Many chronic health problems that Americans face is preventable, and the recipe for that is relatively simple coming down to proper food choices and adequate exercise. From the Department of Health and human services, two hundred years ago, the average American ate only 2 pounds of sugar a year. In 1970, we ate 123 pounds of sugar per year. Today, the average American consumes almost 152 pounds of sugar in one year. That is astonishing and makes for no surprise that a 2016, the National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey revealed that nearly 40% of American adults are obese. According to the American Heart Association, American adults consume an average of 77 grams of sugar per day, more than 3 times the recommended amount for women. This adds up to around 60 pounds of added sugar annually – that's six, 10-pound bowling balls, folks! The numbers are even worse for children. American kids consume 81 grams per day, equaling over 65 pounds of added sugar per year. Think of it this way – children are ingesting over 30 gallons of added sugars from beverages alone. That’s enough to fill a bathtub! Where’s all this added sugar coming from?
Those amounts are staggering and just plain sad. Food manufacturers are required to list the amount of added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label by mid-2021, or earlier depending on the size of the company. It will be interesting to see the impact that has on disease most directly correlated with sugar consumption like cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. This is a step towards better informing the masses about what they are putting into their bodies, but is that enough? How do we get individuals to care and prevent the long-term consequences? Sugar is at the top of lists of foods that cause joint and muscle inflammation which causes pain and also puts you at higher risk of other diseases like cancer. It is toxic to our bodies yet most Americans are addicted to it.
To further discuss this topic and to help educate us about high sugar intake, as well as what other toxic foods we are eating and what can do to our bodies and how we can start fixing our habits today is Julie Olson. She's trained through the Institute of Functional Medicine, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition® (BCHN) by the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board and the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP), a Certified Nutritionist (CN), a Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner (CGP), and has a Bachelor of Science from University of Colorado, and Degree of Comprehensive Nutrition from Huntington University of Health Sciences. Julie also has advanced her practice through many areas of continuing education.
First of all, Julie, I would love to hear how you got into this field and what your mission is through your work and life.
While working at Warner Bros. Pictures in California as a Senior Media Research Analyst, I received a phone call informing me that my mother was diagnosed with Stage-3 breast cancer. Within weeks, I moved back to my home-state, Colorado, to be closer to my mother and support her through her treatments. Through my search for her cure, I discovered the power of healthy foods and lifestyle choices as the real medicine for illness. My new discovery led me back to school where I studied holistic and functional nutrition. My studies left me fascinated and I was hooked.
My passion is to provide inspirational tools, guidance and education to empower all of my clients for long-term success. I am very grateful I discovered this in time to help my mother, who made positive food and lifestyle changes and today is a healthy and thriving breast cancer survivor!
Let’s start by talking about the abundance of sugar in the American diet or Western diet.
I’ve never been one to eat much sugar because in high school I gave up sugar- no table sugar, no honey, nothing. I did eventually go back to it but forevermore I have been aware of the effects that sugar have on me because when you go without, it makes you much more cognizant of the effects of putting it back into your body. When I have things with added sugar, I get brain fog, I feel my nasal passages get stuffy, I become forgetful, sometimes I get a mild, tension headache, I become more tired and irritable. So, generally I try to stay away from sugar. I check every label of everything I buy to make sure there are no added sugars unless it is made with honey or real maple syrup. This is a habit I have had for about 15 years. But I think about the fact that to come to this awareness, it truly had to be eliminated and eliminated to the point where if you do eat something with sugar, it tastes too sweet in a bad way and when you eat fruits and veggies, their flavors begin to become so much more vibrant. So, I believe that many people are really suffering from eating foods from sugar and not just around their waistline, not just obvious thing like diabetes and hypertension but in so many ways, we are making ourselves ill by eating too much sugar.
So, tell me, what is the science behind sugar, and what is it doing to our bodies especially when we have too much of it?
Although the sugar industry has actively fought to change public opinion about the health effects of sugar, we now know today that sugar NEGATIVELY impacts just about every organ system in the body, including hair follicles (yes that's an organ).
