There are different types of sugars. But I'm not going to get into that, this is simply to give my opinion on the good vs. evil sugar debate. And unless you are a biochemist, you are probably fed up with all of the public debates on sugar and whether it is truly good or bad for you. When it comes to gaining weight, sugar is only a key role in an indirect correlation. A majority of high calorie foods are also high in sugar, which means the more you eat, yep, the more weight you'll gain. One teaspoon of sugar is 15 calories. So the more sugar, the more calories. There are negative effects of too much refined sugar on the body, which are noted below. The key to weight loss and weight maintenance is not sugar, it is calories. End of story.
The average adult female should consume between 1800-2000 calories to maintain their weight, and lower, when losing weight, higher when in need of gaining weight. Men require more, usually between 2500-2800 to maintain. It is never healthier to lose or gain more than 2 pounds a week, no matter what size you are. Losing weight required a cut (from what you are currently eating) of 3,500 calories a week for ONE pound. You would need to cut out 7,000 calories a week to meet the 2 pound goal.
Back to sugar. Too much sugar is not good for the body, but neither is too little. There is no RDI of sugar. Unless you are diabetic, usually eating candy and things higher in sugar content won't physically health-wise hurt you. As I mentioned before, sugary foods are usually higher in calories, which in turn cause weight gain. If you are eating a something that has 250 calories and has 35 grams of sugar, you are not getting any excess "fat" or weight gain from those sugar grams, but those 250 calories will count towards your desired caloric intake for the day. Too much refined sugar (white, processed sugar) found in soda, candy bars, chocolate, etc. do have negative effects when it comes to the body, when consumed in large quantities on a regular basis. Here are the some researched reasons that "too much" refined sugar may be bad for you.
1.Tooth decay
2.Gum disease
3.Unstable blood glucose levels (normally in individuals with diabetes and hypoglycemia)
4.Chromium deficiency
5.Nutrient deficiency (because sugary foods make you fuller, so then you won't feel like eating the healthy stuff after)
7. Stress (when your body is releasing the hormones after sugar leaves the body, it produces hormones that may be linked to increased stress- adrenaline, epinephrin, cortisol)
8. Aging (sugar binds to proteins as we get older, which causes harm to skin elasticity which causes us to age quicker)
Unless you are eating high-calorie sugary based foods, you won't gain weight from sugar. Carbohydrates usually contain decent amounts of sugar, but if you refer back to my carbohydrate blog, you will see carbohydrates are not what cause weight gain, it's the calories of foods that contain carbs and the lack of exercise associated with over consumption of carbohydrates. If you are getting your sugars from a healthy piece of bread or a 120 calorie cup of yogurt, there is no downside to the sugar intake. Medically proven. It won't hurt you to eat a candy bar or drink a soda every now and then, but remember that the key word is MODERATION that those calories do count. If you are concerned about sugar, especially if you are diabetic, you would probably benefit from researching the glycemic index, which lists foods in order of how fast a certain food can raise a blood glucose level. Hope this clarify's that sugar is nothing to fear, it's the calories in and the energy out that affect your weight, not sugar and carbohydrates. =]
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