2741: The Great Sugar Debate by Nancy Clark on Sugar in Sports Nutrition

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: OrtoMol Immun ist dein Partner fürs Immunsystem. Und damit das einwandfrei funktionieren kann, ist eine ausreichende Versorgung mit Mikronährstoffen wichtig.

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_01]: OrtoMol Immun ist ein Nahrungsergänzungsmittel zur gezielten Unterstützung des Immunsystems, mit wichtigen Nährstoffen wie Vitamin C, D und Zink als Beitrag zu einer normalen Funktion des Immunsystems.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Such jetzt online nach OrtoMol Immun, informiere dich und sicher dir deine kostenlose Produktprobe.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So, press play on good sleep tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Just search for good sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Health Daily, The Great Sugar Debate by Nancy Clark of nancyclarkrd.com

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Dr. Neil, your very own personal host and narrator.

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I read to you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs out there,

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_00]: with permission from the websites, and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And with that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The Great Sugar Debate by Nancy Clark of nancyclarkrd.com

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Sugar is a total waste of calories. I don't touch the stuff.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I have such a sweet tooth. My day is grim without some sugar in it.

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Before I compete, I eat a spoonful of honey to boost my energy.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're like many athletes, you are confused about the role of sugar in your daily sports diet.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: The anti-sugar media reports sugar is health-erosive.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Yet, sports nutrition researchers claim sugar is performance-enhancing.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: That might leave you wondering, should I eat sugar or avoid it?

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: To address this conflict, I've summarized a sugar debate published in the Journal of Progressive Cardiovascular Disease.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The article, critique, and editorial do a good job of examining the question,

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: have the ill effects of those seemingly toxic white crystals in your diet been overemphasized?

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Here is some information to help you better understand the two sides to the sugar wars debate.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Side 1. Sugar is evil.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Sugar is not an essential nutrient.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Our bodies can make sugar or glucose from the dietary fat and protein that we eat,

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: or by breaking down our body's muscle and adipose tissue.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. The average American eats about 100 pounds of sugar per year.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: That's 2 pounds a week and contributes abundant empty calories.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. Populations with a high intake of added sugars tend to have health issues.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Reducing added sugar to less than 10% of total calories reduces risk of overweight, obesity, and tooth decay.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: 4. Dietary sugar drives up blood sugar.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Routinely consuming 150 sugar calories each day about one can of soda increases the risk of developing diabetes by 1%.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: 5. Much of this sugar is hidden in packaged foods.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: 5. Metabolizing added sugar with no nutritional value requires vitamins and minerals.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_00]: With very high sugar consumption and low intake of other nourishing foods, one could become nutrient depleted.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: 6. Trading empty sugar calories for nutrient rich calories is a no-brainer.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Limiting sugar intake does not harm anyone.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Next debate, sugar is okay for people who are fit.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Sugar consumption increased from less than 10 pounds per person per year in the late 1800s

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: to about 100 pounds per person per year by World War II.

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Consumption remained relatively flat until 1980.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Our health also improved between 1880 and 1980,

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: so is it fair to say that the increase in sugar hurt our health?

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. Sugar and starch, which is a string of sugar molecules linked together,

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: is in breast milk, dairy foods, fruit, honey, potato, wheat, corn, quinoa, and all grains.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: People around the globe have consumed these carbs for years.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So why now do sugar and starch suddenly become responsible for creating human obesity and diseases?