When we digest sugar, enzymes in the small intestine break it down into glucose. This glucose is then released into the bloodstream, where it is transported to tissue cells in our muscles and organs and converted into energy. Beta cells in the pancreas constantly monitor the amount of glucose in the bloodstream and cells and release insulin to control it. Basically, insulin opens the door to each cell. This means that if you consume more sugar than your body needs right away, it can be stored for later to keep your blood-sugar levels constant. But, with high amounts of sugar, cells become saturated and can reject it. The pancreas can burn out and stop making insulin. If, your body stops producing any or enough insulin, or if your cells become resistant to it, this can result in diabetes, causing your blood-sugar levels to rise to dangerous levels along with other health complications.
Added sugar feeds yeast and bad bacteria that can damage the intestinal wall, creating a leaky gut. This means the chronic, low-grade inflammation that sugar triggers can lead to the transfer of substances from the gut into the bloodstream. This can trigger obesity and other chronic, metabolic diseases. (8, 9)
Sugar also sticks to proteins and damages cells called glycation, which leads to accelerated aging. One protein it really likes to stick to is collagen. Collagen is one of the proteins that makes up our skin, bones, joints, blood vessels, tendons and connective tissue. When collagen is damaged it loses its elasticity and suppleness. This leads to wrinkles, stiff joints, weak brittle bones, tight tendons, constricted blood vessels and of course accelerated aging.
On a similar note, a December 2014 study found sugar-sweetened soda drinks influence the development of metabolic diseases as researchers found soda drinkers had shorter telomeres, a sign of decreased longevity and accelerated cell aging. (10)
What about sugar’s effect on the brain?
When we eat sugar, the brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the hormones that boost your mood, which then stimulate the area of the brain associated with reward. Dopamine works with the regulators in your brain, and when large amounts are released these regulators are dulled. This means that it takes more and more sugar to get the same feeling as the first time.
So, where as a small cupcake may have been enough for you, overtime it will take two or more to get the same feeling. Regular sugar consumption can also inhibit dopamine transporters, which can lead to you needing to eat even more sugar to get the same pleasure reward as before. In addition, it doesn’t suppress hunger hormones meaning your body is unable to tell when you’ve eaten enough. This is a similar process that leads to drug addiction. Sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine! The side-by-side MRI images of the brain on sugar and on cocaine are nearly identical!
Some chronic health problems associated with excess sugar in our diet include:
This is the short list. The actual list goes on and on!
How does sugar increase inflammation and pain?
Let’s first talk a bit more about inflammation.
Some people with chronic inflammation experience pain as a general body ache. Others may have pain in one or more joints. For some people, though, the pain is mainly in the lower back.
Sugar causes inflammation by multiple pathways. Sugar stimulates the production of free fatty acids in the liver. When the body digests these free fatty acids, the resulting compounds can trigger inflammatory processes.
The most important factor is that when you eat simple sugars, your blood glucose spikes. When this happens, your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight system) gets activated. In addition to raising your blood pressure and heart rate, pro-inflammatory cytokines get released throughout your body. Then, your body produces insulin which itself is a pro-inflammatory hormone that promotes the formation of arachidonic acid which is a building block for pro-inflammatory cytokines. The more sugar you eat, the more you rev up your body's inflammatory response.
How little sugar do we actually need?
Sugar falls within the carbohydrate group as it consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms and acts as fuel for the body. In fact, carbohydrates are a main source of energy, converted by the body to power our cells. We need some sugar for some brain cells, some kidney cells, red blood cells and testes cells.
We only need 5% of daily calories from sugar. For instance, by eating 2,000 calories per day, the sugar would be 100 calories and hopefully it’s coming from natural sugar. Most women should not consume more than 100 calories per day of sugar (six teaspoons or 20 grams) and no more than 150 calories per day for men (or about nine teaspoons or 36 grams). And overall, added sugar should be less than 10 percent of your diet. (1)
To put that into perspective, one teaspoon is equal to four grams of sugar. An eight-ounce glass of orange juice has 5.5 teaspoons of sugar. That’s equal to over 20 grams. That’s why you want to eat your fruit; don’t drink it.
