lustig has to say:
- Eating too many dietary carbohydrates, especially from sugars, causes fat to become fixed in fat tissue (rather than used as energy, or moved out of the body).
- Sugar intake raises your insulin levels, which can prevent fat from being released and ‘flushed’ from the body.
- Eating too much sugar directly causes free fatty acids to turn into triglycerides that get stored as fat (this is particularly true of fructose, a kind of sugar found in just about any processed food, baked item or sweetened drink, including fruit juice. Also found in high levels in dried fruit!)
- Sugars can directly interfere with your brain’s communication with leptin, the hormone that suppresses your appetite. So your likelihood of overeating and obsessively craving not-so-wholesome foods increases.
So how much is too much?
According to Dr Joseph Mercola, a renowned expert in natural health, these are the guidelines you should follow (most of the time) to make sure your diet is balanced, foods are processed effectively and the evil little sugar monster doesn’t take too firm a grip on your health (and your bod!):
- Limit sugar intake to less than 25 grams per day. At least 15 grams of these sugars should come from fruit, which doesn’t leave a lot of wriggle room for other, more processed foods. An apple alone has between 5-10 grams of fructose, so imagine the damage a single can of Coke would do!
- Limit or eliminate processed foods, which contain hidden sugars – the worst kind!
- Eliminate as much gluten and other highly allergenic foods from your diet as possible (this includes Soy, which can be fairly sugary).
- Eat organic, locally-grown foods where possible, or give your fruit and veg a good wash! Hidden toxins from spraying can contribute to a stressed-out liver. Combine that with excess sugars flooding that same lil' liver and it ain’t pretty!
- Eat at least one-third of your food raw/uncooked. A big salad at lunch time should do it!
- Increase the amount of vegetables in your diet. Even a little can make a big difference.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners of all kinds (they’ll just make you crave real sugars and are not great for you in the first place).
- Swap all trans fats (vegetable oils, margarine etc) for healthful fats like avocado, raw butter or coconut oil. These healthy fats help to ‘flush’ stubborn fats from the body and decrease sugar’s impact.
- Take a high quality omega-3 supplement (fish or krill oil, or flaxseed oil for vegetarians): this helps your body to process sugars in a more healthful way and will increase fat burn too!
- Drink plenty of water
- Optimise your vitamin D levels, either through appropriate sun exposure, eating the right foods, or with a D3 supplement.
So there you have it, a few reasons to decrease your intake of the white stuff and a couple of easy ways to make sure you avoid becoming sickly sweet!
What kind of results have you seen from cutting down your sugar consumption?
Read more about Libby & her team at www.bottomsupfitness.com.au
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13 Comments
Sugar, table sugar that is, is 50% glucose (good for you) and 50% fructose (very, very bad). Think of it this way, half of the table sugar you consume is added to the padding around your waist. 2 teaspoons in your tea or soffee equals another one in storage on the waist. Unfortunately, we have to be really deprived of food to begin breakking down these stores- and at the same time we break down muscle too. It really is poison. Fruit is not as healthy as it seems. A piece or two a day is ok as it sontains many other nutrients, such as fibre. But juice is a no, no.
ReplyIts the Fructose content of the sugar 50% which is converted directly into fat. It gets the express lane. Read the labels of all your fat free and low fat items you have and you will find its better for you to have a can of coke than a tub of low fat Yoghurt. Dont be fooled people Sugar is a Poison. Try using Glucose in your cooking. The direct link between sugar and Leptin is the key if your not overdosing on sugar your body will do your calorie counting for you just the way nature intended. Be happy :)
ReplyDr R Lustig has excellent credentials and it is about time we had some serious studies done on low carb diets. Atkins was right all along. By cutting starchy carbs and INCREASING fat I have lost 20 kgs, stopped all medication for my T2, BP, reflux & cholesterol and maintain non-diabetic BGLs. If I and many others can achieve these results by cutting out all processed carbs (sugar) and starchy foods (sugar), could we turn the tide on T2 diabetes?
ReplyIf you were thrown into a WW2 POW camp you'd soon lose weight. Stop EATING you slobs!
ReplyGive it a year, and it'll be good for us! (huge eye roll). Listen to your body.... it knows what it needs, when it needs it. look at salt, it's apparently not all that bad NOW! .... M.O.D.E.R.A.T.I.O.N!
ReplyAny time a supposed expert on healthy eating recommends supplements as a part of a regular diet without an examination of the individual, be cautious. The 'renowned' Dr Mercola has been in trouble 3 times already for breaching commercial practice laws in the US because, surprise surprise, he just happens to sell 'high quality' supplements as suggested above. A quick google of his name will give you his background. Check for yourselves before you decide whether his recommendations are credible.
3 RepliesVery good, true information. Hard to adapt to in today's lifestyle but very rewarding! Thanks very much for this.
1 Reply@Elizabeth:Over production of Insulin causes the cells to become resistant to Insulin. This is just one way to finish up with Type 2 Diabeties. Being overweight is a precursor to Type 2 Diabeties. The leads to Heat disease, eye problem ED in men, amputations just to name a few things arising from being fat which can be caused by the over production of insulin. Eat small meals often, have a brisk walk for at least 35 min everyday.
Reply@Elizabeth:You where getting cravings because you had sugar in your body and Insulin is produced to move the sugar to cells or convert it to fat. You get craving for sugar because of over production of Insulin. If you get cravings after you have had a good meal. Reduced the size of your meals and have more smaller meats more often. Larger in the morning reducing in size in the evening and talk to you doctor about over production of Insulin.
Reply@Carley:Sugar is sugar. Raw suger is one processing step below white sugar and one step above brown suger. Raw sugar just tastes a little different, that's all. People who insist that it is healthier than white sugar are just saying that so they won't feel bad about using sugar. Raw sugar is a marketing ploy to con silly people into believing raw sugar is OK, that's all. It's an example of the 'Chicken Little Syndrome'
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