How Bad is Sugar for Fat Loss?

Sugar is one of the worst contributors in the modern diet and it comes in many forms. Most of these sugars that are added to our food can be extremely harmful, contributing to obesity and the development of life-threatening diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (1, 2, 3).

Different types of sugars are added to the foods that we consume to enhance taste, texture, and shelf-life while providing little nutritional value. This is why sugar is considered an empty calorie.

These added sugars are found in 74% of our packaged foods, including ones that we are told are healthy for us.

When you look at the food label, it can be difficult to know what to look for when trying to decipher whether sugar has been added.

One reason this is so difficult is that there are over 61 names for sugars that are added to the foods we consume and so companies will try to mask sugars that are added by listing them under different names (4).

The American Heart Association recommends that we consume no more than 38 grams of added sugar a day for men and 25 grams a day of added sugar for women. And with so many foods including added sugar, this can be a difficult number to stay under (5).

For example, a 12 oz can of soda includes 46.2 grams of added sugar alone, almost twice the recommended limit for women in a single drink (4).

Even though sugars may be bad, they are not all created equal and some are more harmful than others.

When sugar enters into our system, it is broken down into two simple sugars before hitting the digestive tract.

HOW OUR BODY BREAKS DOWN SUGARS

Glucose: This simple sugar is found in every living cell and we get it from our diet. When we do not, our body naturally produces it through our consumption of proteins and fats.

Fructose: This is not naturally produced by our bodies and we cannot break it down in large amounts. In fact, the only organ that can metabolize it, in small amounts, is the liver. More often than not, fructose is stored by our livers until the liver is overloaded and then it is turned into fat (6). Overconsumption of fructose can even lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (7).

*This does not include the fructose we get from consuming fruits.

COMMONLY ADDED SUGARS

Table sugar (aka sucrose): Sucrose, or table sugar, is made of half fructose and half glucose and can have an adverse effect on your health. Studies show that consumption, especially early consumption, can play a role in obesity and even increase the risk of tumor growth in mammary glands, increasing the risk of breast cancer (8, 9).

High Fructose Corn Syrup: This is perhaps one of the most common sweeteners, made from processed corn, found in processed foods, especially in the US. It is high in fructose and is known for its negative effects on health. It has been linked to diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (10, 11, 12).

Aspartame: One of the most controversial sweeteners in the world, aspartame is a protein made of two amino acids (phenylalanine and aspartic acid), with an added hydrocarbon to make it sweet. Several studies claim that the sweetener may lead to cancer, while other studies argue these findings (13, 14, 15). Another study reports a link between aspartame and the frequency of headaches, as well as increased brain activity in children linked to seizures (16, 17).

Sucralose (Splenda): Although this sweetener is made from sugar, it is not a natural sugar. During manufacturing the sugar molecules are changed chemically by exchanging chlorine atoms for hydroxyl groups, that is, an oxygen and a hydrogen pair, making this sweetener indigestible. It is also about 400-700 times sweeter than normal table sugar (18).

Consumption of Sucralose can have many negative effects, such as damaging our gut by reducing the number of good bacteria (19). It has also been found that baking with Sucralose at high temperatures causes it to chemically break down even further and generate chloropropanols, a potentially toxic class of compounds (20).

WHAT ARE SOME ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS?

Stevia: This natural sweetener is derived from the leaves of the plant Stevia Rebaudiana and contains virtually no calories, yet is very sweet. Unlike sugars that are found in many foods, stevia contains many health benefits, such as the ability to lower blood pressure by 6-14% and lowers blood sugar levels in diabetics (21, 22)

Erythritol: This sugar is found naturally in fruits and contains fewer calories than table sugar, yet is also slightly less sweet. This sweetener doesn’t spike blood sugars but can cause digestive issues if consumed in large quantities. Otherwise, studies have shown this to be a much safer alternative to other popular sugars (23, 24, 25)

Xylitol: With fewer calories than table sugar, yet similar sweetness, xylitol may help prevent osteoporosis without raising blood sugar levels (26, 27)

Sugars are added to so many of the foods that we eat and can have a negative effect on our health. Not only can they contribute to weight gain and are a leading cause of obesity, but many times added sugars can play a part in the development of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

When it comes to your nutrition and the supplements you take, we want to make sure that you are taking the very best there is. This is why we are committed to producing supplements that are all natural and free of harmful chemicals, including artificial sweeteners.

In fact, we worked hard to redesign our formulas over and over again until they were perfect and as healthy as they could be.

This is why we have changed our BCAA formula, tossing out the Sucralose that was in it and replacing it with Stevia. This is our last product to be overhauled and redesigned, as we worked to reduce the ingredient lists and make them the cleanest products there are.

We understand that our BCAAs were already extremely popular, as well as pretty clean, but we couldn’t let you keep consuming Sucralose. So, we are introducing our new and improved, Orange Dreamsicle BCAAs, made with Stevia. They are cleaner and taste better than ever!

To learn more about the many benefits of BCAAs, click here.