It’s hard to imagine a life without sugar. But how much sugar is too much? According to the NHS, adults should aim to have no more than 30g of free sugars a day — that's about the same as seven sugar cubes.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends eating a maximum of 50 grams, but preferably no more than 25 grams of sugar per day.
Does that sound like a lot or a little? Well, when you consider that a can of regular Coke has 39 grams of sugar, and even “healthy” foods like a granola bar (8 grams of sugar) and a container of blueberry greek yogurt (14 grams of sugar) contain hidden sugar, it certainly puts things in perspective. Most of us consume at least twice as much sugar as the recommendations allow.
Basically, most of the sugar we consume isn’t even intentional. It is hidden in sweets, cakes, and juice, as well as a lot of processed foods. And, it is not always easily recognised in ingredient lists.
Meet the women that only eat meat.
Sugar often appears in lists of ingredients under many different names. This makes it difficult to recognise the actual sugar content of a product. Some common terms under which sugar can appear in foods include:
- Sucrose: the chemical term for table sugar.
- Glucose or glucose syrup: dextrose, often found in processed foods.
- Fructose: fruit sugar, often found in fruit or corn syrup.
- Corn syrup (high-fructose corn syrup): highly processed sugar syrup used in many soft drinks.
- Maltose: malt sugar, often found in bread and beer.
- Dextrose: another form of glucose.
- Lactose: milk sugar found in dairy products.
- Invert sugar: a sugar that results from the breakdown of sucrose and is found in many confectionery products.
- Honey: often perceived as "natural", but also a form of sugar.
- Agave syrup, maple syrup or rice syrup: alternative sweeteners that also contain sugar.
To summarise: anything ending in "-ose", as well as syrups and sweeteners, are clear indications of sugar.
This isn't too say all sugar is bad; if we believed everything diet culture told us, no one would eat fruit anymore (let's make one thing clear: fruit is good for us, people). But if you're worried your sugar intake is creeping a little too high – if you've noticed changes in yourself physically or psychologically that you're concerned about – then here's how to spot the signs. Remember to always speak to your GP if you're worried about your health.
Signs you may be eating too much sugar
We spoke to to Dr. Lela Ahlemann, a specialist in dermatology, phlebology, proctology, and nutritional medicine, for the possible warning signs you are eating too much sugar.
It's no secret that sugar has a lot of calories. But there is another reason why sugar can make us gain weight (which, let's be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with; only if your weight is something that is concerning you).
"If you eat too much sugar, you are constantly hungry," says Dr. Ahlemann. “The reason for this is that sugar drives up blood glucose levels in the short term, but has no lasting satiating effect due to the lack of fibre.”
"When we eat sugar, not only does the insulin level rise, but also a hormone in the blood called insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1 for short," says Dr. Ahlemann. The expert goes on: "Together with insulin, this IGF-1 stimulates the sebaceous glands and excessive keratinisation in the area of the sebaceous glands, which is why they become clogged — and pimples and inflammation can form there."
"The high increase in glucose levels in the blood leads to an insulin release — but this is often so strong that the blood sugar is not lowered to the normal level, but below the 'baseline', so that you have a relative hypoglycaemia, and this leads to cravings. And in some people, it also leads to mood swings and moodiness," says Dr. Ahlemann.
“Normally, sugar is absorbed by the body via the small intestine. However, if the amount of simple sugars such as glucose and fructose that we consume exceeds the capacity of our small intestine, this simple sugar ends up in the large intestine,” explains Ahlemann.
According to the nutrition expert, it becomes food for bacteria that belong in the large intestine: “Selective feeding leads to a proliferation of these bacteria. The problem is that, unfortunately, they carry endotoxins on their bacterial surface. These are so-called lipopolysaccharides. These endotoxins can then leave the gut, enter the bloodstream and lead to silent inflammation, which accelerates the ageing of the body, and weakens the immune system.”
Dr. Ahlemann explains: "It is scientifically proven that the high intake of sugars leads to the formation of so-called AGEs (= Advanced Glycation End Products)." The expert compares the effect to caramelisation and explains: “In our collagen, the fibres should ideally run in parallel; when the tissue is saccharified, there are cross-links in the collagen connective tissue, which makes it stiff, brittle, easier to degenerate and — very importantly — the body is also less able to repair it if it is cross-linked. This means that the quality of our collagen deteriorates.”
A version of this article originally appeared on Vogue Germany.
