SUGAR: a pitch for sobriety

Of all the lifestyle changes that I made while trying to fix my IC, the one that’s had the most obvious impact on my life is becoming sugar sober, i.e., cutting out added sugar and stabilizing my blood sugar. It’s made life feel so much easier. I’ve been having a hard time controlling my urge to pitch this intervention to everyone I meet, so I’ve decided to start a multi-post series on sugar to serve as a less obnoxious outlet for my fervor.     

I want to assure you, up front, that I’m not here to convince you to never eat something sweet again; and there are a variety of tweaks (i.e., both dietary and behavioral) that you can use to reduce the impact that sugar has on your body. Most of them are easy and some are even fun. 

Still, I recognize that sugar is a thing that we humans cling particularly tightly to and that most of us need serious motivation to make any type of change. That’s why I’m starting out this sugar series with some motivational fodder. I’m going to tell you: (1) what sugar is, (2) what sugar does to your body, and (3) what sugar sobriety could do for you. 

In upcoming posts, I’ll tell you my own sugar story, debunk the pervasive myths that Big Sugar uses to protect itself, explain why sugar is so addictive, and teach you how to sober up.  

WHAT SUGAR IS (MEET THE CARBS)

A sugar is a type of carbohydrate that tastes sweet and dissolves in water. Sugars that are made up of a single sugar molecule are called monosaccharides, whereas sugars that are made up of two sugar molecules linked together are called disaccharides.  

There are three monosaccharides that we get from our diet, namely glucose, fructose, and galactose. Glucose is the body’s preferred fuel because it’s easily converted into cellular energy (ATP) with no processing required. Glucose is continuously circulated in our blood to ensure that our cells have access to it, and when people talk about blood sugar, they are really talking about blood glucose. Fructose is found in fruits, veggies, and honey and is linked to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose, aka white table sugar. Galactose is found in milk and is linked to glucose to form the disaccharide lactose, aka milk sugar.  

Sugars are the building blocks of more complex carbohydrates, like starch and fiber. Starch and fiber are both made up of long chains of glucose molecules, but the way the glucose molecules are linked together in these carbs differs. While our bodies can break down the type of linkage found in starch, they can’t break down the type of linkage found in fiber. As a result, starch provides our bodies with glucose while fiber is indigestible and passes through us largely intact. 

[Note: Most plant foods contain a mixture of glucose, fructose, sucrose, starch, and fiber, but the ratios of these carbs vary depending on the food. Generally speaking, fruits contain the most sugar, grains contain the most starch, and vegetables contain the most fiber.]

WHAT SUGAR DOES TO YOUR BODY

When we eat something sweet or starchy, digestive enzymes break down the disaccharides and starch into monosaccharides. The monosaccharides get absorbed by cells lining the small intestine and are then dumped into the bloodstream, causing our blood glucose levels to rise. Beta cells in the pancreas detect the increase in blood glucose and respond by releasing the hormone insulin. Insulin shifts our bodies out of fat-burning mode and into glucose-burning mode. It tells our cells to take up glucose from the blood and to start using it preferentially for fuel. It also tells our fat cells to take up fat and save it for later (i.e., for after the surplus glucose has been cleared out). Excess glucose that we don’t immediately need for energy is made into a branchy chain called glycogen for short-term storage and is converted into fat for long-term storage. 

This insulin-induced glucose storage scramble is key because free glucose damages the body. It does so, for example, via glycation and free radical production. Glycation is a process in which sugars (e.g., glucose & fructose) spontaneously glom onto other molecules and thereby damage them; and free radicals are unstable molecules that damage molecules that they bump into by stealing their electrons. Free radicals are produced when glucose reacts with oxygen to generate cellular energy. Glycation and free radicals are both normal byproducts of metabolism, and our bodies are prepared to deal with them in limited amounts (e.g., by using antioxidants to neutralize them). But when we deluge our bodies with more glucose than they can handle at one time, we expose ourselves to needless cellular damage, and that damage can contribute to the development of chronic inflammation and a variety of diseases. For example, when these byproducts damage DNA they can create mutations that contribute to cancer development, and when they damage the protein collagen, they reduce its elasticity and result in wrinkle formation and blood vessel stiffening (which increases our risk for heart attack and stroke).   

Large blood glucose spikes also negatively affect how we feel. When blood glucose levels rise sharply, the pancreas responds by releasing a surge of insulin, which causes blood glucose levels to plummet. Our bodies perceive a steep drop in blood glucose as a sign that they need more energy and sound the hunger alarm, which can cause us to feel ravenous even if we just ate. This phenomenon is referred to as a sugar crash or reactive hypoglycemia. It occurs 2-4 hours after we eat something sweet or starchy, and it can cause a variety of symptoms, including intense cravings, shakiness, sweating, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, headache, nausea, fast/uneven heartbeat, irritability (i.e., hanger), anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and brain fog. Unfortunately, we tend to respond to a sugar crash by reaching for more sugar, which initiates another spike-crash cycle. As a result, many of us unwittingly spend our days on a rollercoaster of glucose highs and lows, and become habituated to the unpleasant consequences. 

Thus far, we’ve been focused on the effects of glucose on the body. Glucose is all you need to worry about when you eat something starchy. But when you eat something sweet, you have fructose to worry about too, and the effects of fructose are particularly nasty. Fructose metabolism produces HIGH levels of glycation and free radicals. It also produces uric acid, which can cause gout and promote high blood pressure. And because fructose can’t be used directly as fuel like glucose can, a lot of it gets converted into fat in the liver. Excess fat secreted by the liver causes plaque buildup in the arteries, which increases our risk for heart disease and stroke; and accumulation of fat in the liver contributes to the development of insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

WHAT SUGAR SOBRIETY COULD DO FOR YOU

Sugar sobriety will change your life in three important ways:

1) It will free you from the blood glucose rollercoaster. As a result, you will:

• Be less hungry. You’ll be able to easily go 4-5 hours between meals and your cravings for crap food will dissipate. 

• Have more energy. Your energy slumps (e.g., post lunch) will be less debilitating, and your sleep will be sounder at night. 

• Think more clearly. You’ll experience less brain fog and mental fatigue. 

• Be in a better mood. You’ll be more emotionally stable and feel brighter.

2) It will slow the damage done to your body by glycation and free radicals. For example, it will: 

• Stave off effects of aging (e.g., wrinkles, arthritis, dementia, cataracts). 

• Slow the accumulation of genetic mutations (e.g., ones that cause cancer).

• Reduce various forms of inflammation, including:

• gut inflammation, which can cause GI symptoms and leaky gut; and

• skin inflammation, which can manifest as acne, rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis. 

3) It will reduce the amount of time you spend with high levels of insulin in your blood, which will:

• Protect you from insulin resistance. When cells are routinely exposed to high levels of insulin, they build up a tolerance to it and become less responsive. As a result, your pancreas has to pump out more and more insulin to get the glucose that you consume safely stored away. This condition is called insulin resistance, and it's a primary driver of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity.

• Keep you in fat-burning mode longer. This can help you lose weight, even without cutting calories.

• Fix hormonal imbalances. Excess insulin messes with your hormones (e.g., it triggers the production of excess testosterone and estrogen) and thereby causes issues like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), infertility, wonky periods, nastier menopause symptoms, and mood swings.

Sounds pretty incredible, right? If a drug could do all this, it would be a record-breaking blockbuster. Just think of how much time and money people spend trying to achieve just one of these outcomes (e.g., weight loss). With sugar sobriety you will look better, feel better, and slash your risk for our society’s deadliest diseases, and you’ll do it all FOR FREE.