Rotten Egg #3 - Sugar & Diabetes
Pop quiz!
Which of the following are risks of excess sugar consumption?
Nutrient deficiencies due to displacement of other nutritious food from the diet
Development of dental cavities
Development of Type II Diabetes
On average, North Americans eat about 20 teaspoons (82g) of sugar a day, where majority comes from foods and beverages containing sugar added during processing and/or manufacturing. Although sugar does supply calories, it also crowds out other nutritious foods from your diet—so give yourself a pat on the back if you chose #1. Furthermore, high intakes of sugar also increases the risk of weight gain and obesity. However, even though obesity is a risk factor for type II diabetes, high sugar diets DO NOT directly cause diabetes – that’s a big difference!
The argument behind this myth is that when sugar stimulates insulin secretion, it exhausts our ability to produce insulin, which thereby causes diabetes. Just a reminder, the cause of type II diabetes is insulin resistance.
Watch out for the following risk factors for diabetes:
a strong genetic predisposition
obesity
physical inactivity (and NOT a high sugar diet).
So…what about #4? Although diets high in sugar have been reported to cause hyperactivity in children, there isn’t any scientific evidence to support this. ADHD and other behavioral problems are likely due to a variety of non-nutritional factors. In other words, eating a nutritious diet will not prevent hyperactivity. I also read somewhere that sugar has a sedative effect through decreased production of serotonin…that fact alone would bust this myth.
To summarize, sugar does not cause type II diabetes. However, it does cause other major health issues such as: weight gain, obesity, dental cavities and nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, please continue to reduce your sugar intake to 26g if you’re a woman or 40g if you’re a man.
Here are some final suggestions:
Buy reduced-fat microwave popcorn to replace candy for snacks.
Cook at home with minimally processed whole foods instead of commercially prepared foods.
Add less sugar to foods such as coffee, tea, cereal and fruit.
Answer: #1 & #2
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Image courtesy of SuzyHazelwood
