The Sugar Burden (part 1) 

It would be hard to think of life without the ubiquitous presence of sugar – of course sugar in coffee and tea (except for those iron-wills who like their coffee black and bitter); sugar in jams and desserts; sugar in yoghurt; sugar in chocolate and sweets.  But you will be surprised to see how often sugar is included in other processed foods – sauces, cereals, bread, fast foods.

ALSO READ : Turning the Tide – Dealing with the main lifestyle-related conditions in South Africa (Part 6)

Some time back I watched a TED talk by Jamie Oliver talking about harmful eating practices in the USA and amongst school children in particular.  Halfway through the presentation he emptied a whole wheelbarrow load of sugar onto the stage, stating that this was the amount of sugar a child would consume just from sweetened dairy products during their elementary school career!  Everyone in the audience gasped in horror.

The amount of sugar modern humans consume is certainly unnatural.  I have heard of isolated rural children, who have never been exposed to sweets finding them unpalatably sweet.  Of course that can’t be said for our modern children.  I know my grandchildren have no problem consuming sweets, chocolates, cool drinks, ice-creams, and a whole host of sugar derivatives.  Statistics in the USA showed a rise in sugar consumption from 20 kg to 50 kg per person between 1900 to 2005.  A recent estimate is almost 70 kg per year, or the equivalent of 3 cups of sugar consumed in one week.  However there has been a shift from sucrose (as obtained from cane sugar and having equal parts glucose and fructose) to higher levels of fructose (as obtained from high-fructose corn syrup).  The latter is obtained fairly cheaply from heavily subsidised maize farming, and is used widely in processed foods.  High fructose ingestion has been associated with a number of health issues when ingested in a processed form.  It is important to note though that high levels of fructose ingested in its natural state from fruit has none of those negative consequences.

Here is a visual from News24 of the sugar contents of commonly consumed beverages in South Africa.  You may be shocked at how much sugar you are consuming from well-known brands.  produced by Theunis Kruger.  I have one criticism of this visual, in that 1 teaspoon of sugar is actually just over 4 gms, not 5 gms, so in fact there are more than 10 teaspoons of sugar in a tin of Fanta Grape. Imagine drinking a tall glass of water with 10 teaspoons of sugar!  I think you would find it unpleasantly sweet.  However if you make it cold and add some fizz and flavour it heavily, you have no trouble drinking it.

All of this extra sugar intake comes with what are called “empty calories/kilo-joules”.  That means that there are no associated nutrients like fibre, vitamins and phytochemicals compared to natural sweet foods like fruit.  If you are average size and want to burn off the sugar content of a tin of fizzy beverage, for instance, you would have to walk a brisk 35 minutes; a chocolate bar would require 50 minutes brisk walking and a cup of vanilla ice-cream would require a full hour brisk walking.

So next time you are tempted to indulge in a cool-drink instead of water, put your walking shoes on and your hiking clothes.

Here is an interesting easy read document about sugar from the US Dept of Health and Human Services:

The problems with excessive sugar intake

• We have mentioned the role in kilo-joule intake – all those extra empty kilo-joules increasing your weight. Cutting way back on refined sugar is one of the most important ways of reducing energy intake in a rational weight loss programme.
• Effect of sugar on immunity. Studies have shown that the ability of the white cells (the defence force of the body) to mop up bacteria (phagocytosis) is significantly reduced for up to 5 hours from any refined sugar – even orange juice.  However this effect is not found with unrefined starch – and fasting for 36-60 hours significantly improves phagocytosis.
• Behaviour in children after a sugar high can be affected – this can affect attention span and learning ability, and can aggravate hyperactivity in children with ADHD. Refined sugar is rapidly ingested and can cause a spike in insulin production which results in a sudden drop in blood sugar causing hypoglycaemia and its effect of being edgy and irritable. However this is debated hotly in the paediatric world.  Some studies have shown that the effect is not so much from the low glucose, but from the release of adrenalin as the sugar levels drop.  But I think most parents will readily acknowledge that their children are impossible after a party loaded with refined sugar.
• Addictive effect of sugar. This is such an important topic that we will devote a whole blog to this subject.
• Various other conditions have been linked to excessive sugar intake – allergies, arthritis, cancers/tumours, degenerative organ disease, depression, glucose control in diabetes, migraines, and tooth decay.

What is the solution?

• Replace refined sugar with natural sugars found in fruit and freshly squeezed fruit juice. (Note commercially available fruit juice has no or little fibre and has the same problem as refined sugar).
• Increase the consumption of water. It may take a bit of getting used to, but you can transition your taste buds by adding a slice of orange or lemon to your water.
• Plan your day so that you don’t get hypoglycaemic cravings. Take fruit along with you.
• Don’t shop on an empty stomach. Be particularly wary of all those sugar loaded shelves while you are waiting in the till line.
• Check the food labels to see how much sugar is included in the alternative brands.
• Fresh whole foods like oats or other whole-grain cereals with plenty of fruit and berries are far more sustaining than highly sweetened breakfast cereals. It might take a bit more effort in the mornings to cook, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives in terms of health of your family.
• Get your family (including the grandparents) on board to cut down on sugar consumption. Look for creative ways of replacing refined sugar (e.g. using dates or raisins, or sliced or mashed banana instead of jam on bread.  Cinnamon sprinkled on oats can also be fun.)
• Non-nutritive sweeteners can be covered in next week’s blog. Generally they are to be discouraged.

To a week of enjoying all the natural sweetness found in whole fruits and vegetables.

Dave Glass

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