Many people still don’t have a solid understanding of whether the natural sugars in fruit are really any different or better for us than the sugar you’d find in a cookie. Let’s clear up some of the confusion.
When we say natural sugars, we are talking about sugars that are found in nature, in whole foods. This includes:
- Fruits of all kind
- Honey
- Sugar Cane
- Beets
- Sweet Potatoes
These are sugars in their most natural form, and they tend to be made up of four main components.
- Let’s start with glucose. It occurs naturally in plants and fruits and is a byproduct of photosynthesis. Our bodies burn glucose as energy, or it can convert it into glycogen (essentially: liver and muscle fuel). And our bodies can actually produce glucose when needed.
- Next, fructose! This is fruit sugar, occurring naturally in… you guessed it, fruit! It also occurs naturally in cane sugar and honey and is incredibly sweet. While this is a natural sugar, our body cannot produce it, and it can be difficult to break down in large quantities. It is broken down by our liver, but when it is over consumed our liver can become overloaded and so it is instead turned into fat and stored in our body [1].
- Onto the more complex sugars, starting with Sucrose. This sugar is found in the stems of sugarcane, the roots of sugar beet, and can be found naturally alongside glucose in certain fruits and other plants. This is typically the sugar you would have on your table, and it is essentially half glucose and half fructose. Even though this sugar is natural, overconsumption can lead to weight gain [2].
- Last but not least, we have lactose, which is essentially milk sugar! This is something that is created as a result of a process happening in our bodies. When we are young, we typically possess the enzyme necessary to break down this molecule into lactose to be used by the body. However, many people lose this as they get into adulthood.These are the lactose intolerant folks, and they should avoid dairy products.
While natural sugars seem like the right way to go, there is a lot of hype around avoiding fructose at all cost, especially for those who are trying to lose weight. Fructose consumption can also be an issue for those who struggle with blood sugar issues.
But what about people who are just looking for a healthier way to live?
Fruits and naturally occurring forms of sugar in foods are better for you than processed sugars because they come packaged with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Fiber slows the absorption of sugars in the blood stream by slowing the breakdown of the food so you won’t see a huge spike, and you’ll be getting all the nutrients your body needs.
For those concerned about weight loss, just make sure you’re consuming fruit in moderation as a part of a healthy diet.
If you are concerned about the blood sugar spikes, moderation and choosing low glycemic foods like berries and kiwi are a good choice for when you choose to enjoy fruit as a part of your balanced diet.
So yes, natural sugars are better for you, but only in moderation. Fruit has many benefits, and so you want them in your diet, just be careful not to over do it. It is important to make sure that you are not over consuming these foods and that they are only eaten in moderation.
Processed Sugars
While we are breaking down the different types of sugar, we should also go into the artificial sugars. These are sweeteners that natural sugars are made into.
These require different levels of processing, and so in an attempt to just bring awareness to how much sugar we are exposed to each day we have a list of sugars that might be found in processed foods on your shelf:
- Agave nectar
- Brown sugar
- Cane crystals
- Cane sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Crystalline fructose
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Organic evaporated cane juice
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrates
- Glucose
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Malt syrup
- Molasses
- Raw sugar
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Syrup
Some of these sugars can be considered natural depending on the level of processing they are going through.
However most of these are more processed and, unlike natural sugars, these break down differently in the body. Without the fiber and nutrition, these are void of most nutrients and can cause blood sugar spikes.
So these sugars are not going to be a part of a nutritious diet and should be used in moderation. Knowing how many of these you are taking in each day is important to understanding how much actual sugar you’re consuming.
So why are there so many different names for sugar?
There are over 61 names for the sugars that are added to the foods we eat every day, and this is because big companies look for ways they can pack in as much sugar as possible into small packages, without having to list them in the top of the ingredient deck.
So many companies add sugars to the already existing ones to add flavor and get you to like the product.
But these companies also know that if you knew how much sugar and sweeteners were being added in you would be less likely to buy their product over someone else’s.
So it is a good idea to pay close attention to how much sugar is in the foods you are consuming.