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. The fear-mongering terms of unhealthy, toxic, and poisonous are simply unscientific.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Those who lack knowledge about physiology accept this disease-mongering anti-sugar rhetoric,

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: but the fact is, no one food is healthy or unhealthy.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: 4. Our present state of poor health is not because our diets are unhealthy or that we consume sugar,

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: but because we are physically inactive.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Low levels of physical activity reduce our ability to metabolize sugar optimally,

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and that explains the true cause of obesity and metabolic diseases.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: 5. In terms of diabetes, blood sugar, not dietary sugar, matters.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: The rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating is not pathological,

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: but rather the failure of the muscles and liver to take up the sugar.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: That is, it's not what you eat, but what your body does with what you eat.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: 6. Physical activity affects appetite and energy intake.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: If we are too inactive and live a sedentary lifestyle,

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: energy intake gets disassociated from energy expenditure.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: We can easily eat more calories than we burn.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Lack of physical activity negatively impacts metabolic health.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: 7. A maternal effect impacts both pre- and postnatal development.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Children of inactive mothers are born increasingly predisposed to inherited childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: This increases with each passing generation.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Concluding comments.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Lack of physical activity, more so than sugar, is the greater threat to our health.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Given that so many are overfat and underfit,

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: a diet low in sugars and starches is likely a good idea for them.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: But for sports active, fit people who are at a lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity,

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: sugar and carbs are not toxic, but rather a helpful way to enhance athletic performance.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The one-size diet does not fit all.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: No one is suggesting that athletes should eat more sugar,

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: but rather understand that as an athlete,

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: you can embrace a sports diet that includes an appropriate balance of carbohydrate,

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: including sugars and starches, in each meal.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Stripe for a healthy eating pattern that includes 85-90% quality foods and 10-15% whatever.

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Some days, whatever might be an apple.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Other days, it might be a slice of apple pie.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: If you are fearful, sugar will harm your health.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Note that fear-mongering relies on cherry-picked scientific information

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: that can prove what the messenger wants to prove.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Fear-mongering messengers have created a general distrust of big food

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: and have shaped opinions that support raw foods, superfoods, whole foods, organic foods, and clean eating.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: While a plant-based diet based on unprocessed foods with no added sugar is ideal,

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I commonly see athletes who take the advice to the extreme and eat too clean,

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: which may be a sign of orthorexia.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's not healthy either.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: My suggestion?

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Enjoy a balanced variety of foods in moderation.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: The United States dietary guidelines recommend limiting added sugar to less than 10% of your total calories each day,

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: which would be no more than 250 added sugar calories per day for an active person who might require about 2,500 calories a day.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Enjoying a daily small sweet seems better than routinely cheating with sugar binges.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Doesn't the age-old advice to enjoy a balanced variety of foods with a sprinkling of sugar if desired seem like a reasonable goal?

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: The Great Sugar Debate by Nancy Clark of nancyclarkrd.com

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Going back to the U.S. dietary recommendations for added sugar intake,

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_00]: As today's author Nancy mentioned, the recommendations are to consume no more than 10% of our daily calories from added sugar each day.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, this is added sugar, so this doesn't include natural sugars like those found in, let's say, fruit.

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Nancy did the math for us and gave us the example of someone that eats 2,500 calories a day.

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_00]: They would be allowed 250 calories from added sugars each day then.

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if we were to think about this in terms of foods, what might that look like?

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, one 12-ounce can of soda, like Coke or Pepsi, has about 140 calories of basically all added sugar.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, if you look at the amount of calories in one 12-ounce can of soda, you'll see it's about 140 calories.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_00]: That means, again, pretty much all of the calories come from added sugar.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So, someone that consumes 2,500 calories a day would be allowed 250 calories from added sugar a day.

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_00]: One can of soda gets them more than halfway there.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So, depending on the foods we choose, we can quickly get to that upper limit recommended by the U.S. dietary guidelines for added sugar.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: But if we consume a mostly whole, less processed food diet, we probably won't get to that upper limit.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: At least, not as quickly.

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, that'll do it for today.

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening and being a subscriber or follower of the show.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you back here tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_00]: After a few minutes, I'll make a little bit more a year for you to pull out the

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_00]: foods.

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_00]: After a few minutes, I'll have an hour to check out the foods right now.

[00:10:11] I'll be back here tomorrow.

[00:10:11] If you have any questions about your diet on this one, I'll have an hour to check out the