Let’s not forget about the kids! Children do not need so much sugar, yet it’s in everything. Sugar consumption for children should not go beyond three teaspoons of sugar per day, which equates to 12 grams. Did you know that one cup of Fruit Loops cereal contains 3.75 teaspoons of sugar? That alone is over the recommended amount for kids.
What else happens to our body when we overindulge in sugar?
False Energy
Sugar can give a sense of having energy, like you would get from an energy shot or natural energy. The truth is, it is false energy. Sugar gives your body a rush that allows it to get a small boost. When this boost is gone, you have what is known as a sugar crash. This crash can leave you feeling tired or it can leave you feeling tired along with having a migraine or light headedness. This crash is hard to get over and, in some cases, can leave you with no alternative but to end your day and get some rest.
Overstimulation
Sugar addiction causes an overstimulation of the system. It causes your body to have a reaction that makes you jumpy or anxious. This can, at first, be confused with just being excited or energetic. The problem is that you need to have more and more sugar to get that same reaction. This ties directly to the release of the dopamine and how more than your brain reacts to it. Your nerves, cells, and body system as a whole become used to the sugar and begin to crave it. It makes your body feel like the only way you can get the boost you need is through sugar. In this way, it is just like any other drug addiction, tricking your body into needing the chemical to keep going.
Overloads Our Liver
This is probably one of the most common adverse side effects that added sugar has on your body. Your liver is put in jeopardy if you consume too many foods with added sugar, since fructose can overload it. Sugar will be broken down into fructose and glucose, and your liver can only metabolize so much of it at one time. This may lead to issues later on with your liver. It is important to note that the amount of fructose needed to overload your liver is only possible with an excessive amount of added sugar, so fructose found in fruit is likely not nearly enough to cause this.
Increases Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
While sugar is not the only culprit for type 2 diabetes, it can definitely help it progress further. This is due to insulin resistance of your body when you consume high amounts of sugar. As mentioned previously, your body becomes resistant to insulin when it is trying to digest a lot of fructose, which can cause mismanaged levels of blood sugar. This in turn may increase your risk for diabetes, or accelerate it to where you notice its effects much sooner.
Exacerbates Mood and Mental Issues
If you are someone who suffers from mood swings or mental health issues, you might notice that they become worse when you consume a lot of sugar. Sugar causes a short-term boost of energy that leads to a much longer sugar crash. This in turn can make it harder when dealing with mental health issues like depression, as the crash often mimics a depressive episode. Too much sugar can also cause severe mood swings and irritability.
Weight Gain
Having too much sugar in your body can also trick your body into holding onto weight or gaining weight, making it very difficult to manage a healthy body. When you have too much fructose in your body, it doesn’t stimulate insulin properly. This ultimately causes your hunger hormone to work in overdrive, which is why you tend to eat more or feel hungrier after you have eaten foods with a lot of added sugar. When you keep feeling hungry, you eat more to be satiated, and thus have a much higher risk of gaining weight.
Are naturally occurring sugars actually like maple syrup, honey, and agave syrup better for you, does eating them make a difference in how your body processes it? And do you believe it reduces one’s risk of disease over table sugar?
I get this question all the time and include the explanation in most my classes. The overall answer is no and there are numerous studies to support it. Our body processes any sugar the same way. Dextrose. Fructose. Lactose. Maltose. Glucose. A sugar by any other name is still sugar. In fact, there are more than 50 different names for it.
We start secreting insulin from the moment we think about or anticipate eating. The taste of something sweet causes a higher secretion of insulin.
Published studies in the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Nutrients Journal, and the NCBI, as referenced in its systematic review which analyzed by meta-analysis, finds no difference in inflammation from dietary fructose and glucose or sucrose.
How about non-caloric artificial sweeteners?
The problem with non-caloric artificial sweeteners is they do not contain any calories and the body still makes insulin, yet the insulin locks all fuel sources away, so the cells are hungry! We feel hungry sooner and crave sweets to replace the calories we have stored away in anticipation of the new calories arriving. Artificial sweeteners literally produce effects similar to those obtained with table sugar, highlighting the importance of reevaluating our relationship with sweetened food and sugar per se.
