SUGAR POST: Spooky Stats About Halloween Candy, Sugar, and Sweeteners,

With Halloween, and the holidays, around the corner, let’s take a closer look at sugar, sweeteners and our bodies. 

In today’s world, sugar is abundantly available from many sources. But because we are biologically programmed to seek it out for our evolutionary survival, it often means we eat more than we need, often unintentionally. I’ve written before about hidden sugars we are unaware that we’re eating, and this leads to over consumption. Americans consume an average of 126 grams of sugar (about 30 teaspoons) each day, which is more than twice the daily recommendation from the World Health Organization.

While some sugar in the diet helps our bodies move and stay alert, too much sugar can spike blood sugar and lead to crashes. This spike and crash pattern may contribute to larger health problems, including obesity, heart disease, and a host of other health-related issues, including but not limited to:

• Promoting inflammation, the underlying cause of many chronic diseases

• Distorting the hunger and satiety hormones, causing overeating and increased risk of obesity

• Potential insulin resistance and possibly higher risk of type 2 diabetes

• Disrupting the gut microbiome and negatively impairing immunity

• Increased likelihood of memory deficits and risk of Alzheimer’s disease

• Increased blood pressure and triglycerides, which may cause cardiovascular disease 

• Increased likelihood of dental cavities

• Increased risk of asthma 

Artificial sweeteners (saccharine, aspartame, sucralose, i.e. Equal, Splenda, Sweet'N Low) are equally bad, and some might argue, worse for the body than sugar.

They are 1,000 times more sweet than sugar, confusing our bodies and causing more of a roller coaster effect with blood glucose spikes. Sweeteners also affect our brain chemistry and metabolism, overly stimulating our taste buds and tricking them into thinking we're eating real sugar. This revs up insulin production, the fat storage hormone. We end up becoming hungrier more quickly and more likely to overeat, especially carb heavy foods, compounding and creating a vicious cycle.

Meals and snacks high in refined carbohydrates and added sugars lead to higher blood glucose levels and a roller coaster effect of glucose into the bloodstream.

Halloween candy is not a snack. It should only be a once-in-a-while special treat, and eaten after a meal to better control blood sugar spikes.

But don’t think that candy is the only culprit; baked goods, desserts, anything that comes in a wrapper, even if it’s marketed as healthy, can contain sugar or artificial sweeteners. Learn to read labels. Chances are if you don’t understand the word in the ingredient list, it is something artificial and not healthy for your body. Words ending in “ose” = sugar. 

Stevia and monk fruit, made from plants, can be good sugar substitutes because they typically do not stimulate sugar cravings for more. They are sweeter than sugar, so you don't need a lot. However, everyone is different, so in some people they can still trigger sugar cravings and in those cases should not be used. 

If you want to learn more about the actual science of blood glucose spikes and the roller coaster effect, get in touch with a littleGrand Wellness Partner!

Sources: IIN Legacy Program, IIN Hormone Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard Health, Mayo Clinic