by: Le’Vena Tan, Nutrition Masters Student & Guest Post Writer

From sugar taxes, listing added sugar on nutrition labels, to words like ‘’toxic”, ”poison”, ”evil” constantly being used to describe sugar, sugar gets a lot of bad press from public health professionals and the media as being the food to avoid. Recently, I saw a social media post about dietitians being advocates for carbohydrates/sugar, because of misconception and fear surrounding sugar propagated by diet culture.

What is sugar and why is it important?

Sugars are broken down forms of carbohydrates. They supply our body with energy necessary to perform our day-to-day activities, resting, eating, thinking, moving etc. Sugar is a great quick source of energy to help restore our blood sugar, especially when it is low. An added bonus, sugar tastes good! There are three different types of sugars: simple sugars (monosaccharides), disaccharides (containing 2 sugar molecules) and complex sugars (polysaccharides). 

The science behind sugar metabolism

Glucose

Glucose is the simplest form of carbohydrate and the preferred form of energy for most cells in our body, especially the brain. After being absorbed into the body via the intestinal lining, glucose is broken down by the cells in our body to provide energy for essential metabolic processes and our daily activities. In excess, glucose is stored as glycogen, the storage form of glucose, or as fat in our body. 

Fructose and Sucrose

Fructose and sucrose are found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Fun fact: table/granulated sugar are examples of sucrose, manufactured from sugar beets or sugar cane. Fructose is a simple sugar just like glucose with a different chemical structure. Sucrose consists of equal parts glucose and fructose. The body has to break down sucrose into glucose and fructose molecules in order to use it for energy. It’s important to note that most sugars are typically consumed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals, which helps our body fight against diseases. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is typically found in packaged foods and beverages. It is commonly 55% fructose and 45% glucose in beverages and 42% fructose and 58% glucose in baked goods and other foods. Similar to sucrose, HFCS needs to be broken down into its glucose and fructose molecules. 

Our body processes sugar the same way, regardless of its source (naturally occurring or from manufactured, processed foods). But, there are some differences in the metabolic pathways glucose and fructose undergo in our body, even though the end-product of both are basically the same.

How do our bodies break down fructose?

• First, fructose is mainly broken down in the liver.
• Second, fructose has to undergo additional steps before entering the same metabolic pathway as glucose to provide energy to the body.
• Third, unlike glucose, fructose doesn’t trigger insulin secretion, whose role is to regulate our blood sugar and hunger and fullness cues. Fructose intake can affect our hunger and fullness cues by increasing our desire and appetite for food and decreasing the satiety signal of our brain ^1,2. 

A word of caution:

it is helpful to know the science behind how sugars are metabolised in our body. But, it is even more important to note that we do not consume sugar in isolation and our diets typically consist of a variety of foods. The mechanisms of how food is broken down in our body is highly complex and hinges on many factors. For example, eating an apple with peanut butter (adding protein and fat), our body processes the fruit sugar differently than eating an apple alone. More reasons to not agonize over our sugar consumption.

What does this all mean? 

I think this means that we shouldn’t go around labeling some sugars as good or bad. It doesn’t serve us to make rules about which sugars are better to avoid or worry about how much glucose or fructose we are taking in, or avoid sugar all together. These actions have the effect of making sugar all the more desirable, which contradicts the initial motivation in the first place. Black and white rules make us feel guilt and shame about our eating, which doesn’t lead to increased health and well being. 

Instead of Using Rules

If sugar isn’t all bad, then how can we think about sugar? 

Remember that everybody’s biology, genetic make-up and history with food is different, so you can have very different reactions to different types of sugar to your friends or family.

Instead of thinking about food in a dichotomous, (good or bad) way, you can decide how sugar fits into your food intake. Trust your body. It has a lot of wisdom – and internal information is just as important as the external information we get from science, if not more so. Explore how your body and mind feel when you eat different sugar-containing foods.

Ask yourself:

• How does this (sugar-containing) food taste on my tongue? 
• Does it taste good? Or is it just the idea of it that tastes good? 
• How do I feel (physically and emotionally) immediately or a few hours after consuming it? 
• Do I feel differently if I eat it with other foods? 
• Am I hungry to eat this or do I want it because I usually don’t allow myself to eat it? 

