Sugar is two of the three kinds of carbohydrates; sugar, starch and fiber. Sugar is found in foods of plant origin and most milk products. Sugar is classified as naturally occurring or processed (added). Naturally occurring sugars include honey which contains fructose and glucose, milk contains lactose, fruit contains fructose and vegetables contain glucose and or fructose and or dextrose. Processed (added) sugar usually originates from corn, beets or sugar cane. The body cannot tell the difference between naturally occurring or processed sugar because they are chemically very similar. Naturally occurring sugar may have the advantage of trace amounts of vitamins or minerals were as processed (added) sugar does not contain vitamins or minerals. This is the reason why processed sugar is said to be “empty calories”.

On the Nutritional Food Label, “sugars” include both added and naturally occurring. Added sugars go by many names including; corn syrup, demerara, sugar, dextrose, brown sugar, fructose, galactose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt, malt dextrin, maple syrup, molasses, muscovado, barbados sugar, panocha, confectioners sugar, rice syrup, sucrose, granulated sugar, treacle, turbinado sugar and concentrated fruit juice.

What happens when sugar intake is too high?

A high intake of sugar promotes overeating because of its stimulating taste. For the people that are attracted to the sweet taste of sugar this overeating can lead to weight gain and type-2 diabetes. In recent years obesity and type-2 diabetes rates have climbed significantly. The health problems related to obesity and type-2 diabetes include heart disease, stroke, vision damage, kidney problems and nerve damage.

Which foods are high in sugar?

Of course everyone knows that soda or ice cream are high in added sugar however that’s not the only source. Large amounts of naturally occurring or added sugar can be found in numerous food items such as sweetened or unsweetened fruit drinks, some fruits including bananas, pasta, pastry, breads, muffins, most dairy products, breakfast cereals, granola bars, jams, honey, the list goes on and on.

What you can do!

If you are developing or have already developed type-2 diabetes then making healthy lifestyle choices such as daily exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and an improved diet as well as regularly checking your blood sugar levels will help you manage your diabetes. If you would like to avoid the health problems associated with high blood sugar levels regular exercise, keeping off excess weight and a healthy diet is all it takes.

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Brian Forsythe of EHF Executive Health And Fitness is a natural competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer with over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry