Sugar: The Good and the Bad

WRITTEN BY HANNAH BAKOWSKI

 
 

Today I’m going to talk about sugar. When I say the word sugar, what do you think of? Cookies? Brownies? Candy? Or maybe, even granulated sugar! When I think of sugar, I think of all of those things, as well as carbohydrates. Yes, sugar is a carbohydrate, but more specifically, it's a simple carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are broken into two main categories: simple and complex. These categories are then broken down further. We won’t go into too much detail, but it’s important to understand the basics. A simple carbohydrate is a carb that is quickly broken down by the body and includes foods such as sugar naturally found in milk, milk products, fruit, pure honey, and pure syrups. It also contains sugar that is added to food during production1. Complex carbohydrates are made up of long, complex chains of sugars, hence the name “complex”. These types of carbs contain not only sugar, but vitamins, minerals, and fiber as well. Some examples of complex carbohydrates are bread, legumes, pasta, starchy vegetables, and rice2

For some, the idea that fruits and starchy vegetables contain sugar can be confusing, since we’re often told that sugar is bad for us. This, then, leads me to my next question: is sugar really bad for you? Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to this question. It honestly depends on many factors such as what type of sugar, how much you are eating, how frequently you are eating it, and more.

To help us break this down, let's talk about fruit. As I mentioned before, fruit is a simple carbohydrate, and this is because it contains the type of sugar known as fructose. Fructose, however, is also found in processed foods in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (these types of sugars are called added sugars). So, if fructose is found in fruit, foods we know to be good for us, and it’s also found in processed foods, like candy and cookies, is it really good for us? 

Well, when we consume large amounts of added sugars, we increase our risk of metabolic syndrome, hypertension, insulin resistance, lipogenesis, diabetes, kidney disease, and inflammation3. This is why the World Health Organization has recommended that we should not consume more than 5% of our daily caloric intake in added sugars3. Luckily, the fructose found in fruit such as a peach weighs about 1% of the fruit's weight while the fructose found in processed foods makes up 50% of the weight of high-fructose corn syrup3. Fruit also provides other nutritious things such as antioxidants, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. The good aspects of fruit far outweigh the bad consequences the small amount of fructose could potentially cause3. Processed foods on the other hand, don't provide these beneficial nutrients, and they have a lot more fructose in them, which can increase our risk of these adverse health conditions if we eat too much of it.

To answer our question on whether or not sugar is bad for us - the answer is yes and no. Added sugars found in processed foods and baked goods are not great for us, but we can eat them as long as we don't eat too much and too often. Sugars found naturally in fruit and vegetables are found in smaller amounts, and come along with other beneficial nutrients so these foods won't cause us harm. So, if you have a sweet tooth, try eating more fruits instead of processed snacks and desserts that contain high amounts of added sugar. Or, if you are a chocolate fan like me, try making your own chocolate desserts so you can control how much sugar goes into it! We made these homemade Reeses in our Fast Feet Cooking Class and they were a huge hit!


Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

Nut Butter Filling

  • ½ cup creamy salted peanut butter (sub with SunButter or your favorite nut butter)

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 5-6 tablespoons coconut flour (sub with 10 tablespoons almond flour or all-purpose flour)

Outer Chocolate Layer

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips

  • Optional: flaky sea salt to top!

Directions:

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together creamy peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract

  2. Pour in flour and stir thoroughly until all flour is combined

  3. Form dough into smaller, ½ inch thick balls, aly on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and then press flat so they form a patty.

  4. Once all the dough has been shaped, place in the freezer for about 10 minutes to chill/harden.

  5. While the dough is in the freezer, begin making the outer chocolate layer: melt coconut oil and broken up chocolate bar in a small pot over the stove, or in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl, heatin for 30 second intervals until completely liquid, stirring in between

  6. Once nut butter filling has hardened, remove from the freezer and use 2 forks to dip into the melted chocolate, making sure excess chocolate drips back into the bowl before placing back onto the parchment paper. Optional: top with flaky sea salt.

  7. Place the entire batch back in the freezer to harden 15-20 minutes and Enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to several weeks