Sugar Gives Me Energy So Is It Good For Me? by Jane Thurnell-Read

I met a lady recently who said to me: “Everyone needs some sugar for energy.” I pointed out to her that if this were really true the human race would have died out a long time ago, as sugar as a food is a relatively recent development.

But the advertisers have done a good job. In the UK we had a long running advertisement for a Mars Bar (a chocolate bar) whose slogan was “A Mars A Day Helps You Work Rest And Play”. But is sugar really good for us?

Firstly there are different types of sugar. The main ones we are concerned with in this context are sucrose and fructose.

Fructose is a type of sugar found in fruit. Sucrose is a sugar made from cane or beet sugar. Fructose has a much lower glycaemic index than sucrose. In practical terms this means that it has a less dramatic affect on blood sugar than sucrose does. In an ideal situation our bodies keep our blood sugar levels within tight limits, but sucrose enters the blood stream quickly raising our blood sugar levels suddenly, and giving us a quick burst of “energy”, but then blood sugar levels drop equally rapidly, leaving some people feeling tired, jittery, headachy and reaching for the next lot of sugar (or other stimulants such as coffee and alcohol) to make them feel better. If you were going to need to run away from a lion shortly or are in the middle of running a marathon, you might want food that has a quick effect on blood sugar levels in this way. But for most of us, in the long run, eating sucrose gives us less energy rather than more, because of the way it takes our blood sugar on a switch back.

Sucrose is usually regarded as empty calories – it is often present in foods that are high in fat and artificial colouring, and that have very little going for them nutritionally. Fructose, on the other hand, is usually consumed by eating fruit, which has all sorts of other beneficial nutrients.

Do we need sugar in any form? The answer to this is definitely ‘no’. Blood sugar, which gives us our energy to do things, is not necessarily made from sugar in food. Our bodies have a process known as catabolism in which food is broken down and turned into energy for the body.

Should we avoid all sucrose? In an ideal world the answer to this is ‘yes’, and dentists would be delighted if sugar were banned (or may be not, because they would be a lot less busy fixing people’s dental caries). Living as we do, a small amount of sugar is OK for most people – there are some medical exception to this, but don’t try to convince yourself that sugar gives you energy or is necessary for your survival.

But if you don't want to live without a sweetener, there is a good alternative to sugar and that is Xylitol. Xylitol is found in the fibres of many fruits and vegetables, but is often made from birch trees.It is a much better sweetener than sugar. It has a lower glycaemic index (8 rather than 65).  It is absorbed more slowly so doesn't generate the unstable blood sugar that ordinary sugar does. It is about as sweet as sugar but with just over half the calories (2.4 kcal per gram as opposed to 4.00 kcal per gram for ordinary sugar). It can be used in hot and cold drinks and baking - in fact all the ways that ordinary sugar can be used, except for things like bread making as it kills yeast. It does not have the after-taste of many artificial sweeteners. There is also mounting research that it reduces dental decay rather than increasing it as ordinary sugar does. The only real downside is that it can have a laxative effect if taken to excess. It is also not suitable for pets. Xylitol can be found in many health stores.

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