Giving yourself the opportunity to explore how you feel after eating sugars, helps you understand your response to them and, maybe, get more satisfaction out of your eating experience. Being curious, rather than using rules, helps us eliminate the guilt and shame that can come from black and white rules. Tuning in, may help you identify the sugar-containing foods that you love and maybe others that you don’t really enjoy at all. 

Le’Vena Tan is a graduate student in the Department of Nutrition at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a lactation student in the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative (MRT-TI) under the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute. Her interests include pediatric and maternal nutrition, breastfeeding, responsive feeding, intuitive eating, Health at Every Size® and public health, especially food insecurity. She hopes to practice from a weight-inclusive lens and to utilize her knowledge in public health to help better the community. She enjoys engaging in creative pursuits and would like to incorporate some creativity in her work in the future. Le’Vena can be contacted via email at levena.unc@gmail.com.

Citations:

1. Lowette, K., Roosen, L., Tack, J., & Vanden Berghe, P. (2015). Effects of high-fructose diets on central appetite signaling and cognitive function. Frontiers in nutrition, 2, 5. 
2. Luo, S., Monterosso, J. R., Sarpelleh, K., & Page, K. A. (2015). Differential effects of fructose versus glucose on brain and appetitive responses to food cues and decisions for food rewards. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(20), 6509-6514.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about my annual tradition of taking stock of my family’s dinner meals on our long drive back from Ohio over the holidays. I’m not someone who makes New Year’s Resolutions, but I do like the idea of thinking back over the least year and ahead to the future of what I’d like to do differently. During the 9 hour drive, in the past, I’ve taken the time to think through what meals we’ve been cooking and what meals or foods we’d like to have more or less of.  The idea is to get us out of the rut of cooking the same 4-5 meals over an over again.

When we do this, we categorize our dinner meals into 4 categories: 

• Go-to Meals – Meals that we typically have the ingredients for and can make without planning and get on the table quickly
• Make Ahead/Slow Cooker Meals – Meals we can make on the weekend to have during the week or put in the slow cooker on a weekday morning if we know there’s a busy evening
• Standard Meals – Meals that require some planning and cooking, but I usually keep meals to 30 – 40 minutes tops
• Special Occasion Meals – Meals that we like but we’d never make during the work week.

A Very Different Year

This year my assessing and planning, like so many things, looked a lot different. There was no trip to Ohio, so no long trip to think about and talk through the coming year. As I reflect now on the last year, it’s clear to me that meals and the stress around cooking was really different in 2020.  There’s no evening commute and no afternoon kid’s activities. So, the dinnertime push, that stressful time between work and activities and getting food on the table, has nearly gone away – something I don’t miss and hope to preserve in some form after the pandemic is over.  My family enjoyed cooking many new meals in 2020, adding some joy and excitement into our Groundhog Day-like weeks. We made brisket for the first time and even roasted oysters on our back porch. We are also ordering take-out more often than we used to. I don’t have judgement about this. We are supporting local restaurants and at the same time adding something new into our week. Our “go-to” meal list definitely expanded in 2020.

“Go-to” Meals – Key to Reducing Stress

Having “go-to” meals are essential to reduce stress and feel confident about getting dinner on the table. “Go-to” meals are meals that you usually have the ingredients for and are easy and quick to cook. So, if plans change or you know it’s a busy day, you can “go-to” one of these meals without stress and worry. Lately, tacos has been that for us. I keep ground beef in the freezer and bags of Penzey’s Taco Seasoning on hand. I know I can get tacos on the table quickly, with a bagged salad or fruit and the whole family is happy. 

A New “Go-to” Meal

My favorite “go-to” meal that we added to our list last year, is a Garlic Shrimp with Feta dish.  This is adapted from a recipe that was in Real Simple many years ago.  I keep frozen shrimp in my freezer, jarred roasted red peppers in my pantry, and feta cheese in my fridge so I can put together this easy, crowd pleaser anytime!  It is excellent served with rice to soak up the garlicky broth and is wonderful the next day for lunch! I like adding fresh green beans to this dish that I buy trimmed and in a microwave safe bag from the store.  They cook for 3.5 minutes in the microwave and I add butter and dill to season. 

Check out our meal planning template found at the top of our website when you subscribe to our mailing list and try making your meal lists.  What are your “go-to” meals that you like to have on hand that make you feel confident in the kitchen? Share then with us in the comments or on our social media accounts! 

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