Did you know that the artificial sweeteners Aspartame (NutraSweet) breaks down into formaldehyde in the body, so you can pickle yourself before you are dead, Ha! Ha! and Sucralose (Splenda) can cause swelling of the liver and kidneys!
What Are the Best Alternatives for Sugar (or Added Sugar)?
1. Stevia
The first alternative for sugar is Stevia, which is one of the best alternative sweeteners you can get. Some people will refer to it as an artificial sweetener, but it is actually completely natural. This is extracted from leaves of the stevia shrub, which grows primarily in South America. The leaves are naturally sweet, so it is a great option when you want to sweeten foods or drinks without using sugar. It typically comes in either powdered or liquid form, sometimes flavored.
2. Honey
Another option is to use honey, but this is only good if you use it in low amounts and you are not trying to stick to a low-carb diet. Honey can sweeten drinks or foods with a much more natural resource that doesn’t have added sugars. Just remember to use only natural, organic, raw honey and not the bottled kind you get in your local supermarket. Look at the label to make sure it doesn’t have any added sugars. If you can get local honey, even better!
3. Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is an outstanding source of manganese, and contains calcium, potassium and zinc. Rich with antioxidants, this all-natural sweetener helps to neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage. Select darker, Grade B maple syrups, as they showcase more of maple syrup’s nutritional benefits. It is higher in calories, so use it sparingly.
4. Dates
Dates are loaded with potassium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and vitamin B6. From the date palm tree, they’re easily digested and help to metabolize proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Evidence shows that dates may help to reduce LDL cholesterol in the blood and may reduce the risk of stroke.
5. Coconut sugar
Now, more and more people are using coconut sugar as their natural sweetener of choice because of its low glycemic load and rich mineral content.
6. Blackstrap molasses
All molasses is obtained from raw cane sugar, made by boiling it until it’s a rich sweet syrup. Blackstrap molasses comes from the third boiling, concentrating its nutrients and providing for its deep, rich flavor.
7. Balsamic glaze
Balsamic vinegar is rich in antioxidants that destroy free radicals, rich in the enzyme pepsin that helps to promote healthy digestion, and it tastes great.
8. Buy fresh fruits instead of fruits that are canned, especially those in syrups.
9. Instead of adding sugar to your morning cereal, use fresh bananas or berries.
10. When baking, cut the sugar by one third. Just try it! You probably won’t even notice.
11. Try using spices, such as ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg, instead of sugar.
12. Try unsweetened applesauce instead of sugar in recipes.
What are some ways to reduce our sugar intake?
Determine if you have a mineral deficiency.
Mineral imbalances in the body can cause sugar cravings. Essential minerals help maintain our hydration status, so being deficient can cause you to reach for sweets when, in truth, you are just dehydrated. People who experience sugar cravings often have very low zinc, calcium, chromium, and magnesium levels. Magnesium regulates glucose and insulin levels, as well as the neurotransmitter dopamine. A deficiency will cause intense sugar cravings, especially for chocolate.
Sugar addiction is the canary in the coal mine.
It usually points to a larger problem that is also dragging you down. To beat sugar addiction, first you’ll need to figure out which type of sugar addict you are. Different kinds of sugar addictions have different underlying causes and require different solutions. If you have tried the “cold turkey” approach to sugar addiction without nutritional strategies, guidelines, and support, you probably found success elusive. That’s because getting rid of the sugar is but one step in an overall comprehensive approach that must be addressed.
The 4 Sugar Addiction Types
Type 1: Chronically exhausted and hooked on caffeine and sugar.
Type 2: Adrenal exhaustion or burnout.
Type 3: Yeast/candida overgrowth. This may be accompanied with chronic nasal congestion, sinus infections, or irritable bowel syndrome.
Type 4: Hormonal. This can be from premenstrual (PMS), perimenopause, menopause or andropause for men.
