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Date Posted: 11:11:39 09/07/04 Tue
Author: J.R.Smith, c.f.t.,s.f.t., p.n.s. - ISSA, USSA, ISFN
Subject: How much sugar is too much sugar?

In general we recommend that your overall caloric intake does NOT exceed 30% of your calories coming from carbohydrates in the form of simple sugars. You may be asking that if complex carbohydrates which are polysaccharides are broken down to monosaccharides in the intestines before they are absorbed into the bloodstream, why are they better than refined sugar or other di- or mono-saccharides?
To a great extent it has to do with the processes of digestion and absorption. Simple sugars require little digestion, and when you eat a sweet food, such as a candy bar or a can of soda, the glucose level of the blood rises rapidly. In response, the pancreas secretes a large amount of insulin to keep blood glucose levels from rising too high. This large insulin response in turn tends to make the blood sugar fall to levels that are too low 3 to 5 hours after the candy bar or can of soda has been consumed. This tendency of blood glucose levels to fall may then lead to an adrenaline surge, which in turn can cause nervousness and irritability... The same roller-coaster ride of glucose and hormone levels is not experienced after eating complex carbohydrates or after eating a balanced meal because the digestion and absorption processes are much slower.

This being the case, we recommend that you include vegetables of various colors in your diet. Starches are the way plants store energy. Plants produce glucose and chain the glucose molecules together to form starch. Most grains (wheat, corn, oats, rice) and things like potatoes and plantains are high in starch. Your digestive system breaks a complex carbohydrate (starch) back down into its component glucose molecules so that the glucose can enter your bloodstream. It takes a lot longer to break down a starch, however. If you drink a can of soda full of sugar, glucose will enter the bloodstream at a rate of something like 30 calories per minute. A complex carbohydrate is digested more slowly, so glucose enters the bloodstream at a rate of only 2 calories per minute.

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