The rules around sugar can be confusing when all you hear is, “sugar is bad for you, eat less.”
It’s important to understand the difference between natural sugars and added sugars. Natural sugars are found in whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. They are an intrinsic part of these foods and not added during processing. Examples of natural sugars include fructose in fruit and lactose in milk.
When you consume natural sugars in whole foods, you also benefit from the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.
“Added sugars” are added during processing or preparation. Even if they are “natural,” they’re still added (like honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar, etc.) Added sugars are commonly found in sugary drinks, baked goods, candies, and many processed foods like cereals, sauces, and condiments.
Added sugars are empty calories because they lack the nutrients in whole foods. Even if natural, overdoing added sugars is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and dental problems.
Note: Don’t go crazy with natural sugars just because they’re part of a whole food. Fruit can still spike your blood sugar, especially super sweet fruit like pineapple, watermelon, dates, bananas, etc.
Experts recommend you consume no more than about 25 grams (6 tsp) of added sugars per day for women and about 37 grams (9 tsp) for men at a healthy weight. If you’re overweight or insulin-resistant, use way less.
If you eat something sweet, I always recommend my patients eat some protein, fiber, and/or fat first to slow the uptake of sugar into the bloodstream so you don’t get a blood sugar spike and then crash.
To learn more about our services and to schedule a free consultation, please visit redriverhealthandwellness.com. We work with your prescribing physician for optimal results. Do not discontinue medication or hormone replacement therapy without consulting your prescribing physician.
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About Josh Redd
Josh Redd, MS, DABFM, DAAIM, is a chiropractic physician and author of the Amazon bestselling book “The Truth About Low Thyroid.” Redd owns seven functional medicine clinics in the western U.S. and sees patients from across the country and around the world who are suffering from challenging autoimmune, endocrine and neurological disorders.
He studied immunology, virology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins where he is a MaPHB candidate. He also teaches thousands of health care practitioners about functional medicine and immunology, thyroid health, neurology, lab testing and more.
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