As a sales person by profession, I always say, you cannot drive results for something that you do not track. You have to come up with baseline metrics first. So, I recommend to people that you start by tracking all of the sugar you eat over a 2-week period, eating your normal diet without changing a thing. Make sure you are looking at all of the dressings, condiments, sauces, crackers you are eating because those are the sneaky culprits, things that definitely don’t need sugar but do. Then, start slowly by maybe just eliminating the things that have added sugar that don’t need to and then once you had made yourself accustomed to less sugar, the easier it will be to actually reduce sweets and sodas from your diet. I am not a nutritionist, but that is one of ways I have found is easier to get people to ween off of addictive sugars. Would you agree with that method and what are some other ways you get your clients to eat less sugar?
Sure, that’s one way to do it. Other ways include:
1. Increase Your Fiber Intake
Fiber moves through the body undigested, helping keep you feeling full and satisfied to kick sugar cravings to the curb. Not only that, dietary fiber also helps keep blood sugar levels steady, preventing a drop in sugar levels and side-stepping some potential negative effects of sugar withdrawal.
A few healthy high-fiber foods include vegetables, nuts and seeds and legumes. Remember to drink more water if you’re upping your fiber intake to prevent unpleasant digestive side effects, such as constipation.
2. Eat More Protein
Protein is great for reducing hunger and sugar cravings. Not only does a high-protein diet cut levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, but it also helps maintain normal blood sugar levels to prevent several sugar withdrawal symptoms. (6, 7) Good sources of protein include grass-fed beef, lentils, wild fish, black beans, organic chicken and eggs. You can also keep a few high-protein snacks on hand for when sugar cravings strike.
3. Stay Hydrated
How many times have you felt your stomach grumbling, only to drink a glass of water and have it disappear? Thirst is often confused with hunger, and sometimes all it takes is drinking a bit of water and staying hydrated to squash cravings. Next time you catch yourself eyeing a sugary candy bar or dessert, try drinking a glass of water, waiting half an hour and seeing if you’re actually hungry or just feeling thirsty. Drink water instead of flavored beverages and juices.
4. Try supplementing with Gymnema Sylvestre
This rare herb is known as the “destroyer of sugar” and studies indicate that it helps to stimulate insulin production in the pancreas, which also helps lower blood sugar levels. It can help inhibit glucose absorption and reduce sugar cravings, as shown by research conducted in India.
4. Pack in Some Probiotics
Eating plenty of probiotic-rich foods helps increase the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Not only does this have far-reaching effects in terms of digestive health and immunity, but some research has even found that it could regulate blood sugar levels, and reduce sugar cravings and appetite. (8) A few examples of nutritious probiotic foods include kombucha, kefir, tempeh, miso, kimchi and natto. Aim for a few servings per week to give your gut health a boost and minimize sugar cravings.
5. Up Your Intake of Healthy Fats
Fat, much like protein and fiber, can promote satiety while warding off sugar cravings. This is because fat is digested very slowly, so it keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should load up on the greasy burgers and fries in order to reduce your sugar cravings. Instead, opt for healthy fats from foods like avocados, nuts and seeds or coconut oil.
6. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth Without Sugar / Have Alternatives
One of the easiest ways to get over or through sugar cravings is to have an alternative. You want something to grab instead of the bad choice, so that you can still get the sweet taste without the side effects. Some options are fruit, spices such as cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and yogurt instead of ice cream. Fruit is great for satisfying your sugar cravings without eating processed sugar. Although fruit does contain natural sugar, it also has plenty of fiber which helps control your blood sugar levels. However, the natural sugar fruit contains does add up so it's best to limit your fruit intake to 2-3 servings per day. All of these options can be a suitable alternative for your normal sugar cravings.
7. Don't Keep Temptations in the House / Clean Out Your Pantry
Keeping sugary foods around the house makes breaking a sugar habit harder. Remove sugar, syrup, honey and molasses from your cupboard and table. Nobody has unlimited willpower; you can only say no to that chocolate bar so many times before you give in to temptation. It's easier to say no to sweets once at the grocery store than to say no to sweets fifteen times at home. By removing the temptation from your home, you reduce the amount of willpower you must exercise on a daily basis and set yourself up for success.
8. Plan out your meals and snacks / Prepare Food and Beverages Yourself
By starting your week knowing what you’re going to eat, it makes it much easier to stay on track, plus even harder to stray toward the candy drawer.
