What's wrong with eating sugar?
Well, if you're a diabetic, everything! If you're not a diabetic but
are overweight or have a family history of diabetes, it is also a good
idea to eliminate or at least trim to a minimum the amount of sugar
you eat.
However, it's not just sugar that is bad for you. All foods containing
a high percentage of refined carbohydrates or starches are just as detrimental
to your health as is table sugar. That's because all carbohydrates except
for fiber are converted into glucose during the digestive process. Glucose
is the only sugar your body recognizes as a nutrient. Therefore, the
carbohydrates in food are converted to glucose.
Some foods are digested and their carbohydrates converted to glucose
more rapidly than others. The more rapidly a food raises your blood
glucose level, the higher is its "glycemic index." Pure glucose
has a glycemic index of 100. The glycemic index of table sugar is about
65 and the GI for bread is about 70. For diabetics, the trick is to
eat foods that have the smallest impact on blood sugar level. That means
avoiding foods such as bread, pasta, rice, most grains, and sugar.
Even the American Diabetes Association recognizes that sugar and other
carbohydrates are basically equivalent. However, surprisingly, instead
of recommending a reduction in all forms of high-glycemic foods, the
ADA gives a green light to sugar!
On its Website, in response to a question about whether sugar can be
included in the diet of a diabetic, the ADA responds in the affirmative:
"For almost every person with diabetes, the answer is yes! Eating
a piece of cake made with sugar will raise your blood glucose level.
So will eating corn on the cob, a tomato sandwich, or lima beans. The
truth is that sugar has gotten a bad reputation. People with diabetes
can and do eat sugar."
So while admitting that corn, tomato sandwiches, and beans will increase
blood glucose levels just like sugar, the recommendation is to go ahead
and eat sugar instead of cutting out bread, corn, and beans! It doesn't
make much sense.
The only "bad reputation" sugar has gotten is that it is
no worse than eating pasta, rice, corn, or potatoes. In fact, a baked
potato has one of the highest glycemic index values of any common food!
In other words, eating an ounce of sugar is no worse than eating an
ounce of corn flakes, potato chips, rice, bread, or pasta, except that
it contains fewer vitamins than most of these other foods. But for blood
sugar purposes, all these foods are about the same, and they all increase
blood sugar levels very quickly.
But aren't these foods the staples of the American diet? What can be
eaten if foods like pasta, potatoes, and bread must be eliminated or
severely restricted?
High-protein foods such as meat, eggs, cheese, and fish have little
or no effect on blood sugar levels. In addition, dark green leafy vegetables
such as spinach, kale, lettuce, and cabbage are fine. Other acceptable
choices include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower,
and green beans, to name a few.
Many diabetics who have chosen a lifestyle plan of limiting their carbohydrate
intake have come up with creative recipes that include many of the food
choices listed above. For example, a good mashed potato substitute is
to use cauliflower. Boil or steam it until it is very tender, then mash
it and whip it with butter and cream like you would potatoes!
© 2002 by Jerry
Wilson