9. Stay motivated
Make a list of the reasons why you decided to cut out sugar and keep it close by to keep you going strong when cravings hit or symptoms worsen.
10. Don't Deprive Yourself Completely Going cold turkey on sugar does work for a few people but for many, it leads to a sugar binge. In order to avoid this binge, allow yourself to have a couple of portion-controlled treats each week. The key to stopping at just one sweet treat is to focus on quality over quantity; instead of buying a large bag of cheap sweets, have a slice of cake from a bakery or a bar of your favorite chocolate. If you're seeking to completely cut out processed sugar, reduce your sugar intake gradually.
Friends and family can help you stay motivated too!
11. Get Some Exercise and Adequate Sleep When you exercise, it reduces your stress levels. This is important when cutting back on sugar because high stress-levels may lead you to reach for sugary foods. The exercise doesn't have to be strenuous to have a positive effect, even a brisk walk can help reduce your stress levels and keep you on track.
12. Learn to Distinguish Cravings from Hunger When you have a craving you may feel like you are truly hungry, but this isn't always the case. You may be seeking out a specific food because you're stressed, bored, or upset rather than because you are truly hungry. To determine whether you are truly hungry or simply having a craving ask yourself if you would eat something like eggs, carrots, or an apple or if you only want sugary foods. If the answer is that you only want sugary foods find something to take your mind off of eating until you are truly hungry.
13. Smell Instead of Tasting
Sometimes your brain needs to be near the sugar and that is enough. This plays into the idea of smelling the sugar instead of tasting the sugar. You can get sweet scented items, go to a bakery, or to a grocery store. Just smell the cupcakes, the sweets, and the chocolate. This can sometimes trigger something in your brain that stops the craving, and lets you move onto a better choice. In fact, often times the frostings that are used on cupcakes or cookies can be so overwhelmingly sweet that the smell stops the craving and makes you feel a bit ill just smelling the craving you are having.
14. Drink Infused Water
You may have heard of infused water, but it usually refers to a method of getting more water into your system. What you can do with infused water is use natural fruits to sweeten the water. You can then have it on hand when you have a craving for something sweet. You are getting the sugar taste when you drink the water all while hydrating your body and getting some nutrients from the infused fruits that you need. Some options are apple cinnamon infused water, orange and mint, or lemon.
Are There certain side effects that you need to prepare for by quitting sugar?
One of the most common is headaches. Headaches from the lack of stimulation of sugar can start within the same day and can become increasingly painful as time goes on. One way you can deal with the headaches are natural methods like meditation or essential oils. This can help reduce the effects or help you get through the headaches that may last for several days or weeks depending on how long your sugar addiction has lasted.
By taking it stage slowly, you can ensure that you will be able to handle the process easily. It will not happen overnight. It will take time and you do need to be patient
What other words of advice do you have for those suffering from pain symptoms when it comes to their diet.
The pain is coming from chronic inflammation
Anti-Inflammatory Supplements
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) recommends the following supplements, which have a long history of use for treating inflammation and the pain associated with inflammation:
Omega-3 fatty acids: Especially known for helping with the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis. In general, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown in numerous studies to decrease system-wide inflammation making them helpful to a wide range of health concerns, especially ones with inflammation at the root.
Turmeric: Turmeric is a spice that is also available in supplement form, and it contains a powerful component called curcumin, which is known for its ability to inhibit inflammation.
Willow Bark: This herb comes from the willow tree and is traditionally used for pain and conditions of inflammation. It is commonly used for general pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, bursitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Bromelain: Naturally found in pineapple, bromelain is an enzyme with an impressive ability to reduce swelling.
In closing tell us a bit more about your practice and approach.
For over a decade I’ve been a Functional Nutritionist. This is different than a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist because a Functional Nutritionist has advanced training in Functional Medicine to run functional labs to get to the root cause(s), for instance, WHY do you have sugar cravings? Part of my approach includes a detailed questionnaire that builds each client an individual timeline and functional matrix. By explaining to each client, the why and the how they got to be unhealthy and how to overcome it, my clients are empowered to make educated healthy choices for long-term success. Book a call if you're interested